Home Office commits to tough action to tackle retail crime and abuse of shop workers

Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, Home Secretary (Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley, Labour) replied: “Too many town centres and high streets have been hit in recent years by soaring shoplifting, street crime and damaging anti-social behaviour, at the same time as neighbourhood police have been heavily cut. This Government is introducing new powers to tackle anti-social behaviour and shop crime by rebuilding neighbourhood policing on our streets.

“When town centre crime gets out of control, that impacts on businesses, local confidence and communities. That is why we are bringing in Respect Orders that can ban repeat perpetrators from town centres. Also setting out our plans for 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs back our streets. We are also going to get rid of the ludicrous £200 rule that we inherited from the Conservatives, which means that shoplifting is very often not being properly investigated and it needs to be taken much more seriously. 

Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson MP, Policing Minister (Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham, Labour) added: “In the last year of the previous government shop theft reached a record high and we saw intolerable levels of abuse against shop workers, leaving people fearful to go to work. This Government will not stand by as these crimes devastate our high streets and town centres, that’s why we are committed to introduce a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker. We’re grateful to Usdaw and the Co-op for their tireless campaigning. 

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “It is a sign of the times that retail crime and the impact on shop workers dominated today’s Home Office question time in the House of Commons and we are grateful to the Labour MPs who put the issue on the agenda. There is a shoplifting epidemic that has doubled since the pandemic and is still rising, with a 29% increase over the last year.

“After 14 years of neglect and repeated refusals to deal with the issue from the last Conservative Government, we are pleased to see that Labour is making this a priority and delivering the measures our members and all retail workers desperately need.

“Respect Orders are part of a whole suite of measures to be introduced in the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill. We also look forward to a much-needed protection of retail workers’ law and ending the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters, which has effectively become an open invitation to retail criminals.

“Having to deal with repeated and persistent offences can cause issues beyond the theft itself, like anxiety, fear and physical harm to retail workers. Interim results from Usdaw’s latest annual survey found that one in seven retail workers had suffered incidents of violence, threats and abuse that were triggered by theft from shops and armed robbery. Our members are clearly saying ‘enough is enough’ and Labour is delivering.”