Protecting Dorset's businesses: action on retail crime

Keeping Dorset one of the safest counties in the country remains my top priority, and that includes protecting our businesses, retailers, and high streets from crime. Business and retail crime are not victimless offences - they affect livelihoods, threaten jobs, harm our local economy, and can leave staff feeling unsafe at work.

That is why I am working alongside Dorset Police and local businesses to take decisive, coordinated action to tackle these issues head-on. A key part of this approach has been continuing to work with the Dorset Safer Business Partnership, which brings together my office, Dorset Police, local retailers, Business Improvement Districts, and other stakeholders to work collaboratively against crime. By improving intelligence sharing, increasing reporting, and strengthening engagement with businesses, we are building a clearer picture of the threats facing our business community and responding with targeted action.

Through the Dorset Safer Business Partnership, my office and Dorset Police have worked with local business owners to improve crime reporting. Using feedback from victims, new technology has been introduced to make reporting business crime easier than ever. The force has implemented the Nice Investigate evidence platform and digital theft packs, which streamline crime reporting and drastically reduce processing times - getting vital information from retailers to officers in hours rather than days.

Targeted action comes in the form of Operation Shopkeeper, Dorset Police’s dedicated operation targeting high harm and prolific shoplifting offenders. So far, this operation has resulted in an increased number of prosecutions and orders to prevent offenders targeting businesses. The force also runs Operation Spotter, led by the Neighbourhood Policing team, which involves plain-clothes officers carrying out targeted work to apprehend shoplifters.

Both of these operations are achieving real results for Dorset. This includes offenders receiving custodial sentences, Criminal Behaviour Orders, drug rehabilitation Orders and Exclusion Orders. Furthermore, in the last three months of 2025, the Force’s Retail Crime Team achieved a positive outcome rate of over 70% for shoplifting offences - significantly above the national average at a time when retail theft is increasing across the country.

Dorset also has two Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, which efficiently gather and share intelligence among shops and pass that information to Dorset Police. Fighting shoplifting requires collaboration, and we need retailers to report all incidents of theft, even low-value offences. Underreporting hides the true scale of the problem and allows prolific offenders to continue unchecked.

When retailers report shoplifting, officers can link offences across stores, identify repeat offenders, connect CCTV to build stronger cases, and detect trends that allow targeted patrols in hotspots. Reporting can be done directly to the force through their website. If your business uses SentrySis, Auror or Disc, the information in these systems still needs to be passed on to Dorset Police. Whichever method you choose to gather intelligence and report shoplifting, it is vital that this information is passed onto Dorset Police, to enable Dorset Police and Op Shopkeeper to identify repeat offenders and reduce shoplifting across Dorset.

I hope this newsletter demonstrates my commitment, alongside Dorset Police, to tackling retail crime and protecting our business community. Reporting shoplifting is one of the most important ways we can disrupt offenders and keep Dorset safe. I urge all retailers to continue reporting every incident, no matter the value, so we can take action, support victims, and ensure our high streets remain safe for everyone.

David Sidwick

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner