Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 70
Police forces inadequately record data on assaults against shopworkers and retail crime.
Recommendation
We welcome the Government’s work to provide better guidance and support for retail workers on reporting retail crime. However, it is deeply disappointing that the main thrust of the Government’s response to shopworkers, who have lost confidence in the police response, is to demand increased reporting to the police without also requiring the police to improve its response. It is a serious problem that police forces could not even tell us the scale of reported assaults against shopworkers because they do not currently record the data in a way that allows it to be measured, nor do they keep effective records regarding retail or business crime. We agree that you cannot manage what you do not measure. The police must play their part in ensuring the scale and nature of the problem is fully understood by improving their own crime recording practices.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees that incidents must be reported and acknowledges current data under-reporting. It commits to working with the National Business Crime Centre to consider options for adding more granularity to crime recording, but notes consultation will be needed to assess the administrative burden on police forces.
Paragraph Reference:
70
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
It is essential incidents of violence are reported to police. We know these crimes are under- reported at present, as highlighted in the responses received to the Call for Evidence on Violence and Abuse Towards Shop Staff, and in the HASC report. This remains a key issue, which will give police forces a more accurate picture of the problem in their area, enabling police forces and businesses to work together to provide an appropriate response. When violence has been used or someone has been physically or verbally threatened, the victim or their employer must report this fact first and foremost to police, and not report it as a shop theft. The Government agrees with HASC that this is not an issue of financial loss; and as heard in the evidence submitted to the Committee, where someone has been assaulted the police will assess the risk and vulnerability of the victim and respond accordingly. It is therefore crucial the information provided to police accurately reflects what the victim has experienced. There is no mandatory recording process for business crime, or for violence and abuse toward shop staff. Some forces do seek to identify such crimes by asking staff and officers involved in managing crime reports to add a marker to the relevant record. However, it is known there are concerns about data quality where a system relies on an individual remembering to tick all the relevant boxes on a crime record. Further, making apparently simple changes to force IT systems can be challenging given forces use different record management systems. The Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) for police recorded crime currently allows the identification of shoplifting and robbery of business property of which the latter includes the use or threat of force of violence to attempt to steal property. We will work with the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to consider options to add more granularity. Before such changes are made, consultation with the police service will be needed to assess the possible administrative burden on forces of making a change against the added value such granularity can bring. The definition of business crime has been established by the NBCC for forces to use when assessing local crime data to understand the nature and extent of business crime. The NBCC consulted on a definition of business crime, which was subsequently agreed with the NPCC and came into effect of 1 June 2019. The definition is: “Any criminal offence where a business, or person in the course of their employment, and because of that employment, is a victim.”