Crime against retailers has rocketed during the recession, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), has warned.
The number of thefts from shops rose by a third in a single year with an incident occurring nearly every minute, 24 hours a day – while incidents of violence and abuse against shop staff doubled, according to the BRC’s Crime Survey 2009, published today (Thursday 7 January).
For the first time the BRC survey assessed the proportion of retail crimes not reported to the police. Data from retailers indicated two thirds of customer thefts were not reported; suggesting the actual number of shoplifting incidents was over one million.
The survey also shows retail crime of all types cost UK shops £1.1bn in 2008/09 – a 10% increase on the previous year and equivalent to 72,000 retail jobs.
Stealing by customers accounts for the biggest share of all retail crime both by the number of incidents (94%) and by monetary value (42%).
The BRC said incidents of violence and abuse against shop staff doubled compared with the previous year.
Physical violence rose 58% and verbal abuse 37%.
Stephen Robertson, British Retail Consortium director general, said: “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.
“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.”
