10 June 2026
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 six 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.
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.
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.
(Source: Home Office)
Read the full story on the GOV.UK website. See also 'New high street unit set up in nationwide blitz on dodgy shops'.