Mr Sarwar MSP says: “For too long, yobs have been getting away with committing crime in our communities while the SNP turns away. Shoplifting is a crime that makes the whole community feel unsafe and hikes financial pressure on local businesses that are already struggling to get by.
“The SNP have allowed police numbers to be cut to the bone and, as a result, too many people just no longer feel safe in their own local areas. The ineffective fines that are dished out do next to nothing to deter the criminals. Enough is enough.
“As First Minister, I will end the soft-touch approach of the SNP and stand up for our businesses. I will support the police in their work to clamp down on shoplifting and make sure those guilty of the crime are actually punished.”
Tony Doonan – Usdaw regional secretary for Scotland says: “Scottish retail workers suffer far too many incidents of violence, abuse and threats, many of which are linked to theft from shops. In Scotland, shoplifting has doubled since the pandemic and the ‘clear-up’ rate for shoplifting has fallen every year over the past 10 years.
“So much more needs to be done and we welcome Anas Sarwar’s commitment to tackle this growing issue. No-one should feel afraid to go to work, but far too many retail workers are. Scotland’s protection of retail workers law has made a difference, having been used for nearly 8,000 incidents, but there needs to be more co-ordination between retailers, the Scottish Government and Police Scotland to help ensure that legislation is fully utilised.”
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
Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2021/6
Police recorded retail crime figures in Scotland, released in June, show that:
- Shoplifting increased from 20,557 incidents during the pandemic to 44,730 last year (2024/5), which is a 118% increase and includes a 16% rise on the previous year (2023/4).
- The ‘clear-up’ rate for shoplifting has fallen every year over the past 10 years from 74.6% in 2014/5 to 49% in 2024/5, an overall decrease of over one-third.
- Since the Protection of Workers Act came into effect, there have been 7,861 police recorded incidents of common assault of a retail worker.
www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2024-25
Usdaw’s survey of 1,011 Scottish retail staff found that in the last twelve months (national average):
- 70% have experienced verbal abuse (77%).
- 45% were threatened by a customer (53%).
- 8% were assaulted (10%).
Full report: www.usdaw.org.uk/FFFReport2024
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