Minister hates the phrase “low-level crime” – Usdaw welcomes government recognition of the impact of all retail crime

Opening the debate, Luke Murphy MP said that so many towns are “grappling with the consequences of years of neglect under successive Conservative Governments and the changing habits and shopping trends of consumers. High streets have suffered from an array of pressures, made worse, not better, by the policies of the previous Administration”. Among many issues, Luke Murphy highlighted, “Antisocial behaviour and retail crime remain significant barriers to a thriving town centre.”

In response, Government Minister Alex Norris MP (Labour and Co-op, Nottingham North and Kimberley) referred to the “terrible phrase, which I absolutely hate: ‘low-level crime’. The previous Government ceded ground around theft below £200, which has led to an explosion of stealing and other types of antisocial behaviour in our towns. That has made working in a retail environment a misery for people at times. We see staggering levels of violence, which we have to address. That is at the core of our safer streets mission, and we are committed to restoring neighbourhood policing through our neighbourhood policing guarantee - 13,000 more police and police community support officers as a visible deterrent.

“The Prime Minister announced our Plan for Change, which committed to a zero-tolerance approach to antisocial behaviour. That means a dedicated lead officer in every force, working with communities to work up a local antisocial behaviour plan. There are also our recently announced Respect Orders, which will give police and local council stronger enforcement powers, so that proper action is taken to change the behaviours of people who are persistently disruptive - others in our towns could name those people, and retail workers certainly could. This means banning them from the amenity they are disrupting, but also tackling the root cause of their behaviour through, for example, mandated alcohol and drug treatment. If people break respect orders, there are significant penalties, with offenders facing up to two years’ imprisonment - a real deterrent.”

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “Retail crime, theft from shops and abuse of staff are real concerns for our members and we welcome the priority that the Government has given to tackling these growing problems. The Minister is right to hate the very misleading and inappropriate term ‘low-level crime’. Retail crime is not a victimless act against large corporations; it is a blight on our communities, often perpetrated by organised criminals and a cause of great anxiety, fear, physical and mental injury to retail staff.

“We are pleased that the new Labour Government announced a Crime and Policing Bill in the King’s Speech. This new legislation will deliver a much-needed protection of retail workers’ law; end the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters, which has effectively become an open invitation to criminals; along with introducing Respect Orders for repeat offenders.

“The Chancellor announced in the Budget funding to tackle the organised criminals responsible for the increase in shoplifting, as Keir Starmer highlighted. Last week, the Prime Minister announced funding for 13,000 more uniformed police officers, patrolling our communities and high street. It is our hope that these new measures will help give shop workers the respect they deserve.”