The £5 million Small Retailers’ Capital Grants fund was made available for 2009-10 to provide physical crime reduction measures for small independent shops in 50 priority areas, to help reduce incidents of shoplifting and other crimes against retailers. There are currently no plans to extend the availability to other areas, but through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG)’s Action Plan, we are taking action that will help to tackle retail crime in every area.
The NRCSG was set up by the Home Office in partnership with the British Retail Consortium and it provides a forum for Government, law enforcement agencies and retailers’ representatives such as the Association of Convenience Stores and Federation of Small Businesses to discuss and devise action to tackle crimes of concern to retailers.