Retail crime ‘spiralling out of control’ as violence and abuse soar

Incidents of violence and abuse rocketed by 50% in 2023/24 to approximately 2,000 per day, the BRC’s annual Crime Survey showed. Losses as a result of theft reached an unprecedented £2.2bn. 

The number of incidents stood at more than three times that of 2020 and included racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with weapons. There were 70 incidents per day involving a weapon, which was more than double the previous year. 

In the face of the crime wave, retailers’ satisfaction with the police was low - 61% of respondents to the survey described it as poor or very poor. 29% rated the response as fair, 6% good, and 3% said it was excellent - the first time in five years that any retailer rated it as highly.

Retailers spent £1.8bn on measures such as CCTV, more security personnel, anti-theft devices and bodycams. That was up from £1.2bn the previous year and took the total cost of crime to from £3.3bn to £4.2bn.

The government has pledged to act on the problem, including by introducing a standalone offence for assaulting a retail employee.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Retail crime is spiralling out of control. People in retail have been spat on, racially abused, and threatened with machetes. Every day this continues, criminals are getting bolder and more aggressive. We owe it to the three million hardworking people working in retail to bring the epidemic of crime to heel. No one should go to work in fear.

“With little faith in police attendance, it is no wonder criminals feel they have licence to steal, threaten, assault and abuse. Retailers are spending more than ever before, but they cannot prevent crime alone. We need the police to respond to and handle every reported incident appropriately. We look forward to seeing crucial legislation to protect retail workers being put in place later this year. Only if the industry, government and police work together, can we finally see this awful trend reverse.”