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Police and communities must join forces on crime

Scottish vice president Hussan Lal has reinforced the message that solving retail crime isn’t just the responsibility of the police, it’s “for the community, too”.

Scottish vice president Hussan Lal has reinforced the message that solving retail crime isn’t just the responsibility of the police, it’s “for the community, too”. 

The news comes as the region began lobbying ministers of Scottish Parliament (MSP) to help prioritise the severity of retail crime. 

Lal told RN: “We are trying to meet with MSPs because crime is so much of an issue right now. We want to get them on board in support of MP Daniel Johnson’s Protection of Shopworker’s Bill.

“Retailers are being broken into on numerous occasions and what’s more concerning is that they are being attacked. It’s getting to the point where people are giving up their businesses,” said Lal.

Lal is a member of Interfaith Scotland, which attempts to crack down on hate crime. “We are working to involve as many organisations as possible in our fight. 

“Whether they be the police, the fire brigade or the military, we want to get them all under a single umbrella to help them understand the impact this is having on businesses.”

He added that helping to fight crime isn’t just the responsibility of the police. “We want people to understand that this isn’t just for the police to resolve, but for us as a community to try to understand what is happening,” he said. 

The push comes after Scotland reported an increase in retail crime incidents over the Christmas period. “This is our number-one priority,” Lal explained. “Our goal is to help as many people as possible understand the issue of retail crime and what needs to be done to decrease it.”

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