More survey evidence of violence in retail


Retail union Usdaw has renewed its call for government action to tackle violence against shop workers after its own survey and evidence from organisations representing both large and small employers showed the problem is growing. 


The results of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) annual retail crime survey confirmed findings by Usdaw and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) that violence, threats and abuse are all on the increase.


Usdaw released its latest survey findings last month. This revealed that in 2018 nearly two-thirds of shopworkers experienced verbal abuse and more than 40% were threatened by a customer. On average, over 280 shopworkers were assaulted every day. The top triggers for attacks are shop theft (25%), age-restricted sales (22%) and sale of alcohol (21%).


The ACS estimated there were 10,000 incidents of violence in the sector over the last twelve months, while the BRC reported that the combined cost of spending on crime prevention and losses from crime to the industry is £1.9 billion. 


Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis said the union continued to call for stiffer penalties for those who assault shopworkers and a simple, stand-alone offence that is widely recognised and understood by the public, police, Crown Prosecution Service, the judiciary and criminals. 


https://www.usdaw.org.uk/About-Us/News/2019/Mar/ACS-survey-confirms-Usdaw-and-BRC-finding-that-att