Violence against staff up 50%

 

The Preliminary findings of the 2007 British Retail Consortiums 2007 Retail crime survey has shown that there has been a nearly 50% increase in violence against shop staff while recorded threats of violence against staff have more than doubled. 

 

The BRC and the Union of shop, distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) will present these findings to the Home Secretary at a Shop-Crime fringe meeting at the Labour Party Conference and will be making a joint call for local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to give crime against retailers and shop workers the same level of attention as they direct toward crime and anti-social behaviour in residential neighbours.

 

The preliminary findings show that violent acts against staff are up by 50%, threats of violence against staff have doubled.  The number of incidents per store has shot up by 18% while the incidents of verbal abuse has decreased by 6%.

 

     

 

Tracy Low, who is a USDAW rep and shop floor worker said: "Incidents of violence, threats and abuse against shopworkers are far too common. Verbal abuse is a daily experience for many and it can really grind you down. We along with retailers are asking for respect, because we feel very strongly that abuse is not a part of the job."