Recommendations & Conclusions
13 items
7
Recommendation
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
A lack of clarity with regards to Government guidelines on mask wearing and social distancing exacerbated an already difficult situation for retailers in the early days of the pandemic. If in future new public health restrictions are required the Government must learn the lessons from this pandemic, and work with …
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A lack of clarity with regards to Government guidelines on mask wearing and social distancing exacerbated an already difficult situation for retailers in the early days of the pandemic. If in future new public health restrictions are required the Government must learn the lessons from this pandemic, and work with retailers to ensure there are workable systems in place and clear guidance for the public. The policing response
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Government response AI summary
The government agreed to work closely with retailers to ensure any future public health restrictions and guidance are clear and workable, stating that BEIS and DEFRA will continue this engagement.
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Home Office
8
Conclusion
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
The Committee has heard overwhelming evidence that the policing response is simply failing to match the rising tide of violence and abuse against retail workers. The evidence also suggests that the response varies significantly between police forces: while there are examples of good practice, on far too many occasions retail …
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The Committee has heard overwhelming evidence that the policing response is simply failing to match the rising tide of violence and abuse against retail workers. The evidence also suggests that the response varies significantly between police forces: while there are examples of good practice, on far too many occasions retail workers are being left alone to manage dangerous situations which put both their physical and mental wellbeing at risk. We recognise that policing has been increasingly overstretched and that officers are working hard to respond to rising demand with constrained resources. Nevertheless, police forces and the Home Office need to ensure that officers are better able to respond to rising threats and crimes against shopworkers. The police’s failure to attend or follow-up serious incidents undermines trust and confidence, discourages reporting crime, and weakens the deterrent for repeat offenders leaving shopworkers more vulnerable and letting down victims of crime.
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Government response AI summary
The government outlines the ongoing work of the NRCSG and its task groups in producing resources for retailers on crime reporting, data sharing, and victim support, and notes the establishment of two new Task and Finish groups on substance misuse and information sharing.
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Home Office
13
Conclusion
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
We therefore recommend that the National Business Crime Centre work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to agree a better long-term way to identify and properly measure the violence and abuse suffered by retail workers in the crime statistics gathered by local police forces. We appreciate that the definition of …
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We therefore recommend that the National Business Crime Centre work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to agree a better long-term way to identify and properly measure the violence and abuse suffered by retail workers in the crime statistics gathered by local police forces. We appreciate that the definition of business crime is not the most appropriate for the offences that have been reported to us in evidence. We therefore urge the Government to look at a more appropriate flag, such as retail business crime, which more accurately reflects the nature of the abuse we have described in this report.
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Government response AI summary
The government is working with the NPCC to consider options for adding more granularity to crime data for violence against retail workers, acknowledging the need for police consultation on administrative burden, but did not commit to implementing a specific new flag.
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Home Office
14
Recommendation
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
As local representatives Police and Crime Commissioners are well placed to understand the specific issues facing the retail community in their area and to ensure police forces focus attention on this critical issue. Collaboration between police and retailers to identify repeat offenders is a powerful tool in crime prevention. We …
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As local representatives Police and Crime Commissioners are well placed to understand the specific issues facing the retail community in their area and to ensure police forces focus attention on this critical issue. Collaboration between police and retailers to identify repeat offenders is a powerful tool in crime prevention. We welcome early reports regarding the pilot one-touch reporting process introduced by Katy Bourne in Sussex. We encourage all Police and Crime Commissioners to use their unique position to help improve data sharing, build trust and bridge the gap between local businesses and police forces. We call on all Police and Crime Commissioners to work with local retailers to establish or strengthen Business Crime Reduction Partnerships and to develop local retail crime reduction plans, including arrangements for local reporting, identifying patterns of crime and prolific offenders to be targeted, and re-building confidence in the police response to violence and abuse against shopworkers.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the importance of reporting and commits to working with relevant bodies to scope options for online business crime reporting and to consider how to encourage the creation of Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, alongside highlighting existing police funding and the Safer Streets Fund.
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Home Office
18
Conclusion
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
There is clearly an issue with the consistency of the policing response to retail crime across the country. In light of this finding, the Committee was disappointed to learn that the Government is no longer directly funding the work of the National Business Crime Centre. The National Business Crime Centre …
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There is clearly an issue with the consistency of the policing response to retail crime across the country. In light of this finding, the Committee was disappointed to learn that the Government is no longer directly funding the work of the National Business Crime Centre. The National Business Crime Centre is well placed to ensure the sharing of best practice approaches, improve links with the business community and drive up consistency. At a time when violence in retail and business settings is increasing rapidly, the decision to discontinue direct funding for an established and well-respected body tasked with strategic oversight of the issue seems nonsensical.
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Government response AI summary
The government explains that national leadership is provided by the NRCSG and that while the NBCC will not be directly funded, it will receive appropriate government support and the Home Office will work with them to scope and potentially fund online business crime reporting services.
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Home Office
20
Recommendation
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
Business Crime Reduction Partnerships have huge potential to improve communication and collaboration between the police, local retailers and local authorities on the issue of retail crime. Tailoring the policing response to areas of particular vulnerability, identifying repeat offenders, and developing joint preventative plans are effective measures for improving the police …
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Business Crime Reduction Partnerships have huge potential to improve communication and collaboration between the police, local retailers and local authorities on the issue of retail crime. Tailoring the policing response to areas of particular vulnerability, identifying repeat offenders, and developing joint preventative plans are effective measures for improving the police response. Closer collaboration may also have a positive impact on retailer confidence and reporting of incidents. Smaller retailers in particular, who do not have the security support and expertise that bigger corporations do, are particularly reliant on support through local partnerships. There is considerable potential for these to do far more on every Violence and abuse towards retail workers 65 high street including better investment in CCTV and communication networks, supporting small shop owners who may be working alone. We recommend that the Government provides greater support for the creation of Business Crime Reduction Partnerships including actively encouraging partnerships to cover smaller town centres and areas where there are many independent shops with less capacity to organise local security and crime prevention. We also recommend involving shopworkers themselves as well as major employers in crime reduction partnerships as they will often have the clearest idea both of the human cost of crime and of the local measures that could make a difference.
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Government response AI summary
The government stated it will continue to work with relevant bodies to consider what more can be done to encourage the creation of Business Crime Reduction Partnerships but deflected the recommendation to involve shopworkers and major employers to the NABCP and individual BCRPs for consideration.
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Home Office
24
Recommendation
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
We applaud the work of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust in creating Suzy’s Charter, a far more effective and useful tool than the Government’s guidance for securing the safety of retail workers. The Government’s lacklustre endorsement of the Charter, a fleeting reference that “this could be used to benchmark what your …
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We applaud the work of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust in creating Suzy’s Charter, a far more effective and useful tool than the Government’s guidance for securing the safety of retail workers. The Government’s lacklustre endorsement of the Charter, a fleeting reference that “this could be used to benchmark what your business has in place” with a link to the website is very disappointing. We recommend that the Home Office strengthen its action by working with the National Retail Crime Steering Group to agree an Employers Charter using Suzy’s Charter as a template, which is specifically targeted at retail workers and retail crime. This approach would help drive best practice, it would ensure that retail workers know what they should expect and can put pressure on employers who do not meet these standards.
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Government response AI summary
The government committed to reviewing existing resources and will consult with the National Retail Crime Steering Group about whether they would support the creation of an Employers Charter for retail workers, using Suzy’s Charter as a template.
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Home Office
26
Conclusion
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
The Committee was impressed by this range of solutions and the potential of new technology to improve both the safety of retail workers and the ability to gather evidence about incidents of retail crime. The methods described above, such as body worn video cameras, headsets for internal communication, counselling services …
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The Committee was impressed by this range of solutions and the potential of new technology to improve both the safety of retail workers and the ability to gather evidence about incidents of retail crime. The methods described above, such as body worn video cameras, headsets for internal communication, counselling services and central command and control systems, represent a best practice approach. However, we acknowledge that many of these solutions will not be financially viable for many businesses.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges that while useful resources have been created, more is needed, and commits the Home Office and NRCSG to review existing resources and fully consider the Committee's recommendation for future work.
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Home Office
27
Conclusion
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
The guidance provided by the Government and the National Retail Crime Steering Group, published nearly 10 months after the response to the call for evidence, amounts to eight A4 pages of highly general advice followed by 10 pages of example statements and reports. While elements such as the short de-escalation …
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The guidance provided by the Government and the National Retail Crime Steering Group, published nearly 10 months after the response to the call for evidence, amounts to eight A4 pages of highly general advice followed by 10 pages of example statements and reports. While elements such as the short de-escalation training video and links to tool kits and guidance provided by the Information Commissioner’s Office are certainly useful, we feel these resources reflect a distinct lack of urgency on the part of Government to address the scale of problem.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges that while useful resources have been created, more is needed, and commits the Home Office and NRCSG to review existing resources and fully consider the Committee's recommendation for future work.
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Home Office
28
Recommendation
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
We recommend that the Government’s resources, which would be particularly beneficial for independent shops and small businesses, additionally include specific ‘tool kit’ style material to support all employers to take the following actions: • An internal communication campaign to encourage staff to report all incidents of violence and abuse; • …
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We recommend that the Government’s resources, which would be particularly beneficial for independent shops and small businesses, additionally include specific ‘tool kit’ style material to support all employers to take the following actions: • An internal communication campaign to encourage staff to report all incidents of violence and abuse; • Guidance and templates for employers on creating internal and external reporting processes which are as simple, accessible and quick as possible; • Guidance on procedures for banning repeat offenders from stores; • Further online training resources for retail workers on managing conflict and dealing with difficult situations; and Violence and abuse towards retail workers 67 • Guidance for employers on how to assess the vulnerabilities of their shop and suggestions for appropriate measures such as changing store layout, erecting protective barriers or adding signage to manage specific risks.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges existing resources and states it will review these resources with the NRCSG, giving full consideration to the committee's recommendation for further toolkit material when planning future work.
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Home Office
31
Recommendation
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
We welcome the new funding the Home Office will be providing for drug treatment. However, it is only for one year, when sustainable increased funding is needed for ongoing services. We recommend that the Government makes central funding available for rehabilitation programmes such as the Offender2Rehab model adopted in Birmingham. …
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We welcome the new funding the Home Office will be providing for drug treatment. However, it is only for one year, when sustainable increased funding is needed for ongoing services. We recommend that the Government makes central funding available for rehabilitation programmes such as the Offender2Rehab model adopted in Birmingham. We further recommend that until national drug rehabilitation programmes have been comprehensively rolled out, the Government should provide additional ring fenced funding, under the Police and Crime Act 2002, to enable Police and Crime Commissioners to work with local councils to restore drug rehabilitation services in their local area. (Paragraph 132) The legal framework
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Government response AI summary
The government refers to future plans to be set out after the Spending Review for tackling drug misuse and improving treatment, but explicitly states it has no plans to prescribe how enforcement partners use proceeds of crime funds for rehabilitation.
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Home Office
35
Recommendation
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
We believe there is a strong case for extra protection in law for retail workers through a specific offence. The Government should consult urgently on the scope of the offence, recognising the particular pressure on those in different occupations who are asked to enforce the law.
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We believe there is a strong case for extra protection in law for retail workers through a specific offence. The Government should consult urgently on the scope of the offence, recognising the particular pressure on those in different occupations who are asked to enforce the law.
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Government response AI summary
The government's response is only a heading, 'Strengthening the legal framework,' offering no specific commitment or detail regarding the recommendation.
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Home Office
39
Recommendation
First Report - Violence and abuse towar…
Acknowledged
The text of the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act, having undergone lengthy consultation and close scrutiny, provides a potential starting point. As we have previously recommended, the Government should consult urgently on the scope of a new standalone offence. A clear message must be …
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The text of the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act, having undergone lengthy consultation and close scrutiny, provides a potential starting point. As we have previously recommended, the Government should consult urgently on the scope of a new standalone offence. A clear message must be sent that nobody should feel unsafe at work. (Paragraph 165) 70 Violence and abuse towards retail workers
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Government response AI summary
The government highlights existing legal protections but commits only to considering an amendment in the Lords if appropriate and to taking the Scottish Act into account during this consideration, rather than committing to an urgent consultation.
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Home Office