Scottish retailers reported 263 incidents of physical violence in 2006, according to new figures released by the Scottish Grocers' Federation (SGF).
A further 5,099 threats of violence were reported, as well as 334 racist incidents. The figures were revealed in the SGF's retail crime survey for 2006.
And although the figures provide disturbing reading, SGF chiefs believe they could be even worse if retailers reported all crime to police.
SGF president and Spar retailer Pete Cheema told Convenience Store that he believed many retailers had lost faith in local police forces and as a result no longer bothered to report crimes. "In reality the figures could be a lot higher. Retailers should be encouraged to report crime, but many feel it is not taken seriously enough when they do, so they've lost confidence in the police.
"Retailers are doing as much as they can by installing CCTV and even employing their own security guards, but they need help from authorities."
The survey, which gathered information from close to 1,000 Scottish c-stores, also revealed that despite the introduction of Chip and PIN, respondents still reported a 54% rise in card fraud.
Although the report stated that the reason for the rise was not yet apparent, Pete believed it was down to a growing number of techniques used by fraudsters to obtain PINs.
SGF chief executive John Drummond added: "Crime continues to be a grave and costly problem for Scotland's c-store sector."
78,257 customer thefts
14,774 thefts by staff at a value of £622,014
193 incidents of criminal damage
137 burglaries resulting in £148,083 of lost stock
28 robberies with an average of £600 in lost stock per robbery
A further 5,099 threats of violence were reported, as well as 334 racist incidents. The figures were revealed in the SGF's retail crime survey for 2006.
And although the figures provide disturbing reading, SGF chiefs believe they could be even worse if retailers reported all crime to police.
SGF president and Spar retailer Pete Cheema told Convenience Store that he believed many retailers had lost faith in local police forces and as a result no longer bothered to report crimes. "In reality the figures could be a lot higher. Retailers should be encouraged to report crime, but many feel it is not taken seriously enough when they do, so they've lost confidence in the police.
"Retailers are doing as much as they can by installing CCTV and even employing their own security guards, but they need help from authorities."
The survey, which gathered information from close to 1,000 Scottish c-stores, also revealed that despite the introduction of Chip and PIN, respondents still reported a 54% rise in card fraud.
Although the report stated that the reason for the rise was not yet apparent, Pete believed it was down to a growing number of techniques used by fraudsters to obtain PINs.
SGF chief executive John Drummond added: "Crime continues to be a grave and costly problem for Scotland's c-store sector."
Reported Scottish retail crime
78,257 customer thefts
14,774 thefts by staff at a value of £622,014
193 incidents of criminal damage
137 burglaries resulting in £148,083 of lost stock
28 robberies with an average of £600 in lost stock per robbery
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