Following longstanding campaigning from Matt Vickers MP in combination with some of the biggest retailers in the UK, this week action was announced to better protect retail staff.
Serial or abusive shoplifters will face tougher punishments as the Prime Minister sets out tough new action to crack down on retail crime and protect UK highstreets.
The government is also stepping up action to clamp down on offenders who repeatedly target the country’s high streets, with serial offenders forced to wear tags to track their movements.
These tags will be a constant and physical reminder to offenders that the Probation Service can find out where they have been and when, and that they risk being sent to prison if they refuse to obey the rules. Under an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, if an offender is found guilty of assaulting staff 3 times, or is sentenced for shoplifting on 3 separate occasions, they should be made to wear a tag as part of any community order.
Matt Vickers MP said:
DAY in and day out millions of people across this country serve us in our shops, restaurants, cafes and bars. They represent everything from the largest nationwide firms to the smallest local businesses.
Throughout the pandemic many of these essential workers kept our country going, keeping supermarkets and shops open, working the tills, and stocking the shelves. They kept our country fed and moving in the toughest of times.
But I know that every day, retail workers face disgusting abuse simply for doing their job. The latest figures from the British Retail Consortium estimate that at least 1,300 people in the industry are subject to violence or abuse every single day. This is simply not acceptable.
Hardworking people are facing the threat of abuse simply for undertaking their statutory duty to check someone’s ID. No one should ever be threatened for doing their job and upholding our laws. Putting on a shop worker uniform and upholding the law does not mean that the honest workers of our supermarkets, corner shops and petrol stations are fair game for harassment.
Should a shop worker ultimately decide to sell alcohol or tobacco to a minor through fear of intimidation or threatening behaviour, they face the prospect of a police caution and an unlimited fine. The consequences of one transaction can go far beyond a slap on the wrist.
We rightly impose this statutory duty and consequences on our shop workers but then, in return, we should afford them statutory protection. This new legislation shows that the government is listening to working people, and delivering on their priorities.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:
Since 2010, violent and neighbourhood crime in England and Wales has fallen dramatically, showing our plan to keep our streets safe is working. Yet shoplifting and violence and abuse towards retail workers continues to rise.
I am sending a message to those criminals – whether they are serious organised criminal gangs, repeat offenders or opportunistic thieves – who think they can get away with stealing from these local businesses or abusing shopworkers, enough is enough.
Our local shops are the lifeblood of our communities, and they must be free to trade without the threat of crime or abuse.
