The Crime and Policing Bill which will introduce a specific offence relating to attacks on retail workers and end the rule that any shoplifting of goods worth less than £200 is classed as low value, has had its second reading in the House Commons and is now in its committee stage.
In the debate in Parliament Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the £200 rule led to police forces downgrading the crime of shoplifting. She said: “That sent the signal, which has shaped the police response ever since, that such crime should not be taken seriously. It became a Tory shoplifters’ charter—a signal to thieves and gangs across the country that they could operate with impunity, wandering from shop to shop and stealing away because nothing would be done.”
The British Retail Consortium (BRC), the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and the retail workers union Usdaw welcomed the measures in the Crime and Policing Bill. The BRC and Usdaw, however, called on the government to ensure that delivery drivers are covered by the offence relating to retail workers attacks.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the BRC, said: “The proposed measures in the Bill are vital steps in stamping out violence against retail workers, and getting a handle on shoplifting. A standalone offence will improve the visibility of the issue so that police can allocate appropriate resources to the challenge, and to act as a deterrent to would-be offenders.
““The Bill needs to protect all retail staff working in customer facing roles, such as delivery drivers. Violence and abuse is not restricted to those working in stores, delivery drivers are equally subjected to abuse, physical violence, and threats with weapons.”
Recent studies into retail crime by the BRC and ACS show that convenience stores and larger retailers are suffering and reaching record levels. The ACS 2025 Crime Report, published this month which is based on an online survey conducted between November 2024 and January 2025 estimated that there were 6.2million incidents of shop theft; 59,000 estimated incidents of violence, and 1.2million incidents of verbal abuse in the convenience sector over the last year. This crime cost an estimated £316m, with over £265m being spent on crime prevention and detection measures by convenience store retailers.
The latest figures from this year’s BRC Annual Crime Survey published in January revealed shoplifting had reached an all-time high with over 20 million incidents of theft (over 55,000 per day) costing retailers £2.2 billion in 2023/24 (up from £1.8 billion the previous year). The BRC said these incidents were often linked to organised crime, with gangs targeting shops and then stealing tens of thousands of pounds worth of goods and rotating around multiple stores. The ACS survey found that 59% of retailers believe that incidents involving organised crime have increased over the last year.
The BRC survey revealed that incidents of violence and abuse in 2023/24 rose to over 2,000 per day, up from 1,300 the year before. This is more than three times what it was in 2020, when there were just 455 incidents a day. Incidents included racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with weapons. There were 70 incidents per day which involved a weapon, more than double the previous year.
Retailers invested £1.8 billion on measures such as CCTV, more security personnel, anti-theft devices and body worn cameras, up from £1.2 billion the previous year the BRC found. This took the total cost of crime to £4.2 billion, up from £3.3 billion previously. Retailers have been unhappy about the rise in crime in recent years and have been dissatisfied with the response to crime by the police. This has continued in the latest BRC report with 61% of respondents describing the police response to incidents as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. Of the remaining, 29% rated the response as ‘fair’, a further 6% said good. However, 3% described the police response as ‘excellent’, the first time in five years that any retailers have rated it as such.
Usdaw has also published figures from its annual survey of over 4,000 retail staff which showed that 17% of retail workers suffered a violent attack last year, compared to 8% in 2022. Seven in 10 respondents said that incidents of violence, threats and abuse they had experienced were triggered by theft or armed robbery.
The sector has repeatedly called for more robust action by government. The Labour Government, that came into power last July, promised to tackle these issues, resulting in the Crime and Policing Bill. More funding has already been allocated to help recruit extra police officers to patrol high streets.
Security Group can support retail businesses in Bristol and elsewhere in south west England with crime prevention and security measures that can help make staff feel safer and protect shop goods. This includes body worn and other surveillance cameras, intruder alarms and security fog generators. To find out more please get in touch.
