Senior police questioned supermarket security on the busy shopping day ‘Black Friday’ before Christmas.
The occasion for such comments was retailers offering cut-price goods on Friday, November 28. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Deputy Chief Constable Ian Hopkins, pictured, said afterwards that he spoke to senior Tesco executives after police went to seven of its stores in the force area, and closed some, amid scenes ‘akin to a mini-riot’. A security guard was punched; shoppers trampled on each other; a man in a wheelchair had a TV set dropped on him; and a woman broke a wrist, Hopkins reported.
Hopkins said: “My view is that these events were reasonably predictable and that they [the Tesco execs] should have planned much more effectively and had the appropriate level of security and stewarding to make sure people could go around their stores safely. They have assured me they are going to learn the lessons from this.” Hopkins added that he had told Tesco that scarce police resources should not be used to ‘bail out stores’ when they had not planned effectively.
And GMP chief constable Peter Fahy wrote on Twitter: “Very disappointing that major stores did not learn lessons from last year – our officers have enough to do already.” This prompted some responses from the public suggesting that the police ought to bill retailers, as football clubs are billed for police for matches. Tesco declined to comment.
