Shoplifters must face force of law, says retail chief as shop workers suffer 1,600 incidents of violence and abuse a day

Retailers have urged the police and courts to ensure shoplifters and those who abuse staff feel the full force of tougher laws.

Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said the ‘job is far from done’ when it comes to tackling a crime epidemic on the High Street.

Dickinson said officials must ensure that new laws, which came into force last week, result in ‘visible policing and consistent enforcement’.

She said crime has ‘become an all too common part of the daily lives’ of those working in stores and ‘fear has become part of the job’.

Shop workers suffer 1,600 incidents of violence and abuse a day – including 118 incidents of physical violence, BRC figures show.

The industry believes shoplifting levels are much higher than records show due to police responses, or some retailers not even contacting the police as they think little will be done.

Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said the ‘job is far from done’ when it comes to tackling a crime epidemic on the High Street

Official figures say annual shoplifting offences passed 500,000 for the first time last year in England and Wales.

Dickinson described the legislation as ‘a significant step forward’. The new police and crime bill has removed a £200 threshold for ‘low level’ theft, a move hoped to encourage police to take incidents of

shoplifting more seriously. And the law has made assaulting a shop worker a standalone offence, which will mean tougher sentences.

Dickinson told the Daily Mail: ‘No one should go to work fearing for their safety, yet for many retail colleagues, that fear has become a part of the job.’

The new rules send ‘a clear message that abuse and violence will no longer be tolerated as part of the job’, she wrote.

But she added: ‘The test of this Act will [be] in whether our colleagues feel safer in the months ahead.

‘Without visible policing and consistent enforcement, the reality on the shop floor will not change – regardless of what the law says.’

By Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium 

After years of industry pressure, the Crime and Policing Act has become law. For retailers, unions and industry bodies who have for years pushed for change, this is a huge moment. For retail workers who have for so long lived with the consequences of inadequate legislation, it is long overdue.

The BRC, alongside others such as Usdaw, has long argued that legislation has not kept pace with the reality across the UK, where retail crime has become an all too common part of the daily lives of our colleagues.

Last year, there were 1,600 incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers every single day. While that is down on the previous year, it remains the second highest figure on record. Within that total, 118 incidents a day involved physical violence, and 36 involved a weapon. No one should go to work fearing for their safety, yet for many retail colleagues, that fear has become a part of the job.

This law is a significant step forward. It introduces a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker and removes the £200 threshold that had effectively given the green light to so-called low-level theft. Together, these changes recognise retail crime for what it is.

Crucially, it sends a clear message that abuse and violence will no longer be tolerated as part of the job. By recognising these offences properly in law, it should support more consistent enforcement and act as a deterrent.

But the job is far from done.

Our industry has spent an estimated £5billion over the past five years on security - CCTV, more security personnel, body-worn cameras, anti-theft devices, reconfiguring stores, and training - not as a luxury, but as a necessity. That investment has come at a cost, limiting what businesses can spend elsewhere, from stores to staff, to prices for customers.

For too long, too many retail workers have been subject to abusive or violent incidents. The test of this Act will not be in its passage through Parliament, but in whether our colleagues feel safer in the months ahead. Without visible policing and consistent enforcement, the reality on the shop floor will not change - regardless of what the law says.

There are signs of progress. Our latest survey shows 13 per cent of retailers now rate the police response as good or excellent, up from 9 per cent the year before. Closer collaboration between retailers, police and government is beginning to make a difference, with initiatives such as the Retail Crime Action Plan, Project Pegasus and the Retail Crime Forum improving intelligence sharing and targeting repeat offenders.

But we are still some way from where we need to be. Without consistent, well-resourced police enforcement on the ground and more prosecutions, the full impact of this legislation will not be felt.

This week’s Act is a milestone, and it must be implemented as soon as possible. It reflects growing recognition that retail crime is not a victimless issue, but one that affects workers, businesses and customers alike.

But it must also be a starting point. For the millions of people who keep our shops running and our communities supplied, safety at work should be a basic expectation - backed by law and enforced in practice. Anything less will fall short.

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