The spate price retailers round £1.8bn, a record sum, and the primary time it has surpassed the £1bn mark, based on an annual survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
By Reemul Balla, News reporter @Reemul_B
Shoplifting has hit a record high with 16.7 million incidents recorded final 12 months – greater than double in comparison with 2022.
The spate price retailers round £1.8bn, a record sum, and the primary time it has surpassed the £1bn mark, based on an annual survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Violence and abuse against shop workers also spiked final 12 months with about 1,300 incidents day by day, an increase of 50% from 870 the 12 months earlier than, the commerce affiliation reported.
About 8,800 of the overall throughout the 12 months resulted in damage.
Retail workers confronted a spread of incidents together with bodily violence, threats with weapons, racial abuse and sexual harassment.
Shoplifting and abuse come hand in hand as, in November, it was revealed as many as two in 5 workers confronted mistreatment reported being shouted at, spat on, or hit particularly when confronting the criminals.
Many have thought-about quitting their jobs or leaving retail work altogether.
The business group – which has 1000’s of members together with greater than 200 main chains – surveyed a pattern of outlets representing some 1.1 million workers throughout the nation.
Some of the retailers surveyed pointed to the cost-of-living disaster which had led to shoplifters stealing a number of objects as opposed to 1 or two.
The rise and rise of retail crime
Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation hit a peak of 11.1% in October 2022, with folks seeing a lot greater costs for on a regular basis necessities such as meals and electrical energy.
Other retailers stated they’d seen shoplifters had been extra liable to resort to violence and abuse, and so they felt there was an absence of penalties for offenders.
During COVID, folks lashed out at workers because of security measures applied in retailers ensuing within the variety of abuse instances tripling in the course of the interval.
BRC stated the scenario had escalated to a “crisis” and criticised the federal government’s “woefully inadequate” motion to fight it.
Firms have tried to curb the rise of crimes of their shops, spending about £1.2bn on measures like CCTV, elevated safety personnel, and physique cameras.
Criminals given ‘a free cross’
Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s chief govt, stated regardless of the sums of cash invested to stop crime, violence and abuse against workers was “climbing”.
She added: “Criminals are being given a free cross to steal items and to abuse and assault retail colleagues. No one ought to should go to work fearing for his or her security.
“This is a disaster that calls for motion now.”
More than 55 main companies, together with Sainsbury’s and Boots, beforehand signed an open letter to Minister for Policing Chris Philp calling for extra police motion over the high ranges of abuse.
The Co-op stated it recorded 300,000 incidents of shoplifting, abuse, violence and anti-social behaviour in 2023 – a rise of greater than 40% on the 12 months earlier than.
It urged MPs to not “flip their backs” on shopworkers.
Meanwhile, the top of John Lewis stated shoplifting had turn into an “epidemic” with an increase in organised gangs looting shops.
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How to sort out the ‘epidemic’?
John Lewis is amongst 10 of the UK’s largest retailers which final 12 months agreed to fund a police operation to crack down on shoplifting, referred to as Project Pegasus.
The corporations are anticipated to pay round £600,000 in direction of the undertaking, which is able to use CCTV photos and facial recognition software program to get a greater understanding of shoplifting operations.
Face ID tech to sort out shoplifters
Also, the Police Retail Crime Action Plan, launched in October 2023, signalled some “hope” for the sector, the BRC stated.
It features a pledge for police to prioritise urgently attending the scene of shoplifting that has concerned violence against a employee, or when a shoplifter has been detained.
Henrik Nordvall, who heads H&M within the UK & Ireland, stated: “While we welcomed the Retail Crime Action Plan final 12 months, we have to be sure that that is put into practise.
“The introduction of a standalone offence for violent and abusive behaviour towards retail workers will ship a transparent message that the federal government doesn’t tolerate such behaviour in direction of people who find themselves merely doing their jobs.
“The issue of retail crime is not just about the cost to a business, but more importantly the safety of colleagues and customers who have the right to feel safe on their high streets and in their workplaces.”