Retail crime has hit its highest level on record with violence and abuse of workers having increased over 50% to more than 2,000 incidents per day, new data shows.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) annual crime survey, the current levels of retail crime is more than three times what it was in 2020, when there were 455 incidents a day, which include racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with weapons.

Theft also reached an all-time high with over 20 million incidents costing retailers £2.2bn in 2023/24, up from £1.8bn the previous year.

Many more incidents are linked to organised crime, with gangs systematically targeting stores across the country, stealing tens of thousands of pounds worth of goods and rotating around multiple stores.

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The amount spent on crime prevention is also at a record high, with retailers investing £1.8bn on measures such as CCTV, more security personnel, anti-theft devices and body worn cameras, up from £1.2bn the previous year.

With the total number of incidents growing, the BRC found that satisfaction with the police remains low, with 61% of survey respondents describing the police response to incidents as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.

Of the remaining, 29% rated the response as ‘fair’, a further 6% said ‘good’, and 3% described it as ‘excellent’, which the BRC said is the first time in five years that any retailers have rated it as such.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Retail crime is spiralling out of control. People in retail have been spat on, racially abused, and threatened with machetes. Every day this continues, criminals are getting bolder and more aggressive.

“With little faith in police attendance, it is no wonder criminals feel they have licence to steal, threaten, assault and abuse. Retailers are spending more than ever before, but they cannot prevent crime alone. We need the police to respond to and handle every reported incident appropriately.”

She added: “We look forward to seeing crucial legislation to protect retail workers being put in place later this year. Only if the industry, Government and police work together, can we finally see this awful trend reverse.”