The London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee has questioned City Hall’s policing leaders over shoplifting and retail crime, after a sharp rise in recorded offences.
Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, and Kenny Bowie, Director of Strategy and Metropolitan Police Service Oversight at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), gave evidence at City Hall on Wednesday 23 September 2026. The session was chaired by Susan Hall AM.
City Hall said Met figures showed shoplifting had risen by about 37 per cent in five months, from 6,900 offences in February to 9,483 in July. Members tested what was driving the increase, how repeat offenders are being dealt with and what support is given to shops and staff. The agenda, minutes and transcript are published on the official Police and Crime Committee meeting page for 23 September 2026.
What the committee heard
Comer-Schwartz told members the rise could not be explained by the cost of living alone. She pointed to research and police analysis suggesting an organised element to much of the offending, including stealing to order, alongside offending linked to substance misuse.
City Hall and the Met have previously pointed to analysis showing that a small number of repeat suspects account for a large share of offences. Figures cited for the hearing said 104 prolific shoplifters had been linked to 4,389 offences over the last two financial years, and that each had committed at least 31 offences before receiving a custodial sentence.
Gareth Roberts AM raised the high-volume, low-value thefts seen in everyday shops, describing people filling bags and baskets in bakeries and supermarkets. Comer-Schwartz agreed retailers were seeing brazen offending. She said work in the West End, where businesses are part of a Command Cell, had led to the arrest of a prolific suspect linked by police to stolen watches, bank cards and cash estimated at £100,000. She also pointed to a shop in Ilford where, she said, moving produce behind glass screens had helped reduce theft, and to the impact of Community Behaviour Orders.
The Met’s approach
Comer-Schwartz named Operation Retail and Operation Zoridon as Metropolitan Police Service operations focused on retail crime. She said roundtables with retailers had produced practical changes, including shared data agreements, so analysis can be passed to Business Improvement Districts and the Safer Business Network to support joint operations.
She told the committee that analysis from London Trading Standards, local businesses and the police was being used to identify where stolen goods are sold on, aiming to close off demand as well as tackling supply. She also raised expanding the use of static live facial recognition in some high-footfall areas.
On repeat offenders, Comer-Schwartz described the multi-agency Integrated Offender Management approach and told members the London model was associated with reoffending about 50 per cent lower than for a comparable cohort. She also pointed to work on substance misuse through the London Drugs Forum, and said programmes were supporting businesses to provide evidence for cases.
What happens next
Comer-Schwartz said she was in regular contact with the Home Office about the Crime and Policing Bill provisions covering shoplifting and assaults on retail workers, and when they would come into force. She also told members another iteration of Operation Zoridon was due in October.
The minutes record that the committee noted the report and discussion, and delegated authority to its Chair, in consultation with party Group Lead Members, to agree any output from the session. MOPAC also agreed to provide several follow-up items requested during the wider discussion. No retail-specific follow-up date, and no specific commitment on the social-media “link-up” incidents highlighted in reporting before the hearing, was recorded in those minutes.
