ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) is supporting Usdaw’s Respect for Shopworkers Week, which aims to raise awareness about the increase in violence and abuse against retail workers and promote the message of respect for shopworkers.
Interim findings from Usdaw’s annual survey of 3,000 shopworkers has found that in the last 12 months 65% of respondents have experienced verbal abuse, 5% of shopworkers had been assaulted and 60% of these incidents were triggered by shop theft. The final results of the survey will be published in 2023.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “We are proud to support Respect for Shopworkers Week, which highlights the scale of violence and abuse and the impact that it has on the people and businesses in our sector. We know from speaking to retailers that these incidents are happening on a daily basis and the perpetrators are doing so without fear of reproach. These incidents are unacceptable and more needs to be done to tackle this issue and take repeat and prolific offenders off the streets to make our communities safer.”
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary said: “Our survey demonstrates that shoplifting is not a victimless crime, theft from shops has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shopworkers. Having to deal with repeated and persistent shoplifters can cause issues beyond the theft itself like anxiety, fear and in some cases physical harm to retail workers. Our members are reporting that they are often faced with hardened career criminals in their stores and much of the abuse they suffer is from those who are stealing to sell goods on, often to fund an addiction.”
In the latest episode of ACS’ Local Shop Podcast, the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne OBE and the National Business Crime Centre lead, Superintendent Patrick Holdaway met with ACS chief executive James Lowman to discuss recent developments in retail crime. You can listen to the Local Shop Podcast anywhere through any of the main podcast platforms, including iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and others.
