RETAIL CRIME

COVER STORY: LEGISLATION

RETAIL CRIME IN A DIS-UNITED KINGDOM

RETAIL CRIME MAY BE A GB-WIDE PROBLEM BUT THE SCOTTISH, ENGLISH AND WELSH GOVERNMENTSAPPEAR TO HAVE VERY DIFFERENT VIEWS OF HOW TO SOLVE IT, AS DEVELOPMENTS OVER THE LASTWEEK OR SO HAVE SHOWN.

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

The pandemic has seen people working in retail performing critical roles, supplying the basic essentials to all of us and keeping us safe as we do so. This bill pays an important tribute to these efforts over the last six months.

[ Daniel Johnson, MSP ]

It may have been political mischiefmaking or it may have been pure coincidence, but only a few days after the Westminster Government declared itself “not persuaded” that a specific offence needed to be introduced to offer more protection to shopworkers, the Scottish Government then came out in support of a Bill designed to do just that.

The UK government’s comments were in direct response to a petition from trade union Usdaw and signed by more than 60,000 people demanding better protection for shopworkers. While The Ministry of Justice said it was ”sympathetic to the motivations behind the petition”, it remained “unpersuaded of the need for a specific offence as there are already a wide range of offences which exist and which cover assaults against any worker, including shop workers and those selling agerestricted items.”

Only days later, the Scottish Government announced that it will support the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Bill at the Stage 1 vote which takes place today. The vote will see MSPs decide on the whether to accept the general principles of the Bill and, should it receive the necessary support, it will then move forward to Stage 2 where it will undergo detailed scrutiny and debate with any potential amendments also being considered.

The Bill was brought forward by Edinburgh South MSP Daniel Johnson and will give shop staff additional legal protection when carrying out their work, particularly in relation to assault or abuse in relation to a mandatory activity such as requesting ID for agerestricted products.

Johnson said: “I’m delighted to see the Scottish Government have agreed to support my Bill at stage 1, adding their backing to this important issue along with trade unions and retail groups across the country. Dialogue with ministers in recent weeks has been useful in identifying understanding on this important issue.

“Passing my bill into law will provide an important recognition of the key duty shopworkers have upholding the law and the issues they face doing so. Most critically, the pandemic has seen people working in retail performing critical roles, supplying the basic essentials to all of us and keeping us safe as we do so. This bill pays an important tribute to these efforts over the last six months.”

Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) Policy Manager Luke McGarty said: “Serious in-store retail crime is not going away and impacts on retailers, their staff, their families, customers and the wider community. The Bill represents a unique – perhaps a once in a generation – opportunity to create a safer retail environment.

“SGF is fully behind the Bill and is a crucial step in the right direction and we urge MSPs to support it.”

Meanwhile in Wales, the Wales Retail Consortium (WRC) and Usdaw are jointly campaigning for a tougher response for those who assault retail staff. The WRC has launched a Shopworkers’ Protection Pledge, which has been signed by Members of Parliament who support legislation necessary to protect shopworkers.

The WRC is asking Welsh MPs and Assembly Members (AMs) to sign an online pledge to recognise the serious impact that violence and abuse has on shopworkers and the local communities they serve and stand with retail workers to support legislation to better protect them.

Nick Ireland – Usdaw Divisional Officer says: “It should be time for the Government to sit up, listen to our concerns and deliver much needed protection for staff. We urge the Welsh Assembly Government to add their support to shopworkers and retail employers calling for stiffer penalties for those who assault workers. With incidents of abuse doubling during the Covid-19 crisis, we are saying loud and clear that enough is enough, abuse should never be just a part of the job.

“Retail staff have a crucial role in our communities across Wales and that role must be valued and respected, they deserve the protection of the law.”

Sara Jones, WRC Head of Wales, says: “Every day hard-working retail colleagues across Wales are subjected to violence or abuse in their place of work. Sadly, the legislation meant to protect these workers is not fit for purpose, and many of these heinous crimes continue to go unpunished. These incidents have multiplied during the pandemic, which is why we are now calling on MPs and AMs from all parties to come together and sign the Shopworkers’ Protection Pledge.

“On behalf of the 130,000 people who work in the retail industry across Wales, their families and their communities, there is one simple message – doing nothing is not an option.”

THE FIGHT GOES ON

Despite the Westminster Government offering little more than sympathy in response to a petition signed by more than 60,000 people demanding better protection for shopworkers, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Retail Crime continues its struggle to ensure that those in the retail industry get the protection they need and deserve.

The APPG was founded to highlight the cost of retail crime to the high street (£600m a year), improve understanding of how this type of crime affects small businesses and what impact incidents of retail crime will have on our high streets if left unchecked.

The Group met last week to discuss various issues including Alex Norris’s Assault on Retail Workers Private Members Bill, which will have a second reading on Friday, and the Sentencing Council Consultation on assault offences. The Group has submitted a formal response to the consultation, which focuses on the issues which impact retailers, particularly independent retailers operating local news and c-stores.

The submission calls for retail workers to be given the same level of protection as is offered to emergency service workers in order to address “the rising level of attacks on retailers”, as well as encourage the mandatory use of Victim Impact Statements in order to ensure that the courts see the full value of the crimes committed.

It stated: “Being involved in incidents of robbery where threat or aggression can have an enormous impact on the victim, their colleagues and on the communities which they serve. Small and micro retailers are too often targeted because they do not have the sort of security that larger retailers have, and are open from early in the morning until late into the evening, often with few or only one member of staff on duty. This makes them particularly vulnerable.

“The members of the APPG on Retail Crime would like to see the use of Victim Impact Statements made mandatory. The members of the APPG on Retail Crime understand the constraints that the Sentencing Council and the Courts operate under, and believe that sentencing must reflect fully the harm on both the shop worker who was the victim of the assault but also the knock on effect on the business and the community.

“To improve confidence in the retail community, it would be helpful to have ‘shop workers’ as a specific group of key workers that serve the public and should therefore be protected within the sentencing guidelines.“