A British Retail Consortium case study ahead of this year’s BRC Retail Crime Survey, sponsored by ADT, launched on September 21 at the Institute Of Directors (IOD) in London.
Jonathan Clarke owns a large convenience store in Cheadle, Cheshire and has 10 staff working for him. His problems are fairly general, with four attempted burglaries, costing £4,000 to repair, three till snatches and daily thefts or attempts to steal by customers. To attempt to counter problems he has spent £5,000 on crime prevention this year. But the main problem – and the one that he and his staff find hardest to deal with – is the violence, threats and abuse that are daily accompaniments to doing business. He has had two members of staff assaulted, 10 threatened with violence and almost daily abuse and rudeness towards them.
What they say
"The main problem is young men under the age of 25. We had a reputation as being a soft touch before I took over the business and it was a nightmare to sort out. My manageress left – she went through the mill and it has put her off having anything to do with retail. I think we are a fairly average shop but I have had to train my staff on how to deal with violence and aggression, what to look out for in potential thieves, and to make them realise that their safety must come first. We tend not to call the police. They can take over 30 minutes to turn up and if you have an agitated thief, it is best to just get the goods back and let them go.”
‘Fair game’
Under-age sales are also a problem. We get constant abuse when we ask for proof of age or refuse sales to kids clearly under age. But that is where the threats and intimidation comes in, threatening to get my staff when they leave work. We had one youngster who was refused a sale, he was abusive and came back later and threw a brick through one of the shop windows. This cost a lot of money, not only did we have to pay for the window but we lost goods that were damaged or contaminated with glass and debris, and were restricted because we had to clear stock from that area of the shop which could not be used. It is becoming more difficult to provide a service because of a small minority of customers who have no respect for us, no sense of right or wrong and regard stealing or breaking in for cigarettes – which is a form of currency – as all fair game."
