The UK government has tabled its Crime and Policing Bill, which includes significant amendments to enhance protections for retail employees.
The proposed legislation introduces a specific crime for assaulting retail workers, carrying a potential sentence of six months’ imprisonment or an unlimited fine.
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The bill seeks to abolish the existing £200 ($253) threshold for shoplifting offences, imposing a uniform maximum sentence of seven years irrespective of the stolen item’s value.
The bill also addresses the regulation of knife sales and measures to combat anti-social behaviour.
The introduction of a standalone offence for assaulting retail staff is expected to increase its prominence as an issue, enabling law enforcement agencies to prioritise resources more effectively and potentially deter criminal acts.
However, concerns have been raised by retailers regarding the exclusion of delivery drivers from the bill’s protective scope, despite their similar exposure to employees in stores.
British Retail Consortium (BRC) corporate affairs director Stephen Bethel said: “This is concerning, since delivery drivers are covered in Scotland’s Protection of Workers Bill, so retail colleagues have better protection there than they will in England and Wales. So we are making representations to government and hope to see them consider amendments that will address this as the Bill makes its way through parliament.”
The legislative initiative follows persistent lobbying efforts by the BRC and other organisations advocating for a dedicated offence to safeguard retail workers.
Recent statistics from the BRC indicated a significant rise in violence and abuse against retail staff, with 737,000 incidents reported in 2023-24, equating to more than 2,000 daily occurrences. This marks an increase from 475,000 incidents in the preceding year.
Police data shows a 23% year-on-year escalation in shop theft offences for the year ending September 2024, reaching the highest level since the implementation of current reporting standards in 2002/03.
