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Select Committee · Home Affairs Committee

Violence and abuse towards retail workers

Status: Closed Opened: 17 Dec 2020 Closed: 18 Nov 2024 21 recommendations 18 conclusions 1 report

Following the announcement that a General Election will be held on 4 July, Select Committees will be unable to meet from 24 May and will cease to exist from 30 May until after the General Election. This work has therefore closed The Committee carried out an inquiry into violence and abuse towards retail workers in … Show more

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
First Report - Violence and abuse towards retail workers HC 141 29 Jun 2021 39 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 items
9 Recommendation First Report - Violence and abuse towar… Not Addressed

Police guidance for retail workers insufficient to address perception of inaction on retail crime.

We welcome the guidance for retail workers on when to use emergency and non- emergency numbers when seeking a police response and, in particular, setting out risk factors which will help the police respond appropriately to incidents. However, we do not believe that two A4 pages of guidance is a … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government details existing and ongoing work by the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) and its Task and Finish groups, including the establishment of two new groups on substance misuse and information sharing. However, the response does not specifically outline new actions to address …
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Home Office
15 Recommendation First Report - Violence and abuse towar… Not Addressed

Few Police and Crime Commissioners prioritise violence against retail workers in crime plans.

We strongly support calls for Police and Crime Commissioners to make action on violence and abuse towards retail workers a priority in police and crime plans. We are very concerned how few appear to have prioritised this in past plans, or to have recognised the human cost of retail crime. … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government's response details funding for additional police officers and the Safer Streets Fund, which has been expanded to include commercial areas and has allocated funds to projects focused on commercial settings. However, it does not directly commit to the committee's specific recommendation for PCCs …
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Home Office
16 Recommendation First Report - Violence and abuse towar… Not Addressed

Require Chief Constables to improve monitoring, recording, and response to violence against shopworkers.

Chief Constables must do much more to demonstrate that they recognise the human cost of escalating violence and abuse against shopworkers. They need to ensure they have proper systems in place for monitoring and recording. Most importantly, they need to ensure that officers are not underestimating the seriousness of these … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the current lack of mandatory recording for business crime and violence against shop staff due to data system challenges. It states that victims must report violence accurately and that existing sentencing guidelines already treat offenses against public-facing workers as an aggravating factor, …
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Home Office
17 Recommendation First Report - Violence and abuse towar… Not Addressed

Lack of neighbourhood policing capacity damages retail worker confidence and crime prevention efforts.

The lack of capacity in neighbourhood policing teams to build relationships with retailers, identify prolific offenders and respond swiftly to incidents of retail crime has damaged the confidence of retail workers. It has made it harder to maintain close relationships between the police and local high street retailers, or to … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government highlights its commitment to recruiting 20,000 additional police officers and the funding provided for territorial policing. However, it does not specifically commit to prioritising or ring-fencing these new resources for neighbourhood policing teams, as recommended.
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Home Office

Oral evidence sessions

3 sessions
Date Witnesses
17 Apr 2024 Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman · National Police Chief's Council, Chief Superintendent Alex Goss · National Police Chiefs’ Council, Edward Woodall · Association of Convenience Stores, Joanne Cairns · Usdaw, Lyndsey Cambridge · Federation of Wholesale Distributors, Paul Gerrard · The Co-op, Superintendent Patrick Holdaway · City of London Police View ↗
28 Apr 2021 Amanda Blakeman · Gwent Police, David Jamieson · West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Ian Dyson QPM · City of London Police, Patrick Holdaway · Hampshire Constabulary View ↗
14 Apr 2021 Iona Blake · Boots UK, James Lowman · Association of Convenience Stores, Joanne Cairns · Usdaw, Paul Gerrard · The Co-op, Tom Ironside · British Retail Consortium (BRC) View ↗

Who gave evidence

14 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Joanne Cairns · Head of Research and Policy Usdaw 2
Paul Gerrard · Campaigns, Public Affairs and Board Secretariat D… The Co-op 2
Amanda Blakeman · Deputy Chief Constable Gwent Police 1
Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman · Acquisitive Crime Lead National Police Chief's Council 1
Chief Superintendent Alex Goss · Retail Crime Lead National Police Chiefs’ Council 1
David Jamieson · Commissioner West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner 1
Edward Woodall · Government Relations Director Association of Convenience Stores 1
Ian Dyson QPM · Commissioner City of London Police 1
Iona Blake · Security and Incident Manager Boots UK 1
James Lowman · Chief Executive Association of Convenience Stores 1
Lyndsey Cambridge · Head of Engagement Federation of Wholesale Distributors 1
Patrick Holdaway · Chief Inspector Hampshire Constabulary 1
Superintendent Patrick Holdaway · Lead for the National Business Crime Centre City of London Police 1
Tom Ironside · Director, Business and Regulation British Retail Consortium (BRC) 1

Correspondence

4 letters
DateDirectionTitle
5 Nov 2024 To cttee Letter from the Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention regarding vio…
22 May 2024 From cttee Letter to the Home Secretary regarding follow-up work in relation to the Violen…
9 Nov 2022 From cttee Letter to the Home Secretary on violence and abuse towards retail workers, date…
7 Jun 2021 — Analysis of survey results for inquiry on violence towards retail workers