Usdaw’s latest annual survey of nearly 9,500 retail staff showed that over three-quarters had suffered verbal abuse and far too many had been threatened or assaulted. Two-thirds of respondents said that incidents of violence, threats and abuse they had experienced were triggered by shop theft or armed robbery. The union will be releasing new interim statistics from its annual survey during Respect for Shopworkers Week, 10-16 November.
Joanne Thomas, Usdaw general secretary says: “The scale of the epidemic of retail crime is laid bare in these police recorded crime statistics. While the rate of increase has slowed since it peaked at 37% at the end of 2023, the fact is retail crime continues to rise. Usdaw’s last survey found that this is in no way a victimless crime, with two-thirds of attacks on retail staff being triggered by theft or armed robbery. Having to deal with repeated and persistent offences can cause issues beyond the theft itself, like anxiety, fear and physical harm to retail workers.
“We have campaigned along with many retail employers for substantial legislative measures to combat this growing problem and we are pleased that the Government has introduced the Crime and Policing Bill. It has passed all stages in the House of Commons and is now waiting for consideration in committee in the House of Lords.
“We now look forward to a much-needed protection of retail workers’ law; ending the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters, which has effectively become an open invitation to retail criminals, and funding for more uniformed officer patrols in shopping areas, along with Respect Orders for offenders. It is our hope that these new measures will help give retail workers the respect they deserve.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 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
Crime in England and Wales statistics show that in the year to March 2021 (during the pandemic), there were 228,250 police recorded incidents of shoplifting. Today’s statistics show a rise of 132% since then to 529,994 by June this year. In the year to June 2024, there were 469,788 recorded shoplifting offences, indicating there has been a 13% increase over the last twelve months.
Usdaw’s annual survey of 9,481 retail staff found that in the last twelve months:
· 77% experienced verbal abuse.
· 53% were threatened by a customer.
· 10% were assaulted.
Full report: www.usdaw.org.uk/FFFReport2024
Crime and Policing Bill: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3938
Usdaw’s ‘Freedom from Fear’ campaign seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against workers by engaging the public, shop workers and the Government. www.usdaw.org.uk/Campaigns/Freedom-From-Fear
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion