Speaking from the annual Labour Conference in Liverpool, Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says:

“Jeremy correctly identified that violent crime is rising while police numbers have fallen to their lowest for 30 years. Our members are on the frontline of crime and we have seen a 25% increase in attacks, with over 265 shopworkers assaulted every day in the course of their duties.

“Police resources are so stretched we are now have some chief constables reporting that their officers can no longer attend theft from shops incidents and they are asking shopworkers to detain shoplifters.

“This is an entirely unacceptable situation, so we very much welcome Labour’s commitment to put another 10,000 police officers back on the streets. They have a vital role to play in tackling violent crime and keeping people safe. He also pledged to invest in communities, as crime thrives amid economic failure.

“We need a Labour Government to tackle the rising tide of violent crime, along with ensuring there will no more left-behind areas and forgotten communities.”

Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with around 430,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 28% over the decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion