Some 590,000 incidents of violence against shops staff are part of the British Retail Consortium’s annual crime survey – a mere 2,000 fewer than the year before; and ‘theft has become endemic’, according to the BRC.
The trade body’s report, sponsored by the vendor Sensormatic Solutions, part of Johnson Controls, put the total known theft and damage at £583m; while losses from delivery theft were put at more than £100m. Spend by retailers on crime prevention measures meanwhile totalled £985m. Some 15 per cent of incidents were reported by retail to police; and of those, police attended 31pc.
The report chose to see ‘some early signs of improvement’, due to joint work post-pandemic by police and central Government with retailers, notably Project Pegasus arranged by the retail security and FM contractor Mitie, and the Rishi Sunak Conservative Government’s Retail Crime Action Plan; which, according to the report, is ‘starting to lead to practical change’. According to the report, ‘customer theft has become an established challenge across the industry. Alongside opportunistic shoplifting, organised retail crime groups are increasingly targeting high-value, easily resold goods and exploiting gaps in enforcement, online resale platforms and prosecution thresholds’.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the BRC, in a foreword to the document described legislative reform as crucial and welcomed the Labour Government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill, which she called ‘a significant step forward’. She said: “This drop in violence and abuse has been hard won, but the job is far from done as numbers of incidents remain almost four times pre pandemic levels. Violence remains endemic. No one should go to work fearing for their safety, and we must redouble our efforts to bring these numbers much further down once and for all.
“Theft remains a huge issue, with an increasingly concerning link to organised criminal gangs, who continue to systematically target one store after another, stealing tens of thousands of pounds worth of goods in one go.
“Retailers, the police and government must continue to work together, building on the great work done so far, focusing on consistent enforcement, better data and intelligence sharing, and targeted action against prolific offenders and organised gangs. The £7m investment announced in the policing White Paper is another welcome signal of government’s commitment to tackling organised retail crime. However, turning this into real impact requires sustained prioritisation and dedicated resourcing from police. For the sake of the three million hard working people in retail, this work must not stop.”
Union view
The retail workers’ trade union Usdaw’s Freedom From Fear campaign seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against workers. Joanne Thomas, the union’s general secretary, said that Usdaw and BRC data show that retail workers continue to face unacceptable levels of violence and abuse simply as a result of going to work. The union says interim results from its latest annual ‘Violence and Abuse Against Retail Shopworkers’ survey show that over 70 per cent of workers have experienced abuse in the past year. For the previous year’s report visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/FFFReport2024.
Convenience stores
And the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) is due to release its annual survey shortly; to be among topics at its Safe and Responsible Retailing conference, at the Birmingham Rep on March 18.
