Six people excluded from Swindon town centre during patrols to reduce retail crime and improve safety

Officers have been patrolling Swindon town centre this week in a continued effort to reduce shoplifting and anti-social behaviour in Swindon.

The National Business Crime Centre’s (NBCC) national Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) awareness week took place from 17 – 23 March. Whilst town centre patrols and engaging with members of the public are usual daily tasks for police officers, officers across Swindon have been increasing patrols in hotspot locations and making additional visits to retailers across Swindon to provide additional reassurance to the community.

Whilst on patrol, officers have been raising awareness of the ShopKind initiative, which is coordinated by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and supported by the Home Office. This initiative aims to encourage kind behaviour in shops, acknowledge the role of shop workers in our communities, and raise awareness of the impact of abuse shop workers face. According to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) 2025 retail crime survey, violence and abuse towards retail workers has increased by over 50% in the past year, and there are, on average, 55,000 incidents of theft per day in Britain.

On the dedicated day of additional police activity in Swindon, six people were handed section 35 dispersal orders, which police officers can use to exclude someone from a designated area for up to 48 hours to deter anti-social behaviour. This is a preventative method to stop further offending, including shoplifting, as individuals are unable to re-enter the town centre.

Sergeant Davidson from the Swindon Central South neighbourhood policing team said: “The Swindon Central South policing team, based in the town centre, are committed to making Swindon safe for all. This dedicated day of activity focused on retail crime prevention, which included reaching out to retailers, explaining what support is available to them, and highlighting the national ShopKind scheme. We made specific visits to retailers who have been repeat victims of retail crime to hear their concerns and offer advice.”

Officers also conducted joint patrols with Swindon Borough Council’s Homelessness Prevention Team in key areas of the town centre to offer support and intervention to people who required further help from partner agencies.  

Sgt Davidson continues: “We are committed to tackling retail crime and supporting our communities, in line with Wiltshire Police’s Safer Public Spaces operational priority, and we work closely with partner agencies to provide the right support for people. We ask retailers, and the public, to continue to report incidents of theft or abusive behaviour to the police.”

Keep up to date with community engagement events and future dedicated days of activity by visiting the Swindon Central South Police Facebook page.

Wiltshire Police take all crime reports seriously. To report a retail crime, including theft and abusive behaviour, call 101 or visit www.wiltshire.police.uk/ro/report. Always call 999 in an emergency.