The boss of Co-op is calling on the government to take more action to tackle retail crime amid a warning it has reached record levels as criminal gangs are operating “exempt from consequences”.
Co-op said its latest data showed that of the nearly 3,000 occasions this year where security teams detained serious offenders in its stores, the police failed to show up almost four-fifths of the time, leading to a “dangerous pressure cooker” environment that puts store workers and communities at risk.
Matt Hood, the Co-op managing director, said: “We are pleased that the serious issue of retail crime, which impacts our communities so dramatically, has been acknowledged, and that police chiefs have committed to attend incidents where the offender is detained.
“It is a welcome and reassuring move, which should complement the £200m we’ve invested in colleague and store safety.
“But we urgently need to see it in action in our stores, so the desperate calls to the police from my frontline colleagues are responded to and the criminals start to realise there are real consequences to their actions.”
At the start of Respect for Shopworkers Week, Co-op said the 3,000 incidents so far this year included shoplifting, abuse, violence and antisocial behaviour, an increase of more than 40% on last year.
There have been more than 1,130 physical assaults against store workers, and more than 36,000 incidents of antisocial behaviour and abuse.
Co-op has highlighted that where serious incidents are prioritised, and clear cooperation with the police exists, it is a solvable issue. Forces such as Nottinghamshire, Essex and Sussex have, this year, removed 56 prolific offenders off the streets, with a combined 26 years of custodial sentences, said Co-op.
Paddy Lillis, general secretary of the Usdaw union, said: “These Co-op findings on police responses are extremely worrying and need to be addressed, because there is an epidemic of shoplifting that too often triggers abuse of shopworkers.
“We are concerned that successive government policies give the impression that theft from shops has effectively been decriminalised.
“Underfunding of the police, with too few uniformed officers patrolling our communities; fixed-penalty notices for thefts under £200, leading to too few of these crimes being investigated and prosecuted, and the recent announcement that fewer ‘low-level offenders’ will not be sent to prison.
“Our members are not only in fear of being a victim of crime, they are distressed that too few criminals are being caught and punished. That is why we are jointly calling for a protection of workers law, a standalone offence of assaulting or abusing a worker serving the public.”