Co-op Experiences Highest Levels of Retail Crime While Advocating for Tougher Legislation
The government is facing increasing pressure to address an epidemic of shoplifting that is estimated to cost the economy billions of pounds.
British retailer Co-op reported record levels of crime last year, with police failing to respond to 38 percent of incidents in which a criminal had been detained.
Co-op experienced a 44 percent year-on-year increase in shoplifting, abuse, violence, and anti-social behavior, resulting in approximately 1,000 incidents every day across its 2,400 stores.
The rise in physical assaults against store workers led to three or four staff members being attacked or assaulted every day, according to the retailer.
Following the plan, police failed to attend in 38 percent of cases, which Co-op marked as a sign of “green shoots of improvements.”
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Under the plan, cases where shop security staff detain an offender or where police are needed to secure evidence are considered urgent.
While police attendance has improved since the plan’s launch, Co-op said that two-in-five detained criminals are “still walking away.”
This sends a “message that this is a consequence-less crime,” the group said.
“We are seeing far too many prolific offenders persistently steal large volumes of products in our shops every day, and if they are stealing to fund addictions, the situation often becomes volatile and dangerous. Crime is an occupation for some—it is not petty crime, and it is not victimless,” said Matt Hood, managing director of Co-op Food.
Calls to Change the Law
In England and Wales, a £200 threshold was introduced in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime, and Policing Act 2014, meaning that shoplifters taking under £200 worth of goods face a maximum sentence of six months and can plead guilty by post.
Co-op has called on the government to change the law to give shop workers better protection. Ministers should introduce a standalone offense for the protection of retail workers and specialist “intensive supervision courts” for retail crime, the report by Co-op advised.
To implement these recommendations, the government would have to introduce amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently in its House of Commons stage.
“It is imperative MPs don’t turn their backs on shopworkers and vote through the amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill to give my colleagues the protection they deserve,” said Mr. Hood.
Paddy Lillis, the general secretary of the Union of Shop, Distributive, and Allied Workers, urged the government to “end their long-held opposition to a protection of shop workers law.”
“It was deeply disappointing that the government have no measures in their legislative program to tackle high levels of retail crime and safeguard shop workers. Labour is seeking to amend the Criminal Justice Bill to strengthen the law to protect shopworkers from violence, threats, and abuse,” Mr. Lillis said.
The Labour Party has argued that Downing Street is failing the retail sector and vowed to end the “£200 threshold rule” if the party wins the next general election.
The author of the Co-op report, professor of criminology Emmeline Taylor, said that police in England and Wales “have lost grip on the scale and severity of acquisitive crime.”
According to the British Retail Consortium, between 2021 and 2022, retail crime cost the economy £1.76 billion.
The cost of shoplifting amounted to £953 million, while retailers also spent £715 million on crime prevention.
“By taking decisive action to tackle high-volume, high-impact retail crime, the police and retail industry can work together to create safer communities in which to live, work, and shop,” Ms. Taylor said.
