BRC calls on PCC candidates to ‘get tough’ on retail crime

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called on Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) candidates to commit to three pledges that would support the fight against “spiralling” retail crime ahead of local elections on 2 May.

As part of its #GetToughOnRetailCrime campaign, the three pledges are as follows:

• Make retail crime a priority in Police and Crime Plans
• Work with other policing stakeholders to ensure the standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker is used (once introduced) and data on its use is tracked
• Allocate necessary resources for tackling retail crime in their region

On 10 April, the government announced a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker. According to the BRC, this new legislation should help improve the police response as police will now have the necessary data to understand the scale of the problem and allocate sufficient resources to improve their response to incidents.

It comes as levels of violence and abuse facing people working in retail skyrocketed across the country to over 1,300 incidents per day in 2022/23, up from 870 the year before, according to the group’s latest crime survey. 

The BRC stated that these incidents, which can include everything from threats with weapons and physical assaults to racial slurs, can take a severe toll on the physical and mental health of victims, who must return to their workplace day after day wondering whether they will be targeted.

Shoplifting also poses a huge issue to businesses and communities across the country. Last year, losses to theft doubled to £1.8bn, with 45,000 incidents every day. 

According to the BRC, this money could be better invested improving the shopping experience and reducing prices for customers. It also added that not only has the number of thefts increased, but thieves are becoming “bolder, more aggressive, and more frequently armed with weapons”.

As a result, retailers spent a record £1.2bn on crime prevention measures last year. 

Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Inadequate police action has given criminals free rein to steal goods and assault retail colleagues. 

“Newly elected PCCs have a fantastic opportunity to get tough on retail crime through the new standalone offence, and I hope the next wave of PCCs deliver the protections that those working in retail and our communities up and down the country deserve.”