A new report by the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) has highlighted the substantial impact of crime on store owners and staff across Scotland, with 100 per cent of respondents reporting some level of theft, abuse or violence last year.
As per the 2022 Crime Report by the SGF, Shoplifting offences reached staggering levels in 2021, with almost all operators experiencing theft on a daily basis.
The biggest trigger for aggression and abuse continues to be the enforcement of age restrictions and challenging customers for proof of age, while 95 per cent of retailers also reported experiencing some form of hate crime, monthly.
SGF figures, produced in the report, show that the annual cost of store crime for survey participants totalled £2.3 million.
Figures collated by Police Scotland reveal the level of recorded retail crime for the year since launch of the Protection of Workers Act 2021, with the total number of reported crimes reaching 3,099, to date. Detection rate, which indicates identifying an accused person, remain high at 61.3 per cent, while threatening abuse and assault make up the majority of reported cases, at 1,750 and 1,333 respectively.
“Retailers and staff provide an essential community service, and it is completely unacceptable that they are forced to turn up to work and face threating abuse or violence,” Pete Cheema, SGF chief executive, said.
“We have taken great strides with the introduction of the Protection of Workers Act, which came in to force last August. Our report shows, however, that 100 per cent of retailers are regularly affected by crime, seriously impacting the wellbeing of both workers and their families. Every incident is one too many.
“The evidence is clear that in-store crime remains shockingly high and until there is significant improvement to the figures we are seeing, the SGF will be calling for a zero-tolerance approach.”
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