Shoplifting

A police-led taskforce will continue its work to tackle shoplifting and violence against staff after securing funding in the draft budget for 2026-27. The Retail Crime Taskforce was launched in April last year following £3 million investment from the Scottish government to combat a rise in ret

New figures show that police recorded 48,564 shoplifting offences, up from 42,271 the previous year. David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said more had to be done to tackle the problem.