What is Safer Business Action Week and why does it matter?

You may have seen Safer Business Action Week mentioned by your local police force, Business Improvement District or Business Crime Reduction Partnership, but what actually happens during the week, and why is it important?

Safer Business Action Week brings police forces, businesses and partners together to tackle business crime and focus on the issues affecting local areas.

The activity can look quite different depending on where you are. It could include high visibility patrols in town and city centres, officers visiting shops and speaking to staff, crime prevention advice, intelligence sharing or targeted action against prolific offenders.

That local focus is an important part of the week. Different areas face different problems, so those involved can plan activity around what businesses are seeing and experiencing.

Why does working together matter?

Business crime does not always stop at the door of one shop or at the boundary of one police force. The same offenders may target several businesses or operate across different areas, which means individual incidents can sometimes be part of a much bigger picture.

Reporting incidents and sharing information can help join those pieces together.

It gives police and partners a better understanding of what is happening, where offences are taking place and who may be responsible. It can also help identify repeat offenders and patterns of offending that might otherwise be missed.

Safer Business Action Week gives businesses the chance to speak directly to local policing teams and other partners about the problems they are facing. At the same time, police can provide advice, gather information and focus resources where they are most needed.

That work does not stop when Safer Business Action Week ends. The contacts made and information shared can help everyone involved continue working together throughout the year.

What happened in 2025?

The results from Safer Business Action Week 2025 give an idea of the amount of activity that took place.

Figures reported to the NBCC by 32 police forces in England and Wales and British Transport Police showed that more than 4,200 police officers and staff were deployed, around 1,400 events took place and almost 7,000 businesses and partners were engaged.

The activity also resulted in more than 1,100 arrests and 650 charges for retail crime offences.

But arrests and charges only tell part of the story.

Officers and partners visited businesses, carried out patrols, targeted known offenders and crime hotspots, shared crime prevention advice and spoke to staff about the issues they were experiencing.

Encouraging businesses to report incidents and share information helps build a better picture of business crime and gives those tackling it more information to act on.

What is different in 2026?

Safer Business Action Week returns from 9 to 15 November 2026, and this year four national campaigns are coming together for the first time.

The NBCC's Safer Business Action Week will take place alongside the Association of Convenience Stores' ShopKind campaign, Usdaw's Respect for Shopworkers Week and the Retail Trust's Let's Respect Retail campaign.

All four are focused on helping to protect retail workers from abuse, violence and intimidation.

Bringing the campaigns together means that, during the same week, businesses and retail workers will see a much stronger focus on the issue, while police forces and local partners carry out activity in their areas.

Businesses can play their part too, by reporting incidents, sharing information and speaking to their local police force, BCRP, BID or other business crime partners about the problems they are experiencing.

Safer Business Action Week may last seven days, but tackling business crime is something that happens all year round. The week gives businesses, police and partners an opportunity to work together, share information and take action on the issues affecting their local area.

You can also download the comprehensive Safer Business Action Week campaigns breifing: Download Safer Business Action Week Campaigns 2026