PSNI Chief Meets Retail Sector To Address Rising Crime Concerns

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has met key stakeholders from the local business and retail sector at PSNI Headquarters to discuss the issue of retail time.

Following the meeting, the Chief Constable expressed deep concern about the significant criminal challenges facing the retail sector, including violent attacks on staff and a surge in shoplifting incidents.

"We are fully aware of these pressing issues and are committed to taking decisive action to reduce crime and harm to businesses and their employees," Boutcher stated. "Through collaborative partnerships with industry, we aim to implement effective strategies and enhance our efforts to combat these challenges."

The PSNI, in collaboration with local Partnership and Community Safety Partnerships (PCSPs) and the Business Crime Partnership, already maintains close working relationships with businesses. These partnerships have proven to be valuable resources in addressing business crime. Chief Constable Boutcher said that while officers have been effective in tackling business crime, the current funding constraints and record low officer numbers are significantly impacting their capacity to address these issues. The reduction in neighbourhood officers, who play a crucial role in maintaining local relationships and preventing crime, is particularly concerning.

Despite these challenges, Chief Constable Boutcher assured attendees that the PSNI will continue to work closely with all partners to combat business and retail crime and ensure that Northern Ireland remains a safe and prosperous place to live and do business.

Glyn Roberts, CEO of Retail NI said afterwards: "This was a worthwhile meeting with the Chief Constable to discuss the huge impact that crime is having on our members business, their staff, and the wider economy. It is a startling statistic that 67% of our members surveyed in our recent report that their staff have been victims of assault and threats and 51% were losing staff as a result.

"Our members are really struggling with the growing epidemic of shoplifting and we need to ensure tougher sanctions are put in place for those found guilty of this crime.

"Retail NI fully supports the Chief Constable's call for more funding for the PSNI, particularly for their Neighbourhood Teams, who play such an important role keeping our town and city centres safe places for our members, staff and customers.

"We want to reinforce the message that a more effective partnership between business, police, Department of Justice, and the public is the only way in which we can improve this situation."