Shops faced over 50,000 incidents of violence last year
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Political News
n the victim of over 50,000 incidents of violence over the last year, according to new figures from IRC member ACS' 2020 Crime Report.
The Crime Report, being launched this week, provides evidence of the scale and impact of theft, violence, abuse and other crimes committed against independent retailers and their staff, setting out a clear vision for how the Government and the justice system can take action.
Scale of the Problem
The impact of the financial cost of crime committed against the sector cannot be underestimated. Over the last year, local shops have lost out to the tune of over £211m as a direct result of crime, this is despite investment of £209m in crime prevention measures like CCTV, cash handling systems and external security. In practical terms, the £211m lost last year to criminal activity equates to a 7p ‘crime tax' on every transaction in a convenience store.
Thousands of local shops operate on very tight margins, so losses caused by crimes, especially serious incidents like robbery or burglary, can be devastating, and the consequences of losing a local shop are felt by the whole community.
The biggest contributor to the cost of crime as shown in this year's Crime Report is theft. In the last year, there have been over 1.1 million thefts, mostly committed by repeat offenders that are stealing to fund addiction and other criminal activity.
Impact on People
By far the most damaging aspect of crime is the impact it has on the people working in and running local shops. The report shows that 83% of people have been subjected to verbal abuse over the last year, and 50,000 people have been the victims of violence, one in four of which results in injury.
Criminals are brandishing knives, axes, hammers, syringes and even firearms as part of robberies, burglaries and other violent incidents against people that are just trying to do their job.
Call to Action
The landscape of criminal activity committed against people working in and running high street stores is getting worse, not better. As part of the 2020 Crime Report, ACS has set out five areas where the Government and justice system can take action to better support the convenience sector.
These actions are:
- Support local shops in investing in crime prevention equipment
- Conduct a proper review of the Out of Court Disposals (OOCD) system to better address the root causes of offending
- Tougher penalties for attacks on shopworkers
- Continued funding and support for the National Business Crime Centre
- Ensure that Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) recognise retail crime in their local plans
The full 2020 Crime Report is available here: http://bit.ly/ACSCrimeReport2020