A new tool will help shop owners report crime to Police Scotland.
The Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) has welcomed the introduction of a new and improved online system for reporting shoplifting.
Following a pilot launched in December 2025, the digital reporting system went live for all retailers in Scotland this week.
The Fed’s Scottish president, Hussan Lal, said: “We have lobbied long and hard for better protection for retailers when it comes to shoplifting.
“While an improved reporting system is of obvious benefit to retailers, the Fed will continue to call for the Scottish government to back small independent retailers like our members through action to reduce retail crime, such as through targeted security grants.”
Police Scotland said that, during the pilot, timescales for creation of a crime report number had reduced from the required 72-hour period to frequent same-day processing.
In addition, a link to its Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) system is provided once a crime report number is generated, allowing retailers to upload their CCTV footage immediately, allowing investigations to commence far quicker.
Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable, Tim Mairs, said: “The development of the online reporting form supports the ongoing work to introduce a third-party reporting platform that can provide a consistent approach to reporting certain retail offences whenever they arise within Scotland.
“We will continue to develop the form further to ensure it meets all the needs of our retail industry colleagues when reporting a theft by shoplifting offence.”
Police Scotland’s Retail Crime Taskforce was formed following a £3million funding allocation from the Scottish Government for the year 2025/26 to tackle a rise in retail crime across the country.
The Divisional Retail Crime Taskforce is also working to tackle retail crime, including shoplifting, retail worker assault and threatening and abusive behaviour towards staff across the city since December last year.
This comes as Police Scotland statistics showed that shoplifting has surged across the country, with cases in Glasgow city centre alone rising by 21% in 2024.
Several retail owners have spoken to the Glasgow Times about their struggle with thieves.
Mamoon Ur-Rashid, who manages eight stores across Glasgow, said: "It's happening in every shop, every day - we have to face these problems every single day, and it's only getting worse, day by day.
"Staff feel unsafe, we get targeted by these people, or they're fighting each other in our shops."
Earlier this month, working alongside Retailers Against Crime, local partners in Operation Dynos and the Home Office, Police Scotland's Retail Crime Taskforce officers carried out patrols and targeted known shoplifters.
As a result, nine people were arrested on apprehension warrants, four for immigration offences, and 10 for offences including shoplifting, carrying offensive weapons and drugs.
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