30 September 2023 , 23:01
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Dozens of Britain’s biggest retailers have written to Suella Braverman demanding “urgent action” on soaring crime rates.
Some 88 shopping giants, including ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, the Co-op, Marks and Spencer, New Look, JD Sports and H&M, calling for a crackdown on shoplifting and violence against staff. It comes after a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), who arranged the letter, found violence and abuse towards retail staff had almost doubled on pre-pandemic levels - to 867 incidents a day in 2021-22.
“It is vital that action is taken before the scourge of retail crime gets any worse,” said Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the BRC. We are seeing organised gangs threatening staff with weapons and emptying stores. We are seeing violence against colleagues who are doing their job and asking for age-verification.
“We are seeing a torrent of abuse aimed at hardworking shop staff. It’s simply unacceptable – no one should have to go to work fearing for their safety.” The survey put the scale of theft from retail at £953 million - despite more than £700m in crime prevention spending by retailers.
And a second survey found levels of shoplifting in major cities had risen by an average of 27%. In the letter, the shops and stores called for the Home Secretary to create a standalone offence of assaulting or abusing a retail worker - with tougher sentences for offenders.
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And they demanded Police across the UK focus more on retail crime. Ms Dickinson added: “It’s time the Government put their words into action. We need to see a standalone offence for assaulting or abusing a retail worker – as exists in Scotland. We need Government to stand with the millions of retail workers who kept us safe and fed during the pandemic – and support them, as those workers supported us.”