ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to the Sentencing Council’s consultation on robbery guidelines, calling for operation disruption in store to be included in the harm factors for sentencing.
The Sentencing Council are consulting on which factors should be considered when dealing out sentences for offenders, with a focus on understanding the impact on a business.
Statistics from the ACS Crime Report (2014) show that there were over 2,400 robberies in 2013 and over 7,000 incidents of violence resulting in injury.
ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “Robberies have a significant impact on both retailers and their staff. We welcome that the guidelines recognise that impact, but believe that the Sentencing Council should consider all factors that hurt the store, such as when a retailer has to close their store for a period of time after a robbery, or cover for members of staff. Often these factors are at a higher cost to the retailer than the value of the goods stolen.”
ACS’ 2015 Crime Survey will be published on March 5th 2015 at the Crime Prevention Seminar.
To book your place, visit the ACS website here: http://www.acs.org.uk/acs-events/crime-seminar. The full submission is available on the ACS website here: http://www.acs.org.uk/download/robbery-offences-guideline-consultation
