New police unit to tackle ‘dodgy’ high street shops

£30m initiative will see 75 police officers transferred to hotspot locations and a new High Street Organised Crime Unit established. 

A major new police initiative is being launched against organised criminal gangs operating across Britain’s high streets. The £30m programme will target rogue barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts and sweet shops that are linked to organised crime. They will face raids, closures and cash seizures. 

Photo by Maggie Yap / Unsplash

The three-year initiative is particularly aimed at tackling money laundering, tax evasion, and illegal working. 

Of the new funding, £20m will provide an enhanced law enforcement response, including establishing a new multi-agency co-ordination cell based at the National Crime Agency (NCA). This will build intelligence at a national level and increase the number of dedicated officers tackling organised crime on the ground. A total of 75 police officers will be recruited from existing staff at the NCA, Greater Manchester Police, West Midlands Police and a joint Kent Police and Essex Police Unit.  

In addition, £6m is being allocated to Trading Standards to bolster the response to sham businesses in at-risk local authorities. Trading Standards officers will undergo new training to identify suspicious businesses, strengthen business compliance and boost enforcement. 

What’s more, a new High Street Organised Crime Unit has been established, bringing together government departments, policing partners and Trading Standards. This will be responsible for identifying what more is needed what more is needed to stop such criminal activity happening int he first place, whether that be strong statutory powers or better co-ordination. The unit will be overseen by Security Minister Dan Jarvis. 

A review of local responders’ powers is already underway to explore how these can be strengthened. That includes a consultation on extending the duration of closure orders, where appropriate, to shut criminal businesses down for longer. 

The funding, new unit and partnerships build on recent enforcement actions such as Operation Machinize to target criminal networks operating in plain sight on the high street.  

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says: ‘Criminal gangs have exploited our high streets to launder their dirty money and undercut honest businesses. We are hitting back with a nationwide crackdown to shut these fronts down, seize dirty cash and drive organised crime off our high streets and put bosses behind bars.’