Under new government plans, assaulting a shopworker is set to become a criminal offence, alongside tougher punishments for shoplifters including prison time and fines.

Announced by prime minister Rishi Sunak this morning, amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill will see perpetrators possibly going to prison for up to six months for shoplifting and receiving unlimited fines, with Criminal Behaviour Orders also banning them from going back to the shop where they committed their crimes. The move means legislation across both Scotland and England now aligns.

It’s also been revealed that breaching an order will be a criminal offence, carrying with it a five-year maximum prison sentence, while perpetrators committing serious crimes, including grievous bodily harm with intent, will face life sentences.

Other measures include:

• Serial offenders to be required to be wear electronic tags to monitor their activities
• A pilot of new community sentencing measures to tackle prolific shop theft offenders
• An investment of £55.5m over the next four years in facial recognition technology to help identify and catch offenders, including mobile units to be deployed on high streets

The plans have been introduced following repeated calls from industry bodies and retailers for a crackdown on retail crime, with the ACS’ 2024 crime report revealing that retailers faced 600 incidents of theft an hour in the last year, along with 76,000 incidents of violence.

Sunak said: “Shoplifting and violence and abuse towards retail workers continues to rise. I am sending a message to those criminals – whether they are serious organised criminal gangs, repeat offenders or opportunistic thieves – who think they can get away with stealing from these local businesses or abusing shopworkers, enough is enough.

“Our local shops are the lifeblood of our communities, and they must be free to trade without the threat of crime or abuse.”

Electronic tags and facial recognition

Electronic tags will be used to tackle serial offending, with those found guilty of assaulting shop staff three times required to wear one as part of a community order, or if sentenced for shoplifting on three separate occasions.

Meanwhile, as part of the £55.5m investment into facial recognition technology, mobile units will take live footage of crowds in towns and on high streets, comparing images to specific people wanted by the police or banned from that location. Police in that area will then be alerted.

Commenting on the latest measures, crime and policing minister Chris Philp said: “Sadly if you speak to anyone working in retail, they will tell you of the verbal abuse and sometimes violent assaults they’ve been victims of, simply for trying to do their job. In no other work place would this be accepted. I have been driving forward action to improve the police response to retail crime since I became Policing Minister, because nothing less than a zero-tolerance approach will do.

“That’s why today we’re sending a clear message to criminals that enough is enough bringing forward further measures to protect retail workers and crack down on those who continuously disregard the law.”

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Industry reacts

ACS chief executive James Lowman said the standalone offence for assaulting a shopworker is important, “but it must be backed by a joined-up approach from local forces, police and crime commissioners and central government” to ensure crime reports are followed up properly.

“We strongly welcome this package of measures which sends a clear message to local shops that retail crime will be taken seriously by the police and the wider justice system,” he added.

The Fed’s national president Muntazir Dipoti commented: “We have been lobbying the government for years for better protection for those who work in shops, for any form of attacks on shop workers to be taken more seriously and for the penalties for those who commit such crimes to be more stringent.

“We campaigned successfully in Scotland for the establishment of a standalone offence for those who abuse or use violence against retail workers. Last year we were pleased to see an amendment tabled to the Criminal and Justice Bill which would have made assaulting retail workers a separate offence and we had called on MPs of all parties to support it. It was of huge disappointment when this fell through.

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“Shop workers have to deal with physical and verbal threats on a near daily basis. This, along with unprecedented levels of shop theft, seriously affects the lives of ordinary, innocent people who are simply doing their jobs. Having campaigned for so long, Fed members are pleased that tackling retail crime is to be finally given the energy and priority it deserves.”

Peter Batt, managing director of Nisa, described the latest announcement as “tremendous triumph”. “We welcome the change in the law to create a separate offence for assaulting a shopkeeper,” he explained. “Nisa works with thousands of independent retailers, and we have long highlighted the growing number of assaults in retail, especially on independents, often working alone, late at night to serve their communities. We will continue to monitor crime against independent retailers to help our retailers, and support the law enforcement agencies that ensure often vital retail services can safely offered to communities.”

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