Business and retail crime

We recognise that retail crime is an issue of serious concern to our communities. Retail crime has a real and significant impact across society, from those employed within the retail sector who experience violence and intimidation to the end consumer who experience increased prices because of offending and the loss it causes to businesses. We are committed to tackling business and retail crime in all its forms and are fully implementing the Retail Crime Action Plan which has informed our strategy.

National Business Crime Centre’s Retail Crime Action Plan

The issue of Business and Retail Crime is not one that can be tackled by police alone. Effective partnership working is key, and we work closely with a number of organisations across Cheshire including the Cheshire West and North Wales Business Crime Reduction Partnership and the Cyber Resilience Centre for the North West. Local officers across Cheshire regularly engage with a number of Business Improvement Districts across the county and we are proud to be supporting the creation of the Stamp Crime Out of Town partnership in Cheshire East.

Cyber Resilience Centre for the North West - Supporting Small Businesses

Cheshire West and North Wales Business Crime Reduction Partnership

Fraud and cyber-crime are a growing threat to all businesses and industries. Over four in ten businesses and three in ten charities in the United Kingdom report having experienced some kind of cyber-attack or security breach*. Any organisation connected to the internet can expect to be targeted by ever more sophisticated attacks seeking to steal valuable or confidential data or extract money. As online presence grows in an ever more connected world so too do the risks faced by businesses. Our Cyber Crime Team works to support investigations into cyber related offending, and we work with the Cyber Resilience Centre for the North West to help businesses in Cheshire secure themselves against cyber-crime.

(*Source, Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025)

North West Cyber Resilience Centre - England 

National Business Crime Centre Cyber and Fraud resources

Action Fraud

Businesses perceive that a significant amount of the crime they face is perpetrated by groups of organised criminal gangs systematically targeting multiple locations across the country*. We work with OPAL, the national intelligence unit focussed on serious organised acquisitive crime to share intelligence and coordinate our work to target organised criminals affecting businesses in Cheshire.

(*Source, BRC Retail Crime Survey 2025)

Opal: Tackling Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime

Businesses and retailers can help us to work together to tackle crime by reporting offences to us quickly and consistently. Incidents of violence, threats and abuse should always be reported. In reporting matters to us you help us to understand issues and patterns in our communities and give us the best chance to act. We ask that you assist us by remaining vigilant, reporting your concerns to us and making evidence available as quickly as possible.

We have systems available to assist in providing us with CCTV evidence quickly and easily online. Your local officers can assist you in getting set up to do this.

To help is investigate your reports as efficiently and effectively as possible we ask that

• CCTV footage is retained in a way that ensures it won’t be lost or deleted. We ask that footage is provided promptly and wherever possible uploaded to us digitally through our NICE Investigate platform. Officers can support you in doing this.
• Businesses provide still images of suspects’ faces. We use sophisticated facial recognition techniques to identify suspects and bring the to justice. Providing clear facial images makes it more likely that a suspect will be identified.
• Businesses provide accurate details of stolen and damaged property
• Businesses, their representatives, individuals who are themselves victims, and witnesses provide us with statements. When a statement is provided there is a greater likelihood that a suspect will be charged and convicted. Without these it can be sometimes difficult to secure a conviction.
• Keep in touch with us and respond to our requests. When you report a crime to us it will be assessed for lines of enquiry and where these are identified we will contact you to explore them. It is important that you respond so that we have the best chance of securing evidence.

Traditionally the sharing of data between the police and retailers has been reliant upon the need for data sharing agreements, which can take time to put in place.

Cheshire Constabulary is committed to supporting the newly developed Retail Data Sharing Process published by the National Business Crime Centre and National Police Chiefs’ Council. Cheshire Constabulary will assess all requests on a case-by-case basis. Details of the process and required forms can be found online on the Retail Data Sharing Process page on the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) website.

Retail workers report that violence and abuse against them has risen over 50% in the past year with over 2,000 incidents a day across the country.*

Violence against retail workers will never be tolerated in Cheshire and all incidents should be reported and we will always seek to take action against offenders. Retail workers assaulted in the course of their work are victims of crime just like any other and the violence and intimidation they face should never be overlooked.

We support the national ShopKind campaign, a Home Office funded scheme aimed at equipping retailers with tools to tackle abuse and violence against their employees and to raise awareness of the issues amongst their customers.

(*Source, BRC Retail Crime Survey 2025)

ShopKind

It is important to recognise that those working in retailers and other businesses are often victims of crime in their own right, especially where they are assaulted, threatened or verbally abused.

A Victim Personal Statement allows you to say how you and your family have been affected by the crime. This is different to a witness statement, which describes the facts and evidence of what happened at the time of the crime. The Victim Personal Statement will form part of the prosecution case but will only be considered by the court once the offender has been found guilty of the offence and will be taken into consideration when the court imposes its sentence.

More information about the Victim Personal Statement as well as going to court as a witness and the support that may be available can be found in the Cheshire Constabulary Victim Information Pack.

All businesses and other organisations such as charities that have had criminal offences committed against them are entitled to provide an Impact Statement for Business. Here a business can express to the courts the impact the offending has had on their business including financial loss, operational disruption and reputational damage. Much like a Victim Personal Statement, the courts can take this into consideration when imposing its sentence.

Impact Statement for Business (ISB)