Retail crime continues to rise, costing industry £2.5bn, BRC demands action

The British Retail Consortium ( BRC) has revealed a staggering 7% increase in violence and abuse against shop workers, now occurring at 455 a day, costing retailers £2.5 billion, including £935 million in theft alone. Only 6% of incidents of violence and abuse result in prosecutions.

According to the BRC’s 2021 Retail Crime Survey , the total cost of crime has soared over the past three years from £700 million in 2016-17 to £ 1.3 billion in 2019/20. The most significant component of this is customer theft, which cost companies £935 million. This increase comes despite retailers continuing to spend a record £1.2 billion on crime prevention.

In September 2020, the BRC launched the Shop Worker Protection Pledge , calling on politicians to stand with retail workers and support legislation to provide better protection. To date, more than 55 MPs from all major parties have signed the pledge. This comes after the Prime Minister told Parliament in 2020 that " we should not tolerate violent crime against shop workers".

The BRC is now calling for assault, threats or abuse of retail workers to become an offence. The Scottish Parliament has taken decisive action to better protect retail workers by passing Daniel Johnson MSP’s Shop Workers Protection Bill. This means retail staff will be better protected in Dumfries than thirty miles south in Carlisle.

Similar legislation must be introduced in other parts of the UK, the BRC urged the Bill committee, which is currently reviewing the Police, Crime , Sentencing and Courts Bill, to support the changes proposed by the shadow policing secretary, Sarah Jones MP.

A new statutory offence will increase penalties for those who engage in violent or abusive behaviour towards shop workers, deterring future perpetrators and ensuring shop workers are safer at work. It comes as police forces across the UK are called on to prioritise retail crime and improve their response to incidents.

Helen Dickinson OBE , chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Are retail workers in England and Wales getting the protection they deserve? Despite clear evidence of escalating violence and abuse against retail workers, the government has time and again chosen not to act.

"Scotland has now sent a clear message that the rise in violence and abuse must end and the rest of the UK must follow their lead. "

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Retailers