The Government today announced that fewer "low-level offenders" will be sent to prison, under new reforms. They will legislate for a presumption that custodial sentences of less than 12 months in prison will be suspended and offenders will be punished in the community instead.
 
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “There is an epidemic of shoplifting sweeping through retail and all too often that triggers violence, threats and abuse against shopworkers. While we accept that jailtime isn’t always the best way to rehabilitate criminals, there does need to be justice for victims and community punishment must be effective in preventing reoffending.
 
“Much of our concerns around growing retail crime is about underfunding of the police and getting the offenders to court in the first place. There are too few officers patrolling the streets and our members tell me they very rarely see the police in their stores. The policy of issuing fixed penalty notices for thefts under £200 leads to too few of these crimes being investigated and prosecuted.
 
“There has been a 24% increase in police recorded shoplifting and much of that increase is driven by criminal gangs with links to the illegal drugs trade. Our members would be distressed if violent shoplifters are not appropriately punished for the terror they reign in stores. We are concerned that today’s announcement could add to the impression that shoplifting has effectively been decriminalised.
 
“Usdaw and retail employers have jointly called for the Scottish protection of workers law to be extended to the rest of the UK. A similar law was proposed in the House of Commons and rejected by the Government. It is time for them to reverse their opposition, to make it clear that assaulting a shopworker is absolutely unacceptable.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 350,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
 
BRC letter to the Home Secretary: https://brc.org.uk/media/683469/letter-to-the-homesecretary- retail-crime-september-2023.pdf
 
Final results of the Usdaw 2022 survey, based on 7,752 responses, show that (last year’s results in brackets): 74.26% (89%) were verbally abused, 49.25% (63%) were threatened. 7.92% (12%) had been assaulted. 40.88% said violence, threats and abuse caused them anxiety at work and 29.97% are now considering changing job. Top triggers for abuse: 34% shoplifting and armed robbery, along with 16% age-restricted sales. The full report can be found at: www.usdaw.org.uk/FFFReport2022
 
Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2021/6
 
Assaults on Retail Workers (Offences) Bill: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2725
 
Usdaw’s Freedom from Fear Campaign seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against workers by engaging the public, shopworkers and the Government. www.usdaw.org.uk/Campaigns/Freedom-From-Fear
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion