Abuse of retail workers to become standalone offence

The government is expected to pass the Crime and Policing bill this week, which will make assaulting, threatening or abusing a retail worker a standalone offence, The Times has reported.

It is understood that this new bill will be announced in the King’s Speech on Wednesday (17 July). 

The Crime and Policing bill follows continued calls from retailers for the government to put a stop to the rising theft and abuse of shop floor staff. 

One of the advocates for such a bill was Tesco boss Kevin Murphy, who told The Times that the number of serious incidents involving a weapon have jumped 39% during the supermarket chain’s first quarter.

Murphy said: “A single assault on a shop worker is unacceptable, but this steep rise must see this issue put right at the heart of the incoming government’s legislative agenda”.

While Tesco has spent millions of pounds on “necessary measures”, such as security officers, body-worn cameras, protective screens and door entry systems, Murphy said that these measures were “sadly still not enough”. 

According to Murphy, the government would send “the strongest signals to the perpetrators of these crimes” with the introduction of the Crime and Policing bill. 

A separate report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) from earlier this year also revealed that daily incidents against shop workers spiked 50% to 1,300 in 2023, with theft costing retailers approximately £1.8bn.