Retail colleagues,

 

Following on from Police Scotland’s announcement of the project to introduce the Direct Reporting of Retail Crime, with the objective to provide retailers with a platform via 3rd party providers, for the direct reporting of retail crime, we have been engaged with various forums across the retail sector to establish what the wants and needs of the industry are when utilising this forthcoming platform.

 

This is a complex process, and we have spent the past 12 months understanding what our build capabilities are and how they can meet the needs of providers and retailers in respect of the platform, while also identifying any limitations or restrictions. Significant progress has been made.

 

We know retail crime remains under reported, and we want to make the process as pain-free and easy to use as possible for retailers.

 

We are working with several platform developers on a finalised product to ensure equity across the retail sector. Roll-out of the platform will be on a staged basis to allow for trial and analysis and is envisaged that this phase will now take place from Q1 of 2027.

 

The delays in the timelines are necessary to ensure seamless integration with Police Scotland’s systems.

 

It should be noted that the C3 Online form remains Police Scotland’s own free at point of use platform and should continue to be used to report not-ongoing, non-violent Theft by Shoplifting crimes were appropriate and this is separate from the wider DRRC project involving the 3rd party platform providers. You can find information on the C3 Online Reporting process and make a report at the following link here

 

Engagement will continue as we move to this phase with all providers. The Retail Crime Taskforce and Police Scotland remain committed to deliver the pilot phase of this project in 2027.

 

Regards,

 

Jordan Low

A/Detective Chief Inspector 

Retail Crime Taskforce