Dodgy shops will be forced to close their doors as police work to put criminal bosses behind bars under new legislation to be introduced later this year.
Police and local authorities will be equipped with stronger powers to close rogue businesses for longer as they pursue prosecutions to put criminal bosses in jail.
While existing powers allow premises to be closed for up to 6 months, businesses can often reopen before investigations have concluded, allowing criminal activity to resume and creating additional burdens for local authorities, police forces and the courts.
Under plans, the government will double the maximum duration of closure orders in order to give investigators more time to gather evidence, pursue prosecutions and identify the criminal bosses directing activity from behind the scenes, while also preventing rogue operators from simply reopening and resuming illegal activity. The government will introduce secondary legislation this year.
The Home Secretary has also instructed officials to urgently review the presence of vape shops, barbers, and car washes on the skilled worker sponsorship list, following concerns about potential misuse of the system. Any businesses seeking to abuse the system will have their licences revoked.
This follows the launch of a new national crackdown on organised crime operating across high streets at barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts, and sweet shops.
£30 million of new funding will boost police and trading standards’ response to organised crime, with thousands of businesses expected to be raided, hundreds of arrests made and millions in cash seized.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said
High streets across the country have been hijacked by criminal gangs operating in plain sight – running vape stores, dodgy barbers, and nail salons to launder their dirty money.
I have launched a nationwide crackdown to raid and close thousands of illegal businesses, arrest bosses and seize their dirty cash.
But I will go further – introducing new laws to close these shops for good and put criminal bosses behind bars.”
The new measures build on changes made through the Crime and Policing Act, which increased the duration of closure notices from 48 hours to 72 hours, helping councils to gather enough evidence to shut down shops for longer.
As part of a rapid review into local responders’ powers, the government will explore a new and longer temporary closure power to specifically tackle shops involved in criminality, meaning that local authorities don’t need to rely on evidence of anti-social behaviour alone to shut down these shops.
Criminals operating these businesses often go to significant lengths to conceal their identities and financial activity, making investigations complex and time-consuming as law enforcement agencies follow money trails and build cases against those responsible.
These measures will give the police and local authorities stronger tools to disrupt organised crime, prevent repeat offending, and protect honest businesses. It will also reduce the burden on the police and the courts by ending the need for repeated applications to extend closures.
John Herriman, Chief Executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), said
CTSI welcomes the government’s intent to strengthen enforcement powers across England and Wales, particularly regarding closure orders, which is an issue we have been actively campaigning on recently. Closure orders are a key enforcement tool for Trading Standards Officers in tackling ‘dodgy shops’ but our members have made us aware of challenges that limit their current impact.
Strengthening enforcement powers, including extending the duration of closure orders, is an important first step in addressing those issues. Stronger enforcement powers will allow officers more time to investigate criminality, prevent criminals from using a premises to break the law and, crucially, safeguard local communities from the serious risk these groups pose.
CTSI is encouraged by the government’s intent to strengthen enforcement powers, and we look forward to engaging with the consultation process to ensure the powers are as robust as possible to help crack down on criminals and safeguard local communities.
Josh Nicholson, Head of Housing and Communities, Centre for Social Justice, said
For too long, organised criminal gangs have hijacked shopfronts on our high streets and got away with it. These gangs sell illegal tobacco, traffic drugs, and facilitate immigration crime from the heart of our communities, undermining the foundations of safe community life.
Enforcement agencies tell us that they need stronger and faster powers to shut down these criminal shops for good. We welcome the Home Secretary’s commitment to strengthening closure orders which will give law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on the organised criminals who operate across Britain’s high streets.
The new measures will be taken forward following a consultation with interested parties, with regulations to extend closure orders expected to be laid by the end of 2026.
The new High Street Organised Crime Unit will work across government to drive further interventions to strengthen the local and national response to organised crime on the high street. It comes as the NCA estimate at least £12 billion of criminal cash is generated in the UK each year, with £1 billion laundered through high street businesses like mini-marts, barber shops, vape stores and sweet shops.
