BRC welcomes progress as crime bill passes second reading

The bill is intended to give police forces and businesses extra measures to mitigate the growing effects of retail crime, which cost the retail sector more than £2.2bn in 2023/24.

The BRC has welcomed the progress of the bill, saying passing the second reading in the Lords made the measures passing into law “one step closer”.

BRC crime policy adviser Lucy Whing said: “We are glad to be one step closer to the implementation of the Crime and Policing Bill.

“As the government takes action to address retail crime, retailers hope this bill will play a vital role in protecting retail workers from harm and tackling the surge in theft.

“The bill will remove the £200 threshold for ‘low-level’ theft, which will send a clear signal that all shoplifting is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It will also introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker, which will increase sentencing and improve the visibility of violence against retail workers so that police can allocate the necessary resources to tackle this challenge.”

BRC data has found that 20 million separate incidents of retail crime have been reported, and that the amount being spent by businesses on crime prevention is at record high levels since the start of the year.

Retailers have invested £1.8bn this year on measures including CCTV, more security, anti-theft devices and body-worn cameras.

As incidents rocket, the BRC has found that retailer satisfaction with the police has fallen. A recent survey found that 61% of respondents describe police responses to incidents as poor or very poor.

Whing added: “It remains unclear if the offence will cover delivery drivers, despite new figures from Usdaw revealing that more than three-quarters have been victims of abuse and over one in 10 have been assaulted during the last 12 months.

“We call on the government to ensure that the final act ensures the extension of protections to delivery drivers.”