The Policing Minister has vowed to protect shopworkers with tough new measures today amid a ‘horrifying’ rise in violent attacks last year under the Tories.
Speaking at the Cooperative Party’s Retail Crime Summit in London on Tuesday, Diana Johnson will say “there is no place for anyone who abuses shopworkers, and we are changing the law to come after” perpetrators and declare that the “era of criminals acting with impunity” is over.
It comes as a recent survey from the Usdaw union showed nearly a fifth of retail staff suffered a violent attack last year – up from eight per cent in 2022. Nearly half also reported they had been threatened with violence.
The minister will outline new action being introduced by the Labour government to reverse the wave of violence on shopworkers, including:
· A reversal of the Conservatives’ Shoplifters’ Charter: a rule introduced in 2014 brought in a new category of ‘low-value shoplifting’ to describe the theft of goods worth under £200, meaning the police would not routinely investigate crimes below this threshold. Figures show the Tory law has seen a 29 per cent record spike in shoplifting incidents (nearly 1,300 per day) while just 17 per cent of shoplifters are being charged for their crime – meaning perpetrators are getting away with it.
· Millions of pounds of new money to tackle retail crime: the government announced in the Budget that new money will be invested in prevention, training the police and retailers on specific retail crime tactics to stop crime before it happens. An extra £5 million will be invested over three years to crack down on organised shoplifting gangs, funding a specialist analysis team within the National Policing Unit for serious Organised Acquisitive Crime. That project is already making an impact with 152 prolific people involved in organised retail crime identified in its first three months. An additional £2 million over three years will also be spent in the National Business Crime Centre, providing a vital resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.
· Tougher action against criminals that assault retail workers: Labour will legislate for assaults against retail workers a new stand-alone offence, as it has called for over the last decade. The change is supported by Usdaw union through its ‘Freedom from Fear’ campaign. The Policing Minister is expected to say: “There is no place for anyone who abuses shopworkers, and we are changing the law to come after you”.
· 13,000 additional neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the street and a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee: to reverse the collapse in the number of bobbies on the beat under the Tories, the Labour government will put policing back into town centres, high streets, and communities. It will restore guaranteed patrols in retail crime hotspots and mean shopkeepers and retail staff have a named officer to turn to when nuisance comes calling.
Johnson will say: “We know this is not a quick fix, but the blame for this unacceptable state of affairs falls at the feet of the last Conservative government.”
The Policing Minister will attack the Tories’ appalling record on law and order while in government and say the appointment of Chris Philp as new Shadow Home Secretary shows the Conservatives have learned nothing. She is expected to say: “Chris Philp was the Conservative Policing Minister. But his bright idea and solution to a shoplifting epidemic that was occurring on his watch was citizens arrests. He urged members of the public to use their powers when they saw thieves stealing goods. A statement that is so deeply irresponsible that it’s almost laughable. That’s how bad it got.
“But it gets worse. Chris Philp is now the Shadow Home Secretary in Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative top team. At the general election the British people sent a clear message to the Tories, after 14 years of failure, they’d had enough. But the promotion of Chris Philp shows they haven’t listened.”
In setting out the government’s choice to reverse the damage done by the Tories, Diana Johnson will add: “We know that this work is hard. After more than a decade of Conservative rule, our high streets and town centres have been hollowed-out. Ordinary people have lost the trust – abandoned hope – that the police will come when they were called, that the culprit will be caught, that they will see justice.
“Retail workers have been on the front line. They’ve seen the record high levels of shoplifting with their own eyes. They’ve faced the wave of abuse, threats, and violence. It must stop.
“The era of criminals acting with impunity, built up through years of Tory rule, is over. This is a government committed to our mission for safer streets, for safer communities, and for a safer Britain, and we have a plan to get there.”
Dee Corsi, chief executive officer at New West End Company, said: “We welcome the Policing Minister’s strong commitment to addressing retail crime and its serious impact on our workers, businesses, and shoppers. Retail crime has a devastating impact and ultimately drives costs up for other consumers. We look forward to working closely with the Government and private sector partners to ensure these plans are fully resourced and effectively implemented, strengthening our collective response to these serious offences.”
