WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
February 07 2025
WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO

Crime against retailers is ‘out of control’

Crime against retailers is ‘out of control’

Emergency lights, Etolane, Flickr under Creative Comms,

The 2025 British Retail Consortium Crime Survey found that retail crime is ‘spiralling upwards yet again’, citing a rise in customer theft incidents from 16.7 to 20.4 million in the last year alone.

Violent incidents are also on the rise, with just over 2,000 recorded incidents of violence or abuse a day on members of staff – an increase of 700 incidents from 2024 – and at its ‘highest recorded level’ in the BRC survey. The survey also highlights that ‘increasingly aggressive gangs’ are targeting stores as part of organised crime.

Despite the increase, the Crime Survey reports that only ‘under a third’ of violent shoplifting incidents were reported to police, with only 10% resulting in police attendance and 2% resulting in a conviction.

The BBC reported on the use of ‘kamikaze’ shoplifting, a tactic where ‘offenders are openly clearing shelves of items in full view of customers and shop workers’. Security director Jason Towse told the BBC that shoplifters are disregarding staff protests when stealing, likely using the approach ‘to scare colleagues and scare the staff’ as they may be aware of worsening police response times.

The survey found that there has been a 60% increase in incidents of abuse which equates to 1,906 a day. The BRC expressed concern for retail staff who have to face physical, racist and misogynistic abuse which ‘can inflict serious mental and physical trauma that lasts a lifetime.’

In an interview with workers ‘on the frontline’, the Guardian highlights some of the recent changes in shoplifting. ‘When I first started in stores shoplifting was just homeless people coming in for a sandwich or deodorant’, supermarket worker Denise Bartrum states. She goes on to describe a rise in ‘well-dressed women and men’ committing the crimes revealing that ‘now there is no average shoplifter. It could be anybody.’

A security guard told the Guardian about the use of another tactic known as ‘steaming’, which includes rushing and overwhelming staff in a team effort. He recounts that ‘knives [were] held up at me and people threatened my family’, but admits he is ‘not too worried about being attacked’ due to his use of de-escalation skills.

BRC boss Helen Dickinson welcomed proposals by the Labour Government to address the rise in retail crime such as the introduction of ‘a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker’, described by Dickinson as ‘a huge step forward in our campaign to protect people in retail.’

Paddy Lillis, the general secretary of Usdaw, the union of shopworkers, also welcomes legislation to tackle this issue. He said ‘we have campaigned along with the BRC for substantial legislative measures to combat this growing problem and we are pleased that the government will be introducing the crime and policing bill, which will meet our aims.’

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