The FWD recently welcomed the Shadow Minister for Policing, Alex Norris MP, to Bestway’s depot in Nottingham, with the parties discussing Labour’s approach to the rising levels of crime affecting the sector and their plans to tackle it if they got into government.
According to a recent FWD member survey, 100% of wholesalers surveyed identified crime as one of their foremost concerns, primarily attributing it to inadequate police responsiveness.
“Rampant theft targeting freight during transit poses significant risks to drivers and businesses, with criminal gangs specifically targeting valuable items like tobacco and vapes, leading to potential harm to those defending their stock,” explained James Bielby, FWD chief executive.
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“Despite evidence captured on CCTV or bodycams, police often fail to pursue shoplifting cases effectively, allowing offenders to continue their illegal activities and resulting in repeated incidents, raising concerns about law enforcement constraints. Inadequate response from police, with thieves being released immediately even when caught with stolen goods, undermining efforts to combat shoplifting.”
FWD has laid out the following positions and beliefs
- The Crime Justice Bill to include provisions to address escalating crime rates in the wholesale sector to safeguard communities and businesses.
- FWD supports the Labour Party pledge to reform current legislation that prevents thefts of under £200 from being investigated, introduce respect orders to ban repeat offender from town centers and enlist 13,000 more neighborhood police in towns.
- It is critical that in developing these policies that the wholesale sector is explicitly included in future legislation so that it is afforded the protections it needs. This can be done by ensuring that all definitions of retail crime in legislation include wholesale sector employees and cash and carry premises.
