Two-thirds of attacks on retail staff are triggered by theft or armed robbery, according to Usdaw's latest survey. Usdaw is calling on the Government to bring into force the protection of shop workers law passed earlier this year in the Crime and Policing Act. The union welcomes the introduction of new Respect Orders next week, to help tackle repeat offenders.
Joanne Thomas, Usdaw general secretary says: “Retail crime remains at epidemic levels with over half a million shop theft incidents recorded. This is not a victimless crime. Dealing with repeated and persistent offences can cause issues beyond the theft itself, like anxiety, fear and physical harm to retail workers on the frontline.
“We have campaigned, along with many retail employers, for substantial legislative measures to combat this growing problem and we are pleased that the Government passed the Crime and Policing Act in April. The Act delivers a much-needed protection of retail workers law, which still needs to be brought into force, and we urge Ministers to do that as soon as possible. New Respect Orders for offenders, starting next week, are welcome and we hope they will be successful in changing the criminal behaviour that is blighting our shops and communities.
“The Government is rebuilding neighbourhood policing. Every community has named local officers and more than 3,800 additional neighbourhood policing personnel have been delivered. They are targeting the people causing the most harm: prolific offenders, repeat offenders and organised criminal networks. It is welcome news that shop theft figures have fallen for the third consecutive quarter. It is our hope that these new measures will help turn the tide on shop theft and give retail staff the safe working environment 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 with around 370,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also represents many workers in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
Crime in England and Wales statistics: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/policeforceareadatatables
Usdaw’s survey of 8,980 UK retail staff found that in 2025:
78% were verbally abused
54% were threatened
11% were assaulted
Full report: www.usdaw.org.uk/FFFReport2025
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
Crime and Policing Act 2026: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/20/contents
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion