The creation of a standalone offence for “Assaulting a retail worker” is a step closer after Shadow Minister for Police Alex Norris MP tabled an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill yesterday.
Commenting on the issue, Norris said: “As Labour’s Shadow Minister for Police, I am hoping to amend and improve the Bill so the police have the tools they need to keep the streets safe. One area I am particularly interested in is the alarming rise in shoplifting and the rise in abuse and assaults on shop workers. I have campaigned on this issue for many years with the retail sector, the shop workers’ union USDAW and the Co-operative Party.
“Under this Government, rates of shop lifting have rocketed and shop workers are facing a torrent of abuse. No one should have to feel unsafe at work and I hope to amend the Criminal Justice Bill to create a new offence of assaults on shop workers. Labour have pioneered similar legislation in Scotland and I hope we can replicate that good work in England and Wales too.”
The move was welcomed by the British Retail Consortium. Chief executive Helen Dickinson said:
“The BRC welcomes the proposed amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which will create a standalone offence of “Assaulting a retail worker”. This amendment would show clear support for millions of dedicated retail workers up and down the country.
“Retail crime is soaring, with over 850 incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers every day, double pre-pandemic levels. Shoplifting has also increased by an average of 27% across ten of the UK’s largest cities in the last year.
“The rise in incidents comes despite retailers investing hundreds of millions of pounds in safety measures such as body-worn cameras, more security personnel and CCTV.
“We cannot stand idle and let another year go by as retail crime continues to rise and retail workers continue to suffer. The current laws simply do not go far enough.
“We call on MPs of all stripes to support this vital amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill. The Protection of Workers Act in Scotland already provides additional protection to retail workers, so why should our hardworking colleagues south of the border be offered less protection. This amendment would show a clear commitment to making front line retail workers safer in their place of work. It would also increase the visibility of incidents so that police forces can allocate appropriate resources and ensure they provide an adequate response to incidents.”
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