Moving film captures toll of abuse on shopkeepers

The Association of Police & Crime Commissioners (APCC) has launched a Christmas campaign highlighting the mental and physical toll on nation’s shopkeepers caused by abuse and crime.

At the centre of the campaign is an emotive film which features families of three shopkeepers who spoke about the abuse their loved ones have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The film signs off urging the public to show some kindness to nation’s shopkeepers this Christmas.

Katy Bourne, the national business crime lead at APCC, who devised the campaign, said the rise in assaults and abuse against shopkeepers is getting out of hand.

“I’m seriously concerned about the impact a Covid Christmas may have on our local stores. We have all had an incredibly challenging year but we cannot stand by and watch those who have helped keep our country going, be abused in this way,” she said.

With tiered restrictions in place in major parts of the country, she expressed concern that retailers could bear the brunt of some shoppers’ frustrations about wearing masks and distancing measures, leading to more abuse and assaults.

Voicing his support to the campaign, Crime and Policing Minister Kit Malthouse said: “I cannot understand why anyone would be so idiotic or cruel as to assault a shop worker, so I wholeheartedly support the campaign for kindness towards them, especially over the Christmas period.”

One of the shopkeepers featured in the film, Mrs Paleja has been the owner of a small newsagents in Hastings for the last 32 years with her husband who was recently diagnosed with dementia. She is now a full-time carer whilst also managing the running of her much-loved family business.

In the film, her daughter Mita describes her mother as a superwoman and tells of the abuse she has faced during the pandemic: “My mum is just trying to do her job. She has been threatened with a knife, verbally abused and pushed. She fractured her wrist as a result of that. I’m worried about her safety. Please consider to be kind this Christmas, there is a family behind every business.”

Steve and Sammie, store managers respectively at the Southern Co-op and the Co-op, are the other two taking part in the campaign.

Steve, who has worked in retail for over 20 years, said: “I might be a store manager, but I am also a father and, it doesn’t matter how hard you try, you always end up taking some of it home with you.

“I still try to be upbeat but it’s hard when you have someone shouting in your face or throwing beer at you. Life is incredibly difficult for a lot of people right now and we understand that but please don’t make it harder for us.”

The campaign has the financial backing of both the Co-op and the Southern Co-op. On social media, it is being promoted using #KeepingChristmasKind and #ShopworkerSuperhero.