Retail crime: UK to introduce stand-alone offence for assaulting shop workers

Shop theft has risen by 29%, while violence against retail workers has surged by 50%, with 1,300 incidents occurring daily. Lords debate the impact of retail crime…

During a debate on Thursday (5) members of the House of Lords voiced unanimous concern over the alarming rise in retail crime and its impact on businesses, workers, and communities.

Lord Hannett of Everton (Labour), former General Secretary of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), initiated the debate, citing alarming statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS figures showed that nearly 470,000 shoplifting offences were recorded across England and Wales in the year leading up to October 2024— a 29 per cent increase and the highest figure since records started in March 2003.

Lord Hannett highlighted widespread underreporting of retail crime, noting “many retail workers do not report incidents because they simply do not believe that anything will happen when they do.”

He pointed to a British Retail Consortium survey revealing over 1,300 incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers daily in 2022-2023, with only a third reported to the police and fewer than 8 per cent leading to prosecutions.

USDAW’s survey found that 70 per cent of its members experienced verbal abuse in the past year, while 46 per cent were threatened, and 18 per cent faced physical assault.

“Theft was the trigger for 61 per cent of incidents in 2023, and this, coupled with record levels of retail crime, is now driving a huge number of incidents,” Lord Hannett stated.

Government plans to address retail crime

Responding on behalf of the government, Lord Hanson of Flint, minister of state at the Home Office, confirmed plans to introduce a specific offence for assaulting shop workers, a long-standing campaign by USDAW since 2003.

He acknowledged the pressures faced by retail workers and the significant rise in shop theft, which he described as unacceptable.

“I have been a member of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers for 44 years. I have stacked shelves, worked the tills and delivered to people’s doors, so I know the pressures in retail.”

“It is not acceptable in our society to steal from shops; it is not acceptable to attack shop workers in the course of their duty; and it is not acceptable to undertake ram raids or organise crime raids on shops and outlets.”

“This is not a victimless crime; it adds money to everybody’s bills and to the cost of strengthening security for staff,” Lord Hanson said, assuring the government’s commitment to taking action.

Lord Hanson stated that the government's plan of action would align with some of the recommendations put forward by the Home Affairs and Justice Committees of the House.

The government intends to increase the number of neighbourhood police and PCSOs to 13,000 and assign a designated officer to each community to collaborate with local residents.

Lord Hanson continued that they will look at Opal and Project Pegasus to co-ordinate action on gangs, tackling crime across borders and across police authorities.

The Autumn Budget also announced additional funding to address retail crime, including:

• £100,000 in 2025-2026 for the National Police Chiefs’ Council to enhance crime prevention training.
• £5 million over three years to expand Operation Opal, targeting organised retail gangs.
• £2 million over three years to build the National Business Crime Centre to support police and businesses in preventing crime.

Lord Hanson also emphasised the potential of facial recognition technology in keeping the streets safe and mentioned plans to review its implementation.

Lord Hannett welcomed the government’s plan to introduce a new stand-alone offence of assaulting a retail worker.

“Legislation to make this a special offence will send a strong message that violence against retail workers will not be tolerated.

“It will help police forces to target resources and improve reporting and recording procedures,” he said.

Lord Hannett urged the government to bring this legislation forward and to make it comprehensive in its coverage.

£200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters

Lord Hannett and other members urged the government to remove the £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters, which has become “an open invitation to retail criminals.”

Lord Hanson recognised that although the £200 threshold did not change the law, it sent a signal to the police that “shoplifting under £200 was not an important issue.”

He assured that they would repeal this clause in due course and provide proper guidance to police on these issues.

Impact of retail crime on businesses

Baroness Christine Crawley (Labour), vice president of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, underscored that customer theft is “the biggest source of financial loss” for businesses.

She stated that, in 2022-23, businesses spent £1.2 billion on increasing their security systems - an astounding 65 per cent increase from the previous year.

The Retail Trust’s 2024 survey of over 1,000 retail workers found that 47 per cent of them really feared for their safety at work.

“That is a dreadful statistic, but the retailers have become fatalistic about whether reporting crime will produce any results,” Baroness Crawley noted.

The Lords called for a concerted effort to tackle retail crime, protect shop workers, and restore community confidence in the police and the wider criminal justice system.