The British Retail Consortium has launched a campaign aimed at candidates for the police and crime commissioner elections to tackle retail crime. The trade body’s Get Tough On Retail Crime campaign is calling on the PCC candidates to commit to three pledges that would support the fight against the spiralling problem. The elections are taking place on 2 May.

The pledges are: making retail crime a priority in their police and crime plans; allocating necessary resources for tackling retail crime in their region; and working with other policing stakeholders to ensure the standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker is used and data on its use is tracked.

Government announced a new standalone offence will be introduced last week, along with several other mechanisms to stop serial and abusive shoplifters.

Once it becomes law, it should help the police and courts to investigate, prosecute and sentence offenders. It will also provide the necessary data to understand the scale of the problem, which should consequently improve police response rates.  Inadequate police action has given criminals free rein to steal goods and assault retail colleagues. PCCs have a fantastic opportunity to get tough on retail crime through the new standalone offence, and the next wave of PCCs deliver the protections that those working in retail and communities up and down the country deserve.

The BRC’s latest crime report showed violence and abuse against people working in the retail sector was quickly escalating, with incidents rising by 50% to 1,300 a day in 2023.

These incidents, which can include everything from threats with weapons and physical assaults to racial slurs, can take a severe toll on the physical and mental health of victims.  Shoplifting also poses a huge issue to businesses and communities across the country, with losses to theft doubling to £1.8bn, according to the BRC. Retailers spent a record £1.2bn on crime prevention measures last year