New law designed to curb soaring theft and rising violence in stores…

Retail groups have welcomed the news that the much-anticipated Crime and Policing Bill 2025 has been granted Royal Assent.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of The British Retail Consortium (BRC), described the new powers as a “long-overdue turning point in the fight against retail crime”.

“The BRC, alongside others, have campaigned relentlessly for these changes. Stronger laws on assault and theft will send a clear warning to would-be offenders, but laws alone won’t keep retail workers safe”, she said. “What matters now is consistent, visible police enforcement so colleagues can genuinely feel safe and protected at work.”

The Crime and Policing Bill 2025 officially became the Crime and Policing Act 2026 on 29th April 2026.

The Act creates a dedicated offence for assaulting a retail worker while they are performing their duties, rather than relying on general assault laws.

It also scraps the £200 threshold for shop theft, meaning that all thefts regardless of their value are now treated as standard criminal offences.

Ed Woodall, Chief Executive of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), welcomed the changes: “Convenience retailers and shopworkers can feel more confident that action will be taken against prolific shop thieves”.

He added: “These new powers need to be backed by local police forces on the ground and the wider justice system sending a clear message that when shop theft incidents are reported, police will respond and justice will be served to break the awful cycle of reoffending that causes significant damage to communities.”

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) earlier this month show there were 509,566 police recorded shoplifting offences in the year ending December 2025.