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New Legislation to Protect Retail Workers Welcomed

We’ve previously reported how violent and abusive incidents against shop workers had skyrocketed by 50% in 2022-23. In our latest blog we look at the recent government announcement that assaulting a retail worker would be made a standalone criminal offence.

In 2020 the British Retail Consortium reported how shop workers are subject to over 400 incidents of violence or abuse every single day. In February 2024 a BRC survey highlighted how this number had massively escalated to 1300 incidents a day. The cost of retail theft had grown to £1.8 billion over 2022/23 and over 60% of the survey respondents rated the police response to be either “poor” or “very poor”.

This massive increase in retail crime has taken place despite significantly increased investment from retailers in crime prevention measures, including the employment of security personnel, installing CCTV systems and more. The 2024 BRC Crime Survey Report  provides clear evidence that the overall cost of retail crime, including crime prevention, has escalated to £3.3 billion, almost double the previous year. Losses due to customer theft increased from £950 million to £1.8 billion while spending on crime prevention measures escalated from £720 million to £1.2 billion.

Retailers have been calling on the government to introduce a standalone offence for assaulting, threatening or abusing retail workers. Rishi Sunak’s government had previously said that changes to existing legislation were not needed to tackle this very clear problem but luckily they have responded with their announcement on the 10th April 2024 that assaults on retail workers would be made a standalone crime.

Horrendous Reports from the Retail Front Line

Back in February 2020 retail workers from across the country were invited to tell the House of Commons about their experiences. A debate was held in which shop workers were encouraged to share experiences of assaults and threatening behaviour, the actions that had been taken, the support they’d received from their employers and any changes they would like to see to improve their safety at work.

Shop workers shared many stories of horrific incidents in which employees were racially abused, punched, stabbed and even held at gunpoint. The general experiences of many shop workers described how the support offered by employers was often inadequate and uncompassionate and there was a widespread sense that abuse toward retail workers was “just part of the job”.

Petition Fails to Persuade the Government

A petition to “Protect Retail Workers from Abuse, Threats and Violence” attracted over 100,000 signatures.

Petitions that gain over 10,000 signatures get a government response and those that attract over 100,000 signatures are considered for debate in parliament. This petition had been raised in response to the massive increase in attacks and threats suffered by retail workers throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. But on the 15th September 2020 the government response was that they were not persuaded that a specific offence was needed as a wide range of offences already exist.

But on Tuesday 5th December 2023 the government debated this important issue.

New Legislation to Protect Shop Workers

On the 10th April 2024 the government announced the launch of their crackdown on retail crime. This crackdown includes the introduction of new legislation that makes assaulting a retail worker a standalone criminal offence.

Serial or abusive shoplifters are to face tougher punishment including prison sentences of up to 6 months along with unlimited fines and bans from the retail establishments where they committed their crimes. Breaching these restrictions is now a criminal offence with a 5 year maximum prison sentence and those responsible for serious cases of assault on shopworkers can potentially face a life sentence.

Serial offenders will be required to wear tags to track their movements and enable the Probation Service to know exactly where they have been. If an offender is guilty of assaulting shop staff 3 times, or is convicted for shoplifting on 3 separate occasions, they should be made to wear a security tracking tag as part of their community order.

British Retail Consortium Welcomes New Legislation

The BRC, along with their many members, have welcomed the government’s announcement of this new legislation. They highlighted how they, along with retailers and other trade associations, have been campaigning for a standalone offence to be introduced to protect retail workers for over five years. They say that this new legislation sends a very clear message that violence and abusive behaviour toward shop workers will not be tolerated and hope the police will use the legislation to improve their response to the growing number of daily incidents.

Retailers Spending Over £1 Billion on Crime Prevention

As noted, retailers spent no less than £1.2 billion over 2022/23 on crime prevention measures to help protect their staff and their businesses. Overall spending on crime prevention increased from £722 million in the previous year, reflecting the growing need for increased security in retail environments.

Crime prevention in shops and stores is challenging. To effectively protect a retail store its important to assess security risks by considering a multitude of factors including the shop location, the type of shop inventory and the store layout.

The location of a store can significantly influence the likelihood of crime. Shops situated in areas with high crime rates will generally require the highest levels of security. And shops selling high value items can be more attractive to criminals.

Store layout is another important consideration. Blind spots, for example, provide criminals with the opportunity to steal items without being seen by staff.

Effective retail security precautions often include:

• Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Tagging
• CCTV Systems
• Convex Retail Security Mirrors

EAS Tagging is now widely used to protect an ever increasing range of products from high value electronic devices to food items. A more cost-effective solution is the use of visual deterrent tags that resemble EAS tags but don’t interact with an electronic alarm system. Their presence on products simply acts as a visual theft deterrent.

CCTV systems are now widely used, even in smaller retail stores. Systems not only protect shop inventory they also provide security for retail workers. Monitoring customer activity via CCTV also informs the optimisation of shop layout and the identification of peak periods during which a shop might become overcrowded.

Convex retails security mirrors are another valuable addition to any shop security arsenal. These low cost mirrors, carefully located on walls and ceilings, help retail workers keep an eye on what shop visitors are up to, often from their till position.

If you have any questions about shop security, or if you have any special requirements, remember we are here to help. Give us a call on 01273 475500 and we’ll provide you with free, expert advice.

This message was added on Thursday 25th April 2024