Police urged to crack down on violence against retail workers amid record shoplifting offences

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Police are being urged to take more durable motion against assaults on retail workers amid record ranges of theft and violence against store workers.

It comes after Co-op stated that it had logged greater than 300,000 incidents of shoplifting, abuse, violence and anti-social behaviour in its retailers final yr. The variety of assaults elevated by a 3rd to greater than 1,300. Co-op is the UK’s fifth greatest meals retailer with greater than 2,500 native, comfort and medium-sized shops.

A report commissioned by Co-op and authored by Emmeline Taylor, professor of criminology at City, University of London, set out a 10-point plan geared toward turning the tide on the rise in crime, violence, intimidation and abuse.

The Co-op stated the rise in crime got here regardless of it introducing greater than £200m of preventative measures over latest years to make its shops and communities safer.

Matt Hood, managing director of Co-op Food, stated: “We are seeing far too many prolific offenders persistently steal large volumes of products in our shops every day, and, if they are stealing to fund addictions, the situation often becomes volatile and dangerous.

“Crime is an occupation for some – it is not petty crime, and it is not victimless. It is imperative MPs don’t turn their backs on shopworkers and vote through the amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill to give my colleagues the protection they deserve.”

An offence of attacking a shopworker is an modification to the Criminal Justice Bill which is quickly to be debated in parliament.

Prof Taylor stated: “The police in England and Wales have lost grip on the scale and severity of acquisitive crime, and, in turn, retailers have lost confidence in them and the wider criminal justice system.

“By taking decisive action to tackle high-volume, high-impact retail crime, the police and retail industry can work together to create safer communities in which to live, work and shop.”

Office for National Statistics information revealed final month confirmed that the variety of shoplifting offences logged final yr soared to their highest stage since information started 20 years in the past.

More than 402,000 offences had been recorded within the yr to September 2023 in England and Wales, up from 304,459 within the earlier 12 months.

It is the primary time since present information started in 2002 that the quantity recorded by police has risen greater than 400,000. The earlier peak of 382,643 was recorded within the yr to March 2018.

The stark figures got here as the price of residing disaster continued to chew throughout the nation.

A survey revealed earlier in January discovered eight in 10 folks (84 per cent) anticipate this January to be the hardest but financially due to rising prices and Christmas spending. 

The examine, by Nationwide, additionally discovered power prices and added debt had been components affecting folks’s funds.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), a commerce affiliation representing retailers and enterprise throughout the UK, has referred to as on the federal government to take more durable motion against theft and violence in shops.

Graham Wynn, assistant director of enterprise regulation on the BRC, stated: “Shoplifting is not a victimless crime, it costs retailers, and ultimately customers, almost £1bn a year, money that would be better used to reduce prices for everyone.

“Retailers are working hard, trying to tackle this issue, spending hundreds of millions on security staff, CCTV, security tags, and other anti-crime measures.

“More police action is needed as without an effective deterrent, criminals will continue to steal with impunity.”

The authorities beforehand stated it was dedicated to tackling shoplifting and violence against retail workers.