Liverpool to focus on growing retail crime problem with summer conference

Business crime is the focus of a summer conference in Liverpool which will bring together retail, commerce, police and government.

Announced during Business Crime Reduction Awareness Week (March 17-23), the conference aims to provide a focus and a bespoke plan for businesses to work together to reduce crime.

It is scheduled to take place in Liverpool’s Hilton Hotel on June 10. Criminologist Professor, Martin Gill, will be speaking and leading the day at the conference.

Other confirmed speakers, so far, include Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner, Emil Spurrell, Superintendent Martin Holdaway, from the National Business Crime Centre, Paul Evans CEO Carlisle Support Services, Superintendent Charlotte Irlam, business crime lead Merseyside Police.

Business crime includes retail theft, vandalism and violence towards shop workers, diners leaving hospitality venues without paying, cyber crime, fraud and criminal damage.

The conference, organised by Liverpool BID Company, will look at the growing rates of crime, the impact on business and the under-reporting of offences.

It will also consider how government and local authorities can help to tackle the issue.

Liverpool is one of 250 Business Crime Reduction Partnerships (BRCP) in the UK. The first awareness week showcases the holistic approach to business crime prevention and the work from different partners to make cities safer.

In Liverpool, the BID Safety Partnership sees Liverpool BID Company working alongside Merseyside Police, Liverpool Nightlife CIC and Liverpool City Council and, most importantly, the businesses themselves.

According to the British Retail Consortium’s annual crime survey, retailers spent a record £1.8bn on crime prevention in 2024, up from £1.2bn the previous year.

Across the UK there were just over 2,000 incidents of violence or abuse a day in stores across the country, up more than a third on the year before. 

The awareness week will see Merseyside Police, including the Liverpool BID police team, visit businesses across the city centre to explore how they can help to make  businesses safer.

Working together with city centre stakeholders, the teams will be working on a number of police initiatives, engaging with key members and providing expert advice and support, raising awareness of what a BCRP is and their part in it.

In Liverpool, the BID Safety Partnership includes two full time Merseyside Police officers who provide BID levy payers with a direct response to non-emergency enquiries about safety, crime prevention including cyber-crime, anti-social behaviour and security issues seven days a week.

Other tools to tackle crime include the DISC intelligence sharing platform which allows intelligence sharing across businesses in the city for both daytime and night time economy businesses.

Intelligence sharing briefings are held which discuss safety issues across the BID, City Watch officers are funded by the BID to monitor the radio link network on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursday during retail hours, and Friday and Saturday evenings/nights, while the BID Radio Link Network has more than 180 active digital radios operated by businesses themselves to provide reassurance and intelligence sharing, operating 24 hours a day.

Shaun Holland is director of operations at Liverpool BID Company and said: “We know that business crime is increasing, and is costing businesses millions each year to tackle it, but it is becoming increasingly important to focus on how we can work together to tackle it.

“Liverpool is one of the safest cities in the country, however we are not complacent and this is recognised through our work in partnership with the statutory and voluntary sectors and is recognised by over 20 years of continuous accreditation with Purple Flag status.”

He added: ”In bringing different stakeholders together, we want to be able to create a route and a plan to reduce business crime. This awareness week we will start the groundwork by helping to show businesses what options and support they have.”

Kirstie Stuart is the retail risk investigations business partner at retailer, River Island. She said: “Having a collective approach to crime reduction within the city centre allows for us to come together and identify issues as we work toward a collective goal of a safer Liverpool city centre.

“The support network I have built with other retailers has proved invaluable on occasions where we have been able to support each other.”