ScotGov record on retail crime raised in First Minister’s Questions

During First Minister’s Question Time on 11th September, the leader of Scottish Labour, Anas Sarwar, raised concerns about the Scottish Government’s record on retail crime, citing a 124% rise in shoplifting, low clear-up rates, and police cuts that leave many incidents not being investigated. Warning that shop staff feel unsafe, communities are being undermined, and businesses are resorting to schemes like ShopWatch to try to investigate crimes against their own businesses.

First Minister John Swinney highlighted record investment in policing (£1.64bn), an additional £3million in support to tackle retail crime, and maintained that overall crime is at one of its lowest levels in 40 years.

You can watch the full exchange here.

SGF issued a press release highlighting the increase in shoplifting and the need for urgent action prior to this question being raised in Parliament. You can read this here.