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8 Feb 2024

New research reveals that Apple Pay and contactless payments have overtaken cash payments by a landslide as our favourite ways to pay in-store.

5 Feb 2024

The Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) has expressed alarm at new figures that show shoplifting at its highest level in 20 years.

5 Feb 2024

A brand-new festival is being launched next month is “all about community and breathing life into the High Street”, according to Mark Kacary, managing director of The Norfolk Deli in...

5 Feb 2024

The retail sector has been responding to government plans to ban disposable vapes as part of plans to tackle the rise in youth vaping.

23 Jan 2024

Bakers, butchers, cheesemongers, delicatessens, fishmongers, greengrocers, village stores and small farm shops from around the UK have been shortlisted in the Farm Shop and Deli Retailer Awards...

23 Jan 2024

An interesting article has appeared in Forbes reflecting many of the issues that Indie Retail & ActSmart members will be experiencing – the challenges and...

22 Jan 2024

Eight in ten small business owners (81%) are planning to develop their companies in 2024, according to new research from Novuna Business Finance. The research shows that over a third (33%) are...

22 Jan 2024

The Times has named 12 of the UK’s best independent bookshops — as chosen by its readers. Readers highlighted places that combined books with a friendly and welcoming atmosphere....

22 Jan 2024

The British Independent Retailers Association is championing the high street again this Valentine's Day for the second consecutive year with its #LoveYourHighStreet campaign.

10 Jan 2024

Nads Store, a family-run shop in Law, Lanarkshire, has been named Community Retailer of the Year at the Scottish Asian and Business Awards ceremony for the second year running.

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Leading UK retailers urge police to “make retail crime a priority”

Posted on in Cycles News

Retailers have been urging the police to take retail crime more seriously and make it a priority.

Over 100 leading UK retailers have written a joint letter to Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales requesting that violence and abuse against retail workers be made a priority, despite themselves making a “huge investment” in crime prevention.

In the letter, reported in Retail Sector and other outlets, the retailers said they had increasing concerns about rising levels of violence and anti-social behaviour and the emotional impact it has on victims. They added that shoplifting also “pushes up the cost of operating and results in higher prices for everyone”.

UK retailers spent £715m on crime prevention in 2020/21, according to the latest Crime Survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The large sums have been spent on hired in-store security teams, training of retail teams on de-escalation and investment in CCTV and body worn cameras for staff, but retailers say police support “is vital” to protect retail workers.

During the pandemic, retail workers were subjected to a huge rise in violence and abuse, with incidents almost tripling from 455 per day in 2019/20 to 1,300 in 2020/21, according to a BRC survey.

Earlier this year, after an extensive campaign by the BRC and others, the UK Government introduced an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act which created tougher sentencing for assaults committed against those “providing a public service or performing a public duty”.

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