Usdaw MP calls on the Government to go further on tackling the retail crime that blights our shops

Former shop worker and member of the Usdaw Parliamentary Group, Daniel Francis MP (Labour, Bexleyheath and Crayford) said: “I welcome measures in the Crime and Policing Act, but there is still much more we need to do to support, and I will continue to press. My policing teams have done some great work on shoplifting. They do have more police numbers, but there’s more the Government can do to support our high streets and our businesses.”

Responding to the debate, Blair McDougall - Small Business Minister said: “There is nothing, I think, has made people more angry in recent years than either experiencing or seeing on social media images of retail crime and shop workers being treated appallingly. There are though encouraging signs that our efforts to tackle retail crime are beginning to bite. We’ve seen shop theft starting to fall, following really sharp increases under the previous Government, and at the heart of that effort is revitalising neighbourhood policing with 13,000 additional personnel.”

Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “There is no doubt that retail crime is having a severe impact on the viability of retail businesses. The British Retail Consortium reported that it remains a significant challenge, with 5.5 million detected incidents last year, costing retailers nearly £400 million. They also reported that retailers had spent more than £5 billion in the last five years on improved security measures, including CCTV and security staff. These are costs that are inevitably passed on to consumers already struggling with the cost of living.

“No-one should feel afraid to go to work, but our evidence shows that nearly four in five of our members working in retail are being abused, threatened and assaulted for simply doing their job and serving the community. They provide an essential service and deserve our respect and the protection of the law. Usdaw’s last survey found that theft from shops 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.

“So, we welcome the Crime and Policing Act, which includes a much-needed protection of shop workers’ law; ending the indefensible £200 threshold for shop theft prosecutions and Respect Orders for offenders. After many years of campaigning alongside retail employers, it now feels like we have a Government that listens and takes action to give retail workers the respect they deserve. Once the legislation is enacted, we need to ensure that it is enforced by working with the Government, councils, police and retailers to raise awareness, and improve reporting and the response to retail crime.”