Retail workers were subjected to a huge rise in violence and
abuse over the pandemic, with incidents almost tripling
from 455 per day in 2019/20 to 1,301 in 2020/21, according
to the latest crime survey published
by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
This spike was concentrated in a significantly reduced number of
stores and retail operations as much of the industry was closed
throughout the year because of Covid-19 restrictions.
The survey highlights the unacceptable scale of violence and
abuse faced by retail workers during the pandemic. Of the 1,301
incidents every single day, 125 were violent. This spike in
incidents occurred while retail workers were on the frontline of
the pandemic, ensuring people were able to buy food and other
essentials throughout the biggest public health crisis of our
time.
While incidents of violence and abuse soared, only 4% of
incidents resulted in a prosecution, findings which may explain
why three-in-five respondents described the police response to
incidents as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.
Earlier this year, after extensive lobbying by the BRC and its
members, the UK Government introduced an amendment to the Police,
Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which created a statutory
aggravating factor to assaults committed against those “providing
a public service or performing a public duty”. Similarly,
Scotland introduced a specific offence for violence and abuse
against retail workers last year.
The BRC will now work with Police and Crime Commissioners across
England and Wales to raise awareness of the new aggravated
offence and to advocate for retail crime having a higher priority
in local policing strategies. Retailers also need to play their
part by ensuring that more of these incidents are reported, so
that the police have a true picture of the violence and abuse
faced by retail workers.
Alongside the huge emotional and physical impact on people,
retail crime also bears a huge financial cost. The total cost of
retail crime stood at £1.5 billion, with £663 million lost to
customer theft and £715 million spent on crime prevention. This
spending, while critical to reduce losses and protect colleagues,
nonetheless contributes to higher prices for customers by pushing
up retailers’ operating costs.
Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the British
Retail Consortium, said:
“Despite retailers investing significantly in crime prevention,
incidents of violence and abuse against colleagues are climbing.
These figures make particularly grim reading as they came at the
height of the pandemic when the ‘hidden heroes’ of retail were
working tirelessly to look after customers, keep shelves stocked,
and ensure orders were fulfilled. It is shocking that this huge
rise in incidents took place in a smaller pool of stores and
other locations as much of the industry was in lockdown. As our
colleagues implemented Covid safety measures to keep the public
safe, too many were met with hostility, abuse, threats, and
assault.
“Violence must never be a part of the job. Those retail
colleagues affected are our parents, our partners, and our
children, and they have suffered needlessly, just for doing their
job. They can bear the emotional scars and carry the trauma for
the rest of their lives. It is vital that the amendment to the
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill helps to deter
perpetrators, but this will require the police to take action and
improve their response to incidents.”
