A new report funded by the Manchester based Co-op is calling on action to stem the rising number of crimes against shop workers, and highlights workers suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, more commonly seen in the armed forces.
The research has been undertaken by criminologist Dr Emmeline Taylor from City, University of London.
In a report, unveiled today, she has for the first-time evidenced the impact and motivations of violence in the retail sector, which she describes as having “reached ‘epidemic’ proportions.”
The investigation calls on the Government to urgently protect employees and send a clear message that violence and verbal aggression will not be tolerated in shops.
The latest statistics show that assaults and threats against shop workers have risen three-fold workers fall victim to 42,000 violent incidents with 115 colleagues physically attacked every day, with many more verbally abused and threatened. Estimates show that assaults and threats toward retail and wholesale staff are at the highest level since 2012 with around two fifths (39%) of violent incidents resulting in injury.
The report claims that: “Shop workers report severe mental health consequences from violence, including long-lasting anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“The strain of constant abuse and fear of physical violence is causing some shop workers to change their shift pattern, their place of work or, in the worst cases, terminate their employment entirely.”
And finds that: “It is evident that Government action is urgently needed to protect employees and send a clear message that violence and verbal abuse will not be tolerated in our shops.”
Co-op Food CEO, Jo Whitfield, said: “Nothing is more important to me than protecting our colleagues at the Co-op. I’ve worked in retail businesses for more than 20 years and I’ve never seen such high levels of violence and abuse. And it’s having lasting effects on the lives of workers, both mentally and physically. It is not part of the job to be verbally abused, threatened or attacked. We’re determined to make sure it isn’t and in addition to industry-led initiatives, the sector needs Government action to stem the tide of abuse against shop workers and address the underlying causes that are known to result in violence. We hope the report’s recommendations force the Government, businesses, law enforcement and trade unions to act together to develop a strategy to protect all shop workers.”
The investigation identified four main causes in which violence and abuse are becoming prevalent: encountering shoplifters; enforcing legislation relating to the sale of age-restricted goods and other prohibited sales; hate-motivated incidents; and armed and unarmed robberies.
Challenging shop thieves is the number one trigger for violence and verbal abuse in the retail sector, accounting for 25% of incidents, says the report. But the report sets out that thieves can steal with relative impunity by stealing goods worth less than the £200 threshold set in the ASBCPA 2014.
