The first Hertfordshire Retail Crime Forum has been hosted in the county by the Police and Crime Commissioner Mr Jonathan Ash-Edwards.

The event was the first step in creating a Hertfordshire Against Retail Crime working group, made up of the police, retailers, local businesses and other partners to work together to reduce shoplifting, business crime and assaults on staff. 

Over a hundred representatives from retailers and partner organisations attended the Forum which was organised by Mr Ash-Edwards in response to the heightened public and business concern around retail crime..

Held at the Tesco headquarters in Welwyn Garden City it was attended by independent retailers, as well as major businesses present including B&Q, Boots, John Lewis, Halfords, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Tesco. Other partners present included representatives from local councils, Business Improvement Districts and staff from the major shopping centres in the county.

Jonathan Ash-Edwards, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, said:

“Retail crime is unacceptable and is having a significant impact on our shops, retail workers and town centres. Shop theft has reached record levels nationally and Hertfordshire is not immune from this trend.

“Hertfordshire police record around 28 cases of shop theft or robbery every day. Behind the statistics there are real consequences for people who use or work in these shops. Business and shop keepers also have to bear the costs of lost goods and increased expense of security guards. For many independent retailers, the impact of shop theft feels really personal. The vitality of our high streets and town centres is crucial to Hertfordshire’s economic success.

“Progress is being made in Hertfordshire. The number of shop thefts being solved is rising. We’ve made clear the police will take action whatever the value of the goods stolen; there is no ‘£200 limit’ in Hertfordshire. And over the last year, Operation Hotspot has put 26,000 hours of additional high visibility police patrols into town centres with overall crime and anti-social behaviour in the hotspots down 14.5%.

“But there is more that can be done locally to prevent, reduce and solve retail crime. That’s why I wanted to bring retailers, police and community safety partners together to have an honest conversation about what more can be done on all sides. Following the Forum, we will be working in partnership to implement tangible actions to bear down on retail crime in the county.

“The bottom line for me is that people should be able to enjoy their town centres safely and I want Hertfordshire to be a county where retail crime is not tolerated."

The Forum will be used accelerate collaboration between national and independent retailers, business groups, the police and key partners to address retail crime and improve crime prevention and business confidence in Hertfordshire.

The Commissioner’s new Police and Crime Plan for Hertfordshire prioritises tackling shop theft and wider crime that affects retailers. The Hertfordshire Against Retail Crime will deliver on the Plan’s priority to convene businesses and the police to take a collaborative approach to tackling retail crime across the entire county, improving crime prevention and reporting, and improving the confidence of retailers.