A coalition of business groups and industry trade unions have come together to launch a new campaign calling on the police and crime commissioners (PCC) to act on retail crime.
Groups including the Association of Convenience Stores, the British Retail Consortium and the British Independent Retail Association have backed the campaign that calls upon the PCC to commit to the Retail Crime Action Plan in their local areas.
It also urges the PCC to inform businesses on how they should report incidences of theft and urges them to share a single point of contact for businesses that are a victim of crime in their area.
The new campaign, ‘Stop Shop Theft’, comes as retail crime figures hit a record high.
Data from 1200 retailers surveyed by the Association of Convenience Stores’ Voice of Local Shops Survey showed that 38% of independent retailers have reported theft levels to have increased over the last year, compared to just 8% who claimed it had decreased.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
This figure represents this highest increase since the survey started in 2012, with the previous record set earlier this year in May.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “These shocking figures show that shop theft is still getting worse for independent retailers across the UK, despite millions being invested in crime prevention and detection measures. Prolific offenders are stealing on a regular basis without fear of being caught because they know that the police are unlikely to be able to attend.”
BRC chief executive Helen Dickson added: “Shoplifting is not a victimless crime – it costs retailers, and ultimately customers, almost £1bn a year, money that would be better used to reduce prices for everyone.
“More importantly, it is a major trigger for the abuse and assault of retail workers, of which there are over 850 incidents a day. Retailers are working hard, trying to tackle this issue, spending hundreds of millions on security staff, CCTV, security tags, and other anti-crime measures. We need the police to urgently give retail crime greater prioritisation.”
