Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
First Report - Violence and abuse towards retail workers
Home Affairs Committee
HC 141
Published 29 June 2021
Recommendations
21
Accepted
Actively encourage Safer Streets Fund bids for shop worker safety, setting this as a future priority.
Recommendation
We welcome the additional money available to local authorities and Police and Crime Commissioners to spend on preventative measures via the Safer Streets Fund. However, we note that none of the funding rounds have placed any emphasis on preventative measures …
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Government Response Summary
The government stated that it has already made clear the Safer Streets Fund welcomes bids for measures improving shopworker safety, with the second round expanded to include commercial areas, and the third round (Autumn 2021) will have a broader focus on reducing violence.
Home Office
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Conclusions (5)
3
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 25
Where shopworkers are confronted by hate-motivated abuse in the course of their employment this should be taken seriously by employers and reported to the police. It is vital that the police, in dealing with these incidents, manage them with sensitivity and give them the attention that they deserve. We support …
Government Response Summary
The government stated that the 2020/21 Commercial Victimisation Survey, currently underway with results due March 2022, already includes questions on hate-related violence as recommended, and an Expert Reference Group will review its coverage in Spring 2022.
5
Conclusion
Accepted
It is unconscionable that violence and abuse towards retail workers has further increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. These are individuals who have been working on the frontline and have put their lives at risk to ensure that the public could access essential items such as food and medicine. At a …
Government Response Summary
The government response details existing measures, including interim sentencing guidance for Covid-19 related assaults and revised guidelines with aggravating factors, published safer working guidance, and ongoing collaboration between BEIS/DEFRA and retailers to ensure Covid-19 related safety.
6
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 37
We welcome the revised guidance from the Sentencing Council which makes the despicable act of deliberate spitting or coughing an aggravating factor for common assault. However, we note that incidents of offenders threatening to spit or cough would not be covered by its terms and regret that the sentencing guidelines …
Government Response Summary
The government clarifies that the revised common assault guideline includes a new high-culpability factor for 'intention to cause fear of serious harm, including disease transmission', which addresses threats to spit or cough related to Covid-19.
30
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 131
The Government has acknowledged that drugs play a significant role in a large number of crimes and with prolific offending in particular. Yet, one year on from the Government’s response to the call for evidence on violence and abuse toward shop staff, work to develop the evidence base regarding the …
Government Response Summary
The government details its commitment to tackling drug-driven crime, referencing Dame Carol Black's review and ongoing work including £80m investment in drug treatment and the expansion of Project ADDER to eight additional sites.
38
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 164
The patchwork of existing offences for prosecuting incidents of violence and abuse against individuals is not effective enough to address the escalating scale and nature of offences committed in the retail setting. Introducing a new statutory offence would bring the following benefits: Violence and abuse towards retail workers 69 • …
Government Response Summary
The government highlights existing measures by the Sentencing Council, including interim guidance on Covid-19 related assaults from April 2020 and revised assault sentencing guidelines from May 2021, which address aggravating factors for common assault.