The measure is aimed at the most serious offenders who plague town centres and neighbourhoods with anti-social behaviour. Respect orders will give police and councils the powers they need to crack down on repeated anti-social behaviour, keeping our communities safe and ensuring repeat offenders face the consequences of their actions. These new powers come alongside a government commitment to fund thousands more neighbourhood officers and PCSOs.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “After years of the Conservatives effectively decriminalising retail crime, leading to a more than doubling in shoplifting since the pandemic, we now have a Government that is delivering on its promise to bring town centre crime under control. We very much welcome the announcement of new Respect Orders to tackle repeat offenders who terrorise shops and high streets, striking fear into the hearts of retail workers whenever they enter the store.
“These 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. The Chancellor also announced in the Budget funding for more uniformed officer patrols and action to tackle organised crime gangs who target retail stores. It is our hope that these new measures will help give shop workers the respect they deserve.
“It is increasingly common for retail stores to be targeted by organised crime gangs stealing to order. This is in no way a victimless crime, with weapons and violence used to ensure these criminals are not stopped. 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.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
Crime in England and Wales statistics show that in the year to March 2021 there were 228,250 police recorded incidents of shoplifting. That rose by 106% to 469,788 in the latest stats for the year to June 2024. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/policeforceareadatatables
Interim results of the Usdaw’s 2024 survey, based on 4,073 responses, show that: 69% were verbally abused, 45% were threatened. 17% of shop workers had been assaulted. Of those who were abused, threatened or assaulted, 70% said that shoplifting was the trigger, and their assessment of the underlying issues was 64% related to a drug and/or alcohol addiction. The final results of the survey will be published in March 2025.
Usdaw’s Freedom From Fear Campaign seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against workers by engaging the public, shop workers and the Government. www.usdaw.org.uk/Campaigns/Freedom-From-Fear
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter/X @UsdawUnion