First Report - Violence and abuse towards retail workers

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 … Read more 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 Show less

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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 … Read more 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. Show less

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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 … Read more 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. Show less

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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 … Read more 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. Show less

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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 … Read more 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. Show less

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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 … Read more 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 Show less

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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 … Read more 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. Show less

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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 … Read more 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 Show less

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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