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Retail and policing partners unite for national action on retail abuse and crime

Retail and policing partners unite for national action on retail abuse and crime

A joint national week of action to tackle retail abuse and crime, backed by Policing Minister Sarah Jones, is bringing together the retail sector, policing and partners and uniting four national campaigns for the first time from Monday 9 November.

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), Usdaw, the Retail Trust and the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) are joining forces for a coordinated response to the scale of the issue, combining activity in shops and workplaces with public campaigning.

Running from 9 to 15 November 2026, the partnership will unite ACS’s ShopKind, Usdaw’s Respect for Shopworkers Week, the Retail Trust’s Let’s Respect Retail and NBCC’s Safer Business Action Week. Together, they will encourage respect for retail workers, call on shoppers to change their behaviour and support practical action against crime affecting businesses and their communities.

Preparations span workplace events, public advertising and support for retailers to take part in stores, alongside a coordinated policing response.

Partner activity planned for the week includes:

·       ACS – ShopKind: With 173 supporting organisations, ShopKind will be promoted through national and trade media, with updated materials for stores and social media. Supporters are being encouraged to publicly endorse the campaign and nominate ShopKind Champions to share its messages.

·       Usdaw – Respect for Shopworkers Week: Representative-led campaigning is planned in around 1,000 retail workplaces, backed by major retailers. Messages will ask shoppers to “Keep Your Cool” and workers to “Report It – Sort It”. Usdaw will also release interim findings from its 2026 Freedom From Fear survey of retail workers’ experiences.

·       Retail Trust – Let’s Respect Retail: A new report by the charity will show the scale of shop staff abuse and its impact on workers, alongside calls for shoppers to treat shop workers respectfully appearing in thousands of stores, shop windows, shopping centres, cinemas and transport hubs. Employees at some of the country’s biggest retailers and shopping centres are also being given more support by the Retail Trust to help them respond to and deal with abusive incidents.

·       NBCC – Safer Business Action Week: The NBCC is coordinating the policing response, with 26 forces already confirming participation. Forces are encouraged to work with businesses, Business Crime Reduction Partnerships and Business Improvement Districts on local activity covering prevention, intelligence, enforcement and engagement. This could include targeting prolific offenders, sharing intelligence on crime hotspots and improving incident reporting.

Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: “Retail workers are the backbone of our high streets, and no one should face abuse, threats or violence simply for doing their job.

“I am proud to support this national week of action, which brings together retailers, police and local partners to tackle the abuse, theft and antisocial behaviour that affects communities across the country.

“Shop theft is finally falling and there are thousands more neighbourhood police on our streets. But we won't stop there. We are clear that retail crime is not minor and those responsible will be held accountable.”

 Ahead of 9 November, the four partners have been encouraging businesses to use campaign materials, involve staff and link up with their local police and business partnerships to plan activity during the week.