08/01/2010
By Scott Thompson
Figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reveal that a shop theft occurred nearly once every minute in 2009 - landing businesses with a £1.1 billion bill, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year.
The findings are revealed in the BRC\'s Retail Crime Survey 2009, published this week. For the first time, the survey has assessed the proportion of retail crimes that are not reported to the police. Data from retailers indicates two thirds of customer thefts are not reported; suggesting the actual number of shoplifting incidents was over one million. Stealing by customers accounts for the biggest share of all retail crime both by the number of incidents (94 per cent) and by monetary value (42 per cent). Incidents of violence and abuse against shop staff doubled compared with the previous year. Physical violence rose 58 per cent, verbal abuse by 37 per cent. At least 22,000 retail employees suffering threats, physical or verbal attacks. The actual figure is probably much higher as a good deal of abuse goes unreported.
"The increase in retail crime during the recession can\'t be justified as a move from 'greed\' to 'need\'. Whatever the motivation, shoplifting is never victimless or acceptable. The cash costs are met by honest customers who end up paying more and the human costs by shop staff who intervene," says Stephen Robertson, BRC director general. "It\'s shocking that a shop theft happens almost every minute, 24 hours a day. We need tougher sentencing to deter thieves and more consistent use of fixed penalty notices between police forces. Too many fines for shoplifting remain unpaid. We need more effective enforcement so they aren\\'t devalued as a deterrent."
"The police and criminal justice system must take retail theft more seriously. There\'s been some progress but, with a fifth of retailers saying they don\'t report crime because they have no confidence in the police and two thirds of shop thefts going unreported, not enough," he adds. "The doubling in violence and abuse against retail staff is the biggest concern of all. It should never be regarded as 'part of the job\'. Punishments must be strong enough to deter and the police should measure workplace violence when they assess business crime in the community and determine local policing priorities."
