Retailers worked closely with Retailers Against Crime (RAC) and Police Scotland on a Day of Action in Glasgow city centre, which resulted in five arrests plus an additional 12 people charged with offences including shoplifting and drug possession.
A team of 31 plain-clothed and uniformed officers, including two from British Transport Police, spent the day on the streets of Glasgow focusing on the most prolific retail crime offenders.
The RAC team used intelligence from the SentrySIS crime-fighting tool, which sees users share real-time information about thefts and other incidents, to draw up details of the most active shoplifters in the city.
Staff from Glasgow retailers gathered for a morning briefing before being supplied with APEX radios to contact police officers if they spotted suspects in their store or on the streets.
Stephanie Karté, National Operations Manager at RAC, said: “This was our most successful Day of Action so far with an outstanding turnout from retailers and our partners. A good number of offenders were prevented from shoplifting and causing anti-social behaviour on the day.
“Days like these are so important and it brought police, security staff and retailers together to build relationships and help fight the ongoing battle against retail crime which is a substantial problem and can seem extremely overwhelming.”
One security officer, who joined the Day of Action, said: “The overall consensus was that it was a phenomenal day with a real sense of camaraderie and good results in terms of deterring several people from shoplifting.
“I’ve been involved in the RAC Days of Action for about five years now, I’ve attended every one and this was the best yet. They have evolved into something very important and make a real dent in the criminality we see in the city centre which has increased massively in recent years.
“It gives retailers more confidence to see people getting caught and arrested.”
Another Loss Prevention Officer added: “We went out into the streets as part of a team and were able to deter and disrupt a lot of known criminals as well as gathering intelligence on others. It was a useful experience and as well as catching criminals, it enables us to build better relationships with city centre police officers.”
Police Sergeant Muir said the Days of Action demonstrate how retailers and police can work together to target offenders and reduce crime and show shop workers just how seriously Police Scotland take the issue which impacts them daily.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium’s annual crime survey released earlier this year highlighted how retail crime is “spiralling out of control” with 55,000 thefts a day across the UK – an all-time high – and violent and abusive incidents rising by 50% last year.
And RAC figures detail how incidents of violent crime are surging with 1674 reported to the organisation by members during 2024 from a total of 11,890 offences.
Sgt Muir said: “It’s important to focus on how we can all work together as partners to fight retail crime.
“We have a lot of issues in the city centre with retail crime and violence going up and we want to make retailers feel safer and know we are there collaborating with them.
“We are here to help and listen and to get these offenders off the streets as quickly as possible. This is something we do on a day-to-day basis but having specific Days of Action really helps us to target prolific offenders and act on the information coming back from the retailers so we can get out there and pick people up.
“The connection with the team from RAC is particularly important as they gather so much information and intelligence which they share from their member retailers. Retail crime is an increasing and ongoing problem and something we need the help of everyone involved to tackle effectively.”
These Days of Action take place quarterly in Glasgow with plans to roll them out in other Scottish cities going forward.
Karté added: “It’s all about partnership working and taking a concerted stand against retail crime offenders on a specific day.
“During the course of the day we aim to detect, prevent, disrupt and divert prolific offenders through a targeted approach which is replicated quarterly within Glasgow city centre.
“It gives retailers the chance to connect directly with police officers, build up relationships and highlight what they go through every day with the continuing rise in retail crime.
“We are all working to the same objective – to stop retailers being hit with thefts and incidents of antisocial behaviour – and we all want to make a difference by working together. Everyone has a part to play and it’s great to see so many retail staff getting involved and our Days of Action getting busier each time.”
Retailers Against Crime is a national retail crime partnership, established in 1997, which aims to detect and prevent crime by sharing information on local and travelling offenders with members and partners throughout the UK.
