The number of violent and abusive incidents in UK retail has surged 50% YOY, equating to 170 incidents a day in Scotland, with nearly 4,000 violent attacks on Scottish shopworkers in the year, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC). In addition, theft cost Scottish retailers £170m last year, claimed SRC, which based its calculations on data from the latest British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Annual Crime Survey.
Satisfaction with the police remains grievously low, with 61% of respondents describing the police response to incidents as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. Of the remainder, 29% rated the response as ‘fair’, a further 6% said good, and 3% described it as ‘excellent’, the first time in five years that any retailers have rated it as such.
Meanwhile, retail theft cost Scottish retailers £170m as UK incidents reached an all-time high of 20 million (over 55,000 per day). Many more incidents were linked to organised crime, with gangs systematically targeting stores across the country, stealing tens of thousands of pounds worth of goods and rotating around multiple stores.
Unsurprisingly, the amount spent on crime prevention is also at a record high, with UK retailers investing £1.8bn on measures such as CCTV, more security personnel, anti-theft devices and body worn cameras, up from £1.2bn the previous year. This takes the total cost of crime to an eye-watering £4.2bn, up from £3.3bn. And adds to the wider cost pressures retailers already face, further limiting investment and pushing up prices for customers everywhere.
The Scottish Government recently announced an extra £3m in funding for Police Scotland to tackle retail crime.
Meanwhile, the UK Labour Government has pledged to address the rise in retail crime through stronger measures to tackle shoplifting and anti-social behavior, including removing the £200 threshold of ‘low level’ theft. It also announced in the King’s Speech that it would introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker as is already the case in Scotland.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said:
“Retail crime is spiralling out of control. People in retail have been spat on, racially abused, and threatened with machetes. Every day this continues, criminals are getting bolder and more aggressive. We owe it to the three million hardworking people working in retail to bring the epidemic of crime to heel. No one should go to work in fear.
“With little faith in police attendance, it is no wonder criminals feel they have licence to steal, threaten, assault and abuse. Retailers are spending more than ever before, but they cannot prevent crime alone. We need the police to respond to and handle every reported incident appropriately. We look forward to seeing crucial legislation to protect retail workers being put in place later this year. Only if the industry, Government and police work together, can we finally see this awful trend reverse.”
Paddy Lillis, General Secretary of Usdaw, said:
“The scale of the epidemic of retail crime is laid bare in this shocking BRC report. Crime has a very direct impact on the viability of stores, as retailers go to increasing lengths and expense to make them secure and safe. Communities are blighted by anti-social behaviour and store closures. Staff are working in fear of the next incident of abuse, threats or violence. We have campaigned along with the BRC for substantial legislative measures to combat this growing problem and we are pleased that the Government will be introducing the Crime and Policing Bill, which will meet our aims. That is only part of the fightback against the criminals and we will continue to work closely with retailers to deliver respect for shop workers.”
Chris Brook-Carter, Chief Executive of retail industry charity the Retail Trust, said:
“Almost half of the retail workers we’ve surveyed told us they currently fear for their safety and nearly two thirds are stressed and anxious going to work due to this unacceptable level of retail crime. People are contacting our helpline in their thousands to report horrifying incidents of abuse and violence and many say that they are now at breaking point.
“Retailers are taking the threat to their staff’s physical safety extremely seriously and more and more of them are working with the Retail Trust to reduce the terrible toll it is having on their people’s mental wellbeing. But stronger measures are clearly needed to prevent this criminal behaviour from happening in the first place.”
Katie Secretan, Retail & Sales Director at Nisa, said:
“The shocking shoplifting figures released today aren’t just numbers, they reflect the tough reality independent shop owners are facing across the country. And this is something we hear day after day from our Nisa retailers. Unlike larger multiples, smaller businesses don’t have the security resources to rely on so they’re not only suffering from financial losses, they’re facing daily threats to the safety of themselves and their staff. Without urgent action from law enforcement and policymakers, we risk losing some of these local businesses and entrepreneurs who form the backbone of our communities.”
