Retailers call on police to get tough on crime in shops

More than one hundred retailers have written to police and crime commissioners in England and Wales on Thursday morning, calling on them to commit to making retail crime a priority in local policing strategies.

In the letter, retailers expressed increasing concerns over rising levels of violence, abuse, and anti-social behaviour across their operations, and the emotional impact on victims and their colleagues.

The letter noted that the rise in retail crime was “partly linked to tackling shoplifting, [which] pushes up the cost of operating and results in higher prices for everyone.”

It also set out the steps retailers were taking to protect their staff, having spent £715m on crime prevention in the 2020-2021, according to the latest crime survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Those steps included hiring in-store security teams, training teams on de-escalation, and investing in CCTV and body-worn cameras for staff, but the retailers said local police support was “vital” to protecting retail workers.

According to the BRC, retail workers were subjected to a “huge rise” in violence and abuse through the Covid-19 pandemic, with incidents almost tripling to 1,300 per day in 2020-2021.

It said retailers did not want to jeopardise any progress being made as a result of their investment in crime prevention, nor did they want to see retail colleagues and their families suffering the consequences.

The letter called on police and crime commissioners to “commit” to making retail crime a priority in their local policing plan, work with local businesses to investigate ways to make reporting simpler, push their local force to investigate all reports of violence and abuse against retail workers, and monitor how the new sentencing guidelines were used and the impact on violence and abuse against retail workers.

After a campaign by the BRC and others earlier in the year, the government introduced an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act which created tougher sentencing for assaults committed against those “providing a public service or performing a public duty”.

“I am proud of the incredible work done by our retail colleagues - they were among the ‘hidden heroes’ of the pandemic; working tirelessly to keep the nation fed, clothed and with access to the goods we wanted,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.

“But every incident against a retail worker is one too many.

“Retailers are going above and beyond to keep their colleagues and customers safe, hiring in-store security teams, training staff on de-escalation, and investing in CCTV and body worn cameras.”

Dickinson said the amendment had increased the penalties for assaulting a retail worker, but claimed that would only have an impact if police successfully investigated and prosecuted incidents.

“This is why we are calling on police and crime commissioners to make retail crime a priority across the board.”

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.