U.K. Cracks Down on Retail Crime and Worker Assault, Sets Tougher Punishments
LONDON — Retailers doing business in the U.K., including Boots, John Lewis, Sainsbury’s and H&M, have applauded new legislation from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak aimed at cracking down on retail crime.
The government confirmed Wednesday that assaulting a retail worker will become a stand-alone criminal offense in the U.K., with shoplifters facing tougher punishments.
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Perpetrators could be sent to prison for up to six months, receive an unlimited fine and be banned from going back to the shop where they committed their crimes. New Criminal Behaviour Orders will bar them from visiting specific premises, the government said.
Breaching an order will also become a criminal offense and carry a five-year maximum prison sentence. For the most serious cases of assault, such as causing grievous bodily harm with intent, offenders could face a life sentence.
The government is also clamping down harder on offenders who repeatedly target the country’s high streets, with serial offenders forced to wear tags to track their movements.
Backed by a 55.5 million-pound investment over the next four years, police will have new powers to use facial recognition technology to help catch perpetrators and prevent shoplifting.
Police mobile units will be able to take live footage of crowds in towns and on high streets and compare images to specific people wanted by the police or banned from a specific location. Local police will then be alerted so they can track down the offenders.
Sunak said that since 2010 violent and neighborhood crime in England and Wales “has fallen dramatically, yet shoplifting and violence and abuse toward retail workers continues to rise.”
“I am sending a message to those criminals — whether they are serious organized criminal gangs, repeat offenders or opportunistic thieves — who think they can get away with stealing from these local businesses or abusing shopworkers. Enough is enough.”
The British Retail Consortium had long been campaigning to have retail crime and worker assault classified as a specific offense. Helen Dickison, the industry body’s chief executive officer, said, “the voices of the 3 million people working in retail” are finally being heard.
“The impact of retail violence has steadily worsened, with people facing racial abuse, sexual harassment, threatening behavior, physical assault and threats with weapons, often linked to organized crime. Victims are ordinary, hardworking people — teenagers taking on their first job; carers looking for part-time work; parents working around child care.
“Together, we must stamp out this scourge in crime that has been sweeping the nation, and ensure retail workers are given the vital protections they deserve,” she added.
Seb James, managing director, Boots U.K. & Ireland, said the company welcomed the government’s announcement.
He added that “intimidation and abuse of retail workers is unacceptable, so legislation to strengthen shopworker protection sends a powerful signal and deterrent. At Boots, we also continue to invest in our own capability to disrupt and deter criminal activity and protect our team members, including in our CCTV monitoring center and body-worn video cameras.”
Henrik Nordvall, U.K. CEO at H&M U.K. & Ireland, said it has been “extremely concerning to see the steep rise in theft and antisocial behaviour on our high streets, and with this new legislation we can see a way forward to better protect our colleagues in store.”
“The new offense will enable retailers to work more efficiently with local police commissioners to not only report retail crime, but to help deter any future abusive behavior. Our colleagues have a right to feel safe on the high street, and this new offense is a step forward in giving them the protection they deserve,” he added.
Sharon White, the outgoing chairman of John Lewis Partnership, said retail crime costs U.K. businesses more than 1 billion pounds every year “and can have a huge impact on the shop workers involved. We’ve long called for violence towards retail workers to be recognized as a stand-alone offense, so welcome this announcement, which sends a clear message that abuse will never be tolerated. It will help deter acts of aggression, and allow police to drive prosecutions should instances escalate.”
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