Portsmouth MP Stephen Morgan has asked the government to take urgent action to tackle the rise in shoplifting and abuse against shopworkers.
He urged local shoppers to “treat shopworkers with kindness, particularly in the run-up to Christmas,” as he visited a Portsea Co-op to talk to workers.
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) latest annual crime report shows almost two-thirds (63%) of crime being driven by repeat and prolific offenders, with drug or alcohol addictions and organised crime among the main motivations for offending.
This week is officially Respect for Shopworkers Week – a week set up by USDAW to raise awareness of the union’s year-round campaign for a standalone offence of assaulting or abusing shopworkers, which already exists in Scotland. The union says that shoplifting triggers "staggering" levels of abuse against retail staff.
The Co-op said its specialist security teams had detained 3,000 offenders in 2023 in the UK (up 43% YOY), with Police failing to show up in almost four-fifths (76%) of incidents. The company called for more police co-operation and more custodial sentences.
The Co-op said it welcomes the “ambition” of the new Government Retail Crime Action Plan, which sets out advice for retailers on how to provide the best possible evidence for police to pursue in any case, making clear they should send CCTV footage of the whole incident and an image of the shoplifter via the digital evidence management system as quickly as possible after an offence has been committed.
However, the Co-op warns there is a “long way to go” to address fundamental issues at the heart of the rise in shoplifting, which it described as an "epidemic".
Mr Morgan has written to the Minister for Policing regarding the worrying rise in shoplifting and antisocial behaviour in Portsmouth, inviting the Minister to meet with local retailers to hear concerns and discuss what can be done.
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