A number of major supermarkets have called for action after a huge rise in shopworker abuse and shoplifting.
Sainsbury’s, Boots, Marks & Spencer and Aldi are among companies to have signed a letter calling for assaults on staff to be better recorded. More than 50 businesses have signed the letter to the Home Office, alongside several MPs.
According to figures from the Co-op, shoplifting incidents have risen by 43% in the last year, up to around 300,000. The company said police failed to attend almost four out of five cases, often involving abuse, violence and anti-social behaviour.
Shopworkers’ union Usdaw also published figures today (13 November), showing that 65% of its members have experienced verbal abuse, 42% have been threatened by a customer, and 5% have been assaulted.
Six out of 10 of these incidents were linked to shoplifting, and two-thirds to addiction, the union said.
Some staff believe that measures introduced during lockdown to protect customers, such as one-way systems and social distancing, triggered frustration among some shoppers.
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The cost-of-living crisis has also increased incidences of theft, although the Co-op said threats were increasingly coming from “prolific offenders” rather than opportunists.
Paul Gerrard, director of public affairs at the Co-op, told the BBC’s Today programme that workers were “seeing individuals and organised gangs coming in to take out the entire meat section, the entire spirit section, the entire household cleaning section, and those kinds of individuals will stop at nothing”.
Staff at Tesco have been given body cameras so incidents can be recorded, and Lidl announced last week that certain staff across 960 stores would also be given cameras.
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw’s general secretary, said the rise in retail crime was “shocking”.
“Our survey demonstrates that shoplifting is not a victimless crime,” he said. “Theft from shops has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shopworkers.
“Having to deal with repeated and persistent shoplifters can cause issues beyond the theft itself like anxiety, fear and in some cases physical harm to retail workers.
“Our members are reporting that they are often faced with hardened career criminals in their stores and much of the abuse they suffer is from those who are stealing to sell goods on, often to fund an addiction.”
Lillis said the government was not “delivering the change we need” on retail crime.
He added: “Issuing fixed penalty notices for shop thefts under £200 has led to fewer crimes being investigated and prosecuted. Fewer uniformed officers patrolling shopping areas gives criminals more confidence.
“Conservative MPs repeatedly voted down a protection of workers law, which already exists in Scotland. Last month’s downgrading of punishment for what they refer to as ‘low-level’ crimes only adds to the perception that theft from shops is not being taken seriously.”
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A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “It is completely unacceptable to threaten or assault shop workers. We have recently put aggravated sentences for assaults on shop workers into law, showing that these crimes will not be tolerated.”
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