Are police doing enough to tackle crime on local high streets?
The Home Affairs Committee will hold the opening session of its inquiry into the impact of serious and organised crime on local neighbourhoods.
Meeting details
Serious and organised crime is estimated to cost the UK £47 billion each year. It can manifest itself in many different ways in local communities and on high streets. Organised shoplifting gangs can target business to steal higher value items. Counterfeiting can leave consumers with poor quality and potentially dangerous goods. Some high street shops have been taken over by criminal gangs as a front for illegal activities, with links to drugs and money laundering.
In this session, the Home Affairs Committee will question senior policing representatives on the scale of serious and organised crime in local neighbourhoods. It will examine how policing is identifying and dealing with organised crime, and explore what forms of crime are most prevalent.
Campaigning organisations, the Anti-Counterfeiting Group and The Anti-Slavery Collective, will answer questions about the size and impact of counterfeiting. The session will explore the links between this and other forms of crime, including the role of modern slavery in the production and distribution of these goods. It will also examine whether policing and other government agencies are placing sufficient priority on tackling this form of crime and have adequate strategies in place.