Retail crime incidents have soared by 50% alongside the cost of theft for retailers in the 12 months to 31 August 2023, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The trade body’s latest crime survey found that the cost of theft to retailers is also up 88%, to a record £1.8bn from £953m the previous year, meaning the total cost of crime to retailers stood at £3.3bn – double the previous year.

Meanwhile, the number of incidents rose to 1,300 per day, up from almost 870 per day the year before. This is despite retailers spending £1.2bn on crime prevention measures in that period.

Incidents include racial abuse, sexual harassment, physical assault, and threats with weapons, and were reportedly found to be on a par with the levels seen during the pandemic.

In terms of incidents of theft, this more than doubled to 16.7m in the 2022/23 period, up from 8m the year before. More than 60% of retailers reported the response as poor or very poor, up from 44% in the year before.

Common triggers of violence were found to be asking for ID for age and stopping someone who is believed to be stealing goods.

A JTI spokesperson said: “In the case of the Generational Tobacco Ban currently proposed by the government, retailers will legally be forced to decline sales, not to children as is now the case, but to fully-grown adults of increasing age, if they cannot present satisfactory ID.

“Retailers will once again be put in the firing line if they are left to enforce this untested and unproven legislation, where failure to carry out the check is a criminal offence for the employee but not for the perpetrator of an under-age sale. Undoubtedly this will lead to a further increase in threatening behaviour towards the retail community.”

Calls to amend Criminal Justice Bill

The JTI spokesperson added that the survey results should be a  “wake-up call for policymakers”, as retailers call on the government to amend the Criminal Justice Bill in order to make it a standalone offence to assault, threaten or abuse a retail worker.

This proposal was recently rejected by the government when put forward by shadow policing minister Alex Norris.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “The pandemic has normalised appalling levels of violent and abusive behaviour against retail workers. While a confrontation may be over in minutes, for many victims, their families and colleagues, the physical and emotional impact can last a lifetime. To make the UK a safer place to work the Home Office must improve its reporting around the amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, and the police must prioritise adequately resourcing retail crime. Surely everyone deserves the right to go to work without fear.”

The survey also found that 88% of respondents had experienced verbal abuse, 60% had been threatened by a customer, and 9% had been assaulted.

The BRC called for the following measures:

• The Home Office to improve its reporting on the use and impact of the amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which aims to better protect retail workers from violence and abuse.

• The police to prioritise retail crime and allocate more resources and officers to tackle it effectively.

• The courts to impose tougher sentences for retail offenders, especially those who are repeat or violent offenders.

• The government to introduce a new Online Safety Bill, which would require online platforms to take more responsibility for preventing and removing illegal and harmful content, such as counterfeit goods, fraud, and abuse.