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Police forces and business partners across the UK are joining forces this week (10–16 October) for Safer Business Action (SaBA) Week, a national initiative designed to tackle business and retail crime while strengthening collaboration between police, retailers, and local communities.
Coordinated by the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), the week-long campaign brings together Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, Business Improvement Districts and local policing teams to improve safety for staff, customers and the wider public.
The initiative forms a key part of the Home Office-backed ‘Tackling Retail Crime Together’ strategic plan, supported by £2m in government funding to the NBCC. Activities throughout the week include joint patrols, engagement events, crime prevention sessions, property marking and security advice — all aimed at deterring offenders, supporting victims and building safer business environments.
Each police force is tailoring its programme to local priorities, with examples including Wiltshire Police hosting community engagement events in major retail areas using its mobile police station, Suffolk Police distributing NBCC crime prevention guides and ShopKind materials, and the Safer Business Network running anti-sexual harassment and safe haven training for staff.
Last year’s SaBA Week led to more than 750 arrests, with over 640 SaBA events taking place nationwide and involving more than 3,400 police officers and PCSOs.
Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones praised the collaborative approach, describing the week as a “powerful example” of what can be achieved when police, businesses and communities work together.
“Retail crime doesn’t just harm businesses; it affects staff, customers and the wider community,” she said. “That’s why we are investing £2 million to back police and business efforts to tackle retail crime and will shortly be launching a Winter of Action to address town centre crime throughout the winter months. We are also restoring neighbourhood policing with 3,000 extra officers and giving police new powers to protect retail workers and tackle theft.”
Superintendent Lisa Maslen, lead for the NBCC, said SaBA Week highlights the value of partnership working in keeping communities safe.
“Safer Business Action Week is a valuable opportunity to focus attention on the challenges businesses face every day, while celebrating the ongoing collaboration taking place across the country,” she said. “The results we’ve seen from these efforts show the real impact of bringing together police, local authorities and the business community to create safer places to work and shop.”
Businesses are encouraged to contact their local police forces or business crime partnerships to find out more about activities taking place in their area during the week. Updates and highlights from SaBA Week can be found on the NBCC’s LinkedIn page.
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