ACS has responded to the publication of the Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW), urging Ministers not to be complacent over the level of crime experienced by shopkeepers.
The survey claims that overall crime levels fell by 10% in the year to September 2013, with a 13% fall in violent crime in the same period.
Speaking on the publication of the results, Crime Prevention Minister Norman Baker said: “"England and Wales are safer than they have been for decades with crime now at its lowest level since the survey began in 1981.”
ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “These figures show a welcome overall decline in the level of crime, but crimes against retailers are still far too high. We cannot grow complacent over the effectiveness of crime prevention measures when according to our Voice of Local Shops survey, 51% of retailers have experienced verbal or physical abuse and 75% have been victims of shop theft over the last year.”
The CSEW showed that shoplifting accounted for 8% of all police recorded crime in the year ending September 2013. The police recorded 313,693 shoplifting offences in this period, a 4% increase compared with the previous year.
Crime Prevention Minister Norman Baker will be appearing at the ACS Crime Prevention Seminar on February 25th in central London. For more information about attending this event, please contact Sarah C. Johnson at [email protected]
The full survey, published by the Office of National Statistics, is available here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/period-ending-september-2013/index.html
