West End businesses fund £23m security investment
More than 800 local businesses are contributing to a £23 million private investment package to help bolster security operations and infrastructure in London’s West End.
The investment is being deployed by business improvement district New West End Company which represents over 100 streets in the West End and Mayfair.
Subscribe to TRBThe organisation said the funds will result in an immediate increase in the BID’s security presence across the across the shopping district which includes Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street.
New West End Company has already grown the size of its existing 24/7, 365 on-street security team during peak footfall periods from 1 April, as part of a year one investment of £5 million in security infrastructure. Significant projects include the start of a phased roll-out of a 24/7 monitored CCTV network across the district, for which initial site mapping is underway.
In late 2025, New West End Company became the first London BID to achieve national accreditation as a Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP). With the certification now in place, the BID is now expanding its in-house team with a permanent BCRP role, in order to further strengthen intelligence sharing between local businesses and police.
The latest investment coincides with a step-change in the Metropolitan Police’s approach to tackling volume crime, including theft and retail crime. Over the last 12 months, the Met has deployed new technology, additional officers, and innovative partnership working in crime hotspots – an approach that New West End Company says is beginning to deliver results. In the West End, theft from person, including phone theft, is down 40% over the last financial year.
Additional ring-fenced funding of £4.5 million from the Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime has also been unlocked to create a West End intelligence ‘Command Cell’ to tackle mobile phone theft and other volume crime.
Dee Corsi, chief executive of New West End Company, said: “As one of the most visited and visible destinations in Europe, keeping the West End safe requires coordinated action.
“This additional investment into both our on-street team and back-end security operations will enable us to work more effectively with local business and our long-term partners at the Met Police to share intelligence, run joint operations and support targeted enforcement.
“Crime of this nature is not going to be solved by one organisation alone – partnership working remains absolutely critical, with everyone playing their part. Together, we can make the West End safer and stronger.”
Superintendent Natasha Evans, the Met’s neighbourhood policing lead for Westminster, said: “We’ve cut theft in the West End by 40 per cent in the last financial year – meaning more than 6,400 fewer victims – and personal robbery is also down by a quarter.
“These results show what can be achieved through data-led policing, targeted enforcement and close partnership working. Our joint approach sends a clear message: crime will not be tolerated, and we will continue working together to make the West End even safer for businesses and visitors.”
