Violence against shopkeepers and their assistants has jumped from 41,000 incidents in 2022 to 76,000 in 2023, according to a survey by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS).
The report also reveals corner shop retailers have recorded over 600 incidents of theft an hour over the last year.
‘Extended Crimewave Cannot Continue’
“This extended crimewave cannot be allowed to continue. Thieves are known to the community and to the police but they simply do not care, and continue on regardless, filling baskets and trolleys and walking out without fear of reproach,” he added.Retailers have invested £339 million in the last year on CCTV, security staff, intruder alarms and internal communication systems but the ACS say more help is needed from the police and government if shops are not going to out of business and leave many areas as retail deserts.
The ACS said retailers were having to pass on the cost of combating shoplifting to law-abiding customers and this was resulting in a 10p “crime tax” on every transaction, up from 6p last year.
£230 Million Earmarked in Budget to Help Police
On Tuesday the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, is set to provide £230 million toward time-saving technology to improve police productivity.The Treasury said over the weekend the measures will include the rollout of automated redaction of personal information during evidence collation.
This will allow—among other uses—name badges in CCTV footage of shoplifting incidents to be pixelated.
- The top motivations for shoplifting were drug or alcohol addiction, organised crime involvement and opportunism.
- The top triggers for abuse and violence in convenience stores were encounters with shoplifters, enforcing the law on age-restricted sales, and refusing to serve drunk customers.
- Sixty seven percent of corner shop retailers believe the cost of living crisis has led to an increase in theft.
- Seventy six percent of retailers believe shoplifting, on behalf of organised crime, has become more prevalent over the past year.
He said, “There seems to be a more organised approach to some of the thefts that are taking place.”