OPINION: ‘Why partnerships enrich local communities’

Recently, you may have seen Respect for Shopworkers Week – an important campaign run by the union Usdaw, which the ACS is proud to support. 

We can’t emphasise enough how vital it is to support and protect the people working in convenience stores. Abuse should never be tolerated, and every incident of violence against a retailer or shopworker is unacceptable. 

You might think of another initiative we are close to, Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAPs), as being all about compliance with the law to ensure that businesses can keep their alcohol licence. But while this is part of the reason we support Community Alcohol Partnerships, they actually have the same objectives as Respect for Shopworkers Week: helping to address the ‘flashpoints’ that can lead to abuse, threats and intimidation. 

Refusing to sell alcohol and other age-restricted products is often the start of these ‘flashpoints’, so handling these interactions well is one of the best ways to ensure the safety of you and your colleagues.

CAPs pull together local retailers, trading standards officers, the police and local schools to address underage drinking and anti-social behaviour. It’s much easier to deal with these challenges as part of this team because you become part of a much wider project involving education, diversionary activities for young people, and a communications campaign.  

CAPs are a fantastic success story that we all need to support. These partnerships have lasting benefits which reduce levels of antisocial behaviour and enrich the communities in which we all live and work.  

Are you involved in a Community Alcohol Partnership? Do you want to be involved in one? Is there a need for activity to address underage drinking in the community where you trade?  Over 150 CAPs have been launched across the UK and we want to double this, so more retailers and shopworkers can work in safer stores and communities.