Only 1 in 5 shop workers satisfied with police response on retail crimes, report finds

The Home Affairs Committee called for a  much stronger police response and a new standalone offence to tackle violence and abuse against shop workers.

The report released by the committee on Tuesday (29 June) has found that the policing response to retail crime is failing to match the rising tide of violence and abuse. On far too many occasions retail workers are being left alone to manage dangerous situations that put both their physical and mental well-being at risk.

According to the committee’s survey, only one in five shop workers who reported incidents were satisfied with the response from the police.

“The police fail to attend or follow-up serious incidents, it undermines trust and confidence in them, discourages reporting, and weakens the deterrent for repeat offenders,” the report found.

There has been a significant increase in the level of violence and abuse against the shop workers in the Covid pandemic crisis. The Usdaw’s interim crime survey, published in November 2020, showed that 76 percent of shop workers said that abuse has been “worse than normal” during the pandemic.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, retail workers kept our communities going and they deserve our thanks and gratitude. It is even more shameful, then, that abuse and assaults against shop workers went up during the pandemic, and it is completely unacceptable that these attacks have become so commonplace in our society.”

“Yet too often the police have not taken these crimes seriously enough and workers have been left to deal with the traumatic consequences alone. Those who abuse and assault shop workers must not be allowed to reoffend with impunity,” Yvette Cooper MP, chair of the Home Affairs Committee, said.

“Policing leaders must step up and make this a priority for local forces – with more neighbourhood police, clear plans to identify repeat offenders, respond to incidents swiftly and better record and understand patterns of local crimes.”

The report also noted that other categories of workers, such as emergency workers and customs officers, have been afforded extra protection by the law in recognition of the service they provide to the public and the responsibility placed upon them by the Parliament.

Therefore, the committee believes that offences against retail workers must be treated with the same seriousness, with extra protection from the law.

It also advocated for an equivalent standalone offence of assault on a shop workers and called on the government to consult on the scope of the offence. It believes this would send an unambiguous message that retail workers on our high streets and in our communities must never be unsafe at work.

Trade bodies have welcomed the recommendations of the report.

“The report merely reiterates what we have been telling the government repeatedly for years,” NFRN national president Stuart Reddish said.

Reddish has written to all police and crime commissioners in England and Wales, urging them to include tackling retail crime as a major part of their five-year plans and to invite them to meet with NFRN members to hear for themselves the true scale of the problem.

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “This is a landmark report that should form the blueprint for tackling retail crime and violence against retailers and shop workers. The report has identified the right measures to improve police response and the courts treatment of repeat offenders, particularly those with addiction problems that need effective rehabilitation.

“Existing powers, structures, and legislation are not working. We need meaningful change, and the government should adopt all the committee’s recommendations.”

ACS is currently coordinating with the Home Office, Crimestoppers and over 100 leading retailers in the UK on the ShopKind campaign, urging consumers to be respectful of others whilst in stores.