The good news is attacks on cash delivery vehicles are down to their lowest level for seven years. The bad news; there are still 10 a week across the UK. So, lots achieved but more to do and a real need for the new Government to work with us to continue this downward trend.

When violence and threats are used to snatch shop takings, that is retail crime at its most frightening.

It can have devastating consequences for those involved and their families - long-lasting trauma, permanent disability, occasionally even death.

The good news is attacks on cash delivery vehicles are down to their lowest level for seven years. The bad news; there are still 10 a week across the UK.

So, lots achieved but more to do and a real need for the new Government to work with us to continue this downward trend.

In the face of public spending cuts, backing a proven approach that has retailers, security firms, police and politicians all doing their bit is even more important.

In the past six months police forces have made some big arrests of serious organised crime gangs. The Met in particular has devoted resources specifically to this type of robbery. It made 190 arrests against 212 offences between October and March.

The previous Minister for Crime Reduction pushed hard to stop the farce of local councils slapping parking tickets on security-conscious crews trying to park close to the premises they need to get to. (Last year I actually photographed this happening to a van in central London - unbelievable).

More than half the UK’s cash robberies happen in London and the majority take place while cash is being carried across the pavement.

Only a would-be robber could think a guard should have to carry a case of cash from a formal parking space that could be streets away.

The security industry is spending on training and technology to reduce the threat of attack. Dyes or smoke can now contain DNA codes to link stolen banknotes to the thieves and glue-bonding systems leave them with a useless block of money they can’t separate. Changing the balance between the risk and reward is making cash attacks less attractive to criminals.

And retailers and couriers are using the guidelines the BRC published in November. They give a checklist to assess anti-robbery measures against, covering things like providing secure locations for vehicles, refining procedures and making it harder for criminals to spend stolen notes.

The guidelines are making a difference and I think they’ll go further. Other sectors, including forecourt operators, are adopting them and we’ll be updating them every year.

It has a mass of other priorities, but I hope the new Government backs everyone’s efforts. For a long time the BRC, police chiefs, bankers and others have been taking part in regular Home Office roundtables on cutting cash robberies. It’s early days but, since the election, we have yet to have an indication that they will continue. They certainly should.

Falling robbery figures are good news but no one involved should be complacent. The human and financial costs are too great for that.