Tackling High Harm Places: Strengthening Partnerships to Reduce Retail Crime
As CEO of the National Association of Business Crime Partnerships (NABCP), I have the privilege of working alongside dedicated professionals across the country who are committed to making our town and city centres safer. Through the Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy, I am honoured to lead the Tackling High Harm Places strand – a programme that aligns perfectly with the ethos of BCRPs and BIDs, whose work is rooted in understanding places holistically.
Town and city centres are, by their nature, High Harm Places. The concentration of retail premises, high‑value goods and significant footfall creates both opportunity and vulnerability. These environments attract persistent offenders seeking easily disposable, high‑value items, resulting in disproportionate levels of retail crime and harm. Addressing this requires more than enforcement, it requires partnership, insight, and a shared understanding of the problem.
Our working group brings together professionals from retail, policing, private security, academia, BIDs, and BCRPs. Together, we are defining what “high harm” truly means in a retail context and developing a consistent, evidence‑based approach to identifying and supporting the places most affected.
As our work progresses, we focus on strengthening partnership working and highlighting the immense value that BCRPs and BIDs bring to local crime reduction. A key priority is improving communication and retailer engagement at store level – ensuring that local retailers are not just informed but actively involved. This includes encouraging store teams to attend local BCRP intelligence meetings, make full use of the BCRP radio and intelligence‑sharing apps, and participate in live, real‑time information exchange. This also includes ensuring retailers locally are notified of Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) and other orders so they can help identify breaches and contribute to a more coordinated response.
We are also developing specific guidance to support partners in securing more CBOs at court – improving the quality of evidence, the clarity of wording and the consistency of applications. Retailers play a crucial role in this process, particularly through the provision of detailed victim impact statements that articulate the true harm caused by persistent offenders.
Alongside this, we are working to publish the first comprehensive map of all BIDs and BCRPs, complete with contact details. This resource will enable police forces, retailers, and other agencies to quickly identify and connect with their local BCRP, strengthening partnership working nationwide.
We are also exploring the wider cost of retail crime to society – not just the value of stolen goods, but the broader impact on staff wellbeing, community confidence, operational costs, and the long‑term health of our high streets.
Throughout this work, we hold deep respect for the people working in public‑facing retail roles, whose skills and energy should be focused on delivering excellent customer experiences, not managing the burden of crime‑related challenges.
By combining operational insight, academic rigour, and innovative thinking, we are building a national framework that will help identify high harm areas, understand the drivers of crime within them, and deliver interventions that create lasting impact.
Chief Executive Office, Sophie Jordan – Tackling High Harm Places Lead
