ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed the
announcement of a series of measures aimed at supporting
retailers and their colleagues in the battle against violent
crime and repeat offending.
The measures announced today by the Prime Minister include:
- Assaulting a retail worker to be made a standalone criminal
offence
- Serial offenders to be required to be wear electronic tags to
monitor their activities
- A pilot of new community sentencing measures to tackle
prolific shop theft offenders
- An investment of £55m over the next four years in facial
recognition technology to help identify and catch offenders
Figures from the 2024 ACS Crime Report show that retailers have
recorded over 600 incidents of theft an hour over the last year,
along with around 76,000 incidents of violence in local shops.
Retailers are doing what they can to fight back by investing in
crime prevention and detection measures, with £339m spent over
the last year in areas like CCTV, security staff, intruder alarms
and internal communication systems. Taken together, the cost of
crime and the cost of investing in fighting crime results in a
10p ‘crime tax' on every transaction that takes place in every
store across the UK,
Association of Convenience Stores chief executive James Lowman
said: “We strongly welcome this package of measures which sends a
clear message to local shops that retail crime will be taken
seriously by the police and the wider justice system. Our members
face theft, violence and abuse on a daily basis, with over five
million incidents of theft recorded over the last year alone
along with over 76,000 incidents of violence. Nobody should have
to come to work and face what retailers and their colleagues have
faced over the last year.
“The creation of a standalone offence for assaulting a shopworker
is an important step forward, but it must be backed by a
joined-up approach from local forces, Police and Crime
Commissioners and central Government to ensure that when a crime
is reported by a retailer, it is followed up properly and those
responsible are taken out of the cycle of reoffending.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “I am sending a message to those
criminals - whether they are serious organised criminal gangs,
repeat offenders or opportunistic thieves – who think they can
get away with stealing from these local businesses or abusing
shopworkers, enough is enough.
“Our local shops are the lifeblood of our communities, and they
must be free to trade without the threat of crime or abuse.”
Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “There is quite simply
no excuse for threatening behaviour or stealing – which can run
other people's livelihoods into the ground, while being traumatic
for workers. To turn a blind eye to retail crime shakes the
foundations of law and order which protect our society and that
is unacceptable. We are enhancing our plan and doubling down on
the zero-tolerance approach needed to fight back.
“The number of offenders being charged for these crimes is
increasing and while I want to see more people face consequences
for their actions, our plan is designed to help put a stop to
these crimes happening in the first place.”
The publication of the plan ‘Fighting Back against Retail Crime:
More Action' follows the Retail Crime Action Plan and Operation
Pegasus, both of which have made a significant positive
difference in the way that the police deal with crimes like theft
and abuse when they are reported.
ACS' 2024 Crime Report is available in full here: https://cdn.acs.org.uk/public/ACS%20Crime%20Report%202024.pdf
