Industry reacts as House of Lords passes amendment for tougher sentences for offences against retail staff

The House of Lords has passed the government’s amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, implying those who commit violent offences against retail staff are one step closer to receiving tougher sentences for their crimes.

Amendment 84, proposed by minister Baroness Williams of Trafford, proposed to introduce an aggravated offence for attacking an individual serving the public. This amendment went to a vote and was accepted by the house, reports said.

Reacting to the news, Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said, “We welcome the government’s move to ensure that those who commit violent offences against retail workers receive tougher sentences for their crimes. The government has demonstrated that it understands the scale of violence and abuse that our colleagues face, and that it will act to protect them.

“Crime against retail staff has been rising year on year, and nobody should go to work fearing their safety. The BRC will continue to campaign on behalf of the three million retail colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure we all have access to the food and goods we need.”

BRC’s most recent crime survey shows that 455 retail workers are abused or attacked every day at work, and this number has only risen over the past 20 months since staff have had to implement Covid safety measures. The survey also showed that only 40 per cent of retailers rated the police response to reported incidents as ‘good’ or ‘fair’, leading to many incidents not being reported to the police at all.

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Association of convenience stores (ACS), the retailers association that has been urging Peers to support the amendment, has also welcomed the move.

ACS chief executive James Lowman said, “After many years of campaigning we are please the government has introduced tougher penalties for attacks on shop workers. This sends a much-needed signal to our colleagues that violence and abuse will not be tolerated.

“We still need more resources for police forces to focus on neighbourhood policing and delivery of the drug rehabilitation strategy to reduce acquisitive crime that often leads to violence in local shops.”

Throughout the passage of the bill, ACS has been outlining the scale and impact of violence and abuse against shop workers, claiming that over 40,000 shop workers experienced violence and 89 per cent experienced verbal abuse over the past year.