Rates of retail crime are increasing and staff are on the frontline
The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) 2023 Crime Survey revealed that violence and abuse against people working in retail has almost doubled on pre-pandemic levels. Incidents rose from the pre-Covid high of over 450 per day in 2019/20 to 850 per day in 2021/22. Alongside the emotional and physical impact on people, the survey revealed that the cost of retail crime totalled £1.76bn in 2021/22.
Some £953m was lost to customer theft, with eight million incidents reported over the year. Retailers also spent £715m on crime prevention in 2021/22, contributing to higher prices for customers by pushing up retailers’ operating costs.
In July, the BRC reported an update on the survey, revealing that incidents of theft have increased by 27% across the 10 largest cities in the UK, with some cities up as much as 68%. The nature of these crimes has changed, with perpetrators becoming bolder, and many retailers reporting increasing links to organised crime activity.
Optical practices are sadly not immune to the threat of break ins and theft, especially given the value of stock they hold. Last month alone, Optician reported on two break ins, at independent Norville and Dobinson Opticians in Downend, Bristol, and at Boots Opticians in Lymington, resulting in the theft of frames and tablets.
Optician columnist Tom Davies, CEO of TD Tom Davies, had 30% of store stock stolen in 2021 worth £300,000 from his Chelsea practice, including special frames on show from the movie Cruella, prompting a police investigation. The designer had invested in ‘Nest’ cameras, an improvement, he said, on the recorder boxes of 10 years ago.
‘On cameras around Sloane Square on adjacent streets, police were able to see the thieves putting on masks and were able to track their vehicles. In addition, DNA was obtained from the scene. They were caught and sentenced to prison,’ he said. While none of the frames were returned, the story attracted global press due to the quality of the CCTV footage and the fact that the stolen frames were from Cruella – a ‘silver lining’ according to Davies.
STAFF SAFETY
More recently, a thief was caught by passers-by exiting one of Davies’ practices due to a staff member yelling ‘stop thief’, and an off-duty policeman making a citizen’s arrest. Unfortunately, the thief did not turn up for his court hearing and is currently on the run.
On both occasions, Davies said that his staff members were shaken and upset. ‘On the first event, with the Cruella frames, my manager was really upset. “This is my home,” she told me in tears. For the most recent break in, when my assistant manager chased them out the store, showing more bravery than I think I would have shown, she was shaken up but recovered quickly. I was very proud of her and gave her a reward,’ he said.
Davies said his main concern was the safety of his staff: ‘We have had about 10 thefts over the years and mostly we just ignore it because the alternative, to put alarms on frames and make them heavy to try on, isn’t worth it. We generally don’t claim insurance either because the premiums always get you in the end.’
Neil Lunn, Specsavers’ director of central operations, agreed that safety comes first: ‘Unfortunately, shoplifting does occur and our advice to our colleagues in our practices is always to put your own safety first. We recommend that our practices are actively participating in local schemes, which identify opportunities to work alongside shopping centres, chambers of commerce and other retailers.
'Our practices have CCTV as a deterrent and to assist with identifying shoplifters where issues occur. However, we find our greatest asset is our colleagues who greet and assist every customer who enters the practice to browse.’
In 2022, following an extensive campaign, the BRC helped secure an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act with the aim to better protect people working in retail. However, the Home Office does not track the use of the amendment, which the BRC argued makes it impossible to understand if changes are having an impact.
In July this year, the BRC wrote to mayors and police and crime commissioners across the UK to ask them to do more to protect retail workers. It also backed shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper’s speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, last month, regarding calls for a new law and tougher sentences for attacks on shopworkers because ‘everyone has the right to feel safe at work’.
The BRC said: ‘We need action. We need local governments across the country to ensure retail crime is a clear priority in local policing strategies. This must be backed up by the necessary resources to effectively tackle retail crime.’