Retail crime is at its highest level on record, according to new figures released today (30 January) from the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Annual Crime Survey.
The survey reveals incidents of violence and abuse in 2023/24 climbed to over 2000 per day, up from 1300 the year before. This is more than three times what it was in 2020, when there were just 455 incidents a day. Incidents included racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with weapons. There were 70 incidents per day which involved a weapon, more than double the previous year.
With the total number of incidents continuing to grow, and their nature becoming increasingly aggressive, satisfaction with the police remains low, with 61% of respondents describing the police response to incidents as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. Of the remaining, 29% rated the response as ‘fair’, a further 6% said good, and 3% described it as ‘excellent’, the first time in five years that any retailers have rated it as such.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retail crime is spiralling out of control. People in retail have been spat on, racially abused, and threatened with machetes. Every day this continues, criminals are getting bolder and more aggressive. We owe it to the three million hardworking people working in retail to bring the epidemic of crime to heel. No one should go to work in fear.
“With little faith in police attendance, it is no wonder criminals feel they have licence to steal, threaten, assault and abuse. Retailers are spending more than ever before, but they cannot prevent crime alone. We need the police to respond to and handle every reported incident appropriately. We look forward to seeing crucial legislation to protect retail workers being put in place later this year. Only if the industry, Government and police work together, can we finally see this awful trend reverse.”
The Labour Government has pledged to address the rise in retail crime through stronger measures to tackle shoplifting and anti-social behavior, including removing the £200 threshold of low level theft. It also announced in the King’s Speech that it would introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker. Retailers will be looking closely at the details of the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure that its protections apply to all customer-facing retail workers, from those behind the till to delivery drivers.
