When it comes to tackling business-related crime (e.g. shoplifting, commercial robbery, cyber-crime, fraud, forgery, assaults on staff, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage) the Mayor wants tough targeted action.

Businesses are at the heart of London’s local communities, providing vital local goods and services. The sector is an essential contributor to economic growth and to the regeneration of areas affected by crime and disorder. Many of the businesses that make the capital great are highly mobile and we cannot afford to drive them away by failing to ensure that our city is safe.

Targeting Business Crime

Business crime in the capital is a priority for both the Mayor and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).  To this end:

• The MPS will produce a Business Crime Strategy by March 2013.

• The Mayor’s Office for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) is developing a process for ensuring that there is appropriate accountability and challenge. This will be done via the MOPAC Quarterly Performance Challenge meetings which will include monitoring MPS performance on business-related crime and challenging the MPS Police Commissioner on this issue, as appropriate.

• As part of the Mayor’s strategic responsibility governing engagement, the MPS has produced a Community Engagement Plan, which will establish a single police point of contact with businesses within every London borough. It also includes business engagement quality standards aimed at improving how the MPS communicates ands responds to businesses.

Getting the police and businesses closer together

We are working with business trade associations (e.g. the British Retail Consortium, Federation of Small Businesses, and London First) and other business representative groups to build closer links between the police and businesses through town centre teams at the local level and more coordinated Londonwide communication.