Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Deferred
Paragraph: 71
Mandate adding a "business crime flag" to offences committed in retail environments.
Recommendation
As a starting point, we recommend that it is made mandatory to add a “business crime flag” to offences committed in a retail environment, including assaults on retail Violence and abuse towards retail workers 63 workers. This simple step would give an important early indication of the scale of the problem and allow police forces better to understand patterns of local crime and the risks shopworkers face.
Government Response Summary
The government commits to working with the NBCC to consider options for adding more granularity to police recorded crime data, acknowledging that any changes would require consultation with the police service to assess administrative burden and value.
Paragraph Reference:
71
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
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.”