Trade bodies and retailers have urged the MPs to back a change in the law to protect shop workers from attacks by supporting an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill.
The MPs will debate the new amendments today (5 July) at the report stage of the bill.
The amendments NC31 and NC32, moved by Sarah Jones MP, proposes the introduction of a new, separate offence for assaulting, threatening or abusing a retail worker and an increase in sentencing powers for offences of common assault committed against a worker enforcing age restriction regulations respectively. Both amendments introduce an aggravated offence with an increased imprisonment term of up to 12 months.
Besides, NC 90 moved by Matt Vickers MP, proposes to introduce a new, separate offence for assaulting, threatening or abusing an individual providing a service to the public, along with the introduction of an aggravated offence with an increased imprisonment term of up to 12 months.
“We welcome the amendments to the bill which would deliver tougher penalties to offenders who attack shop workers and would urge MPs to support these amendments at the report stage of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill,” James Lowman, ACS chief executive said.
“The problem of violence and abuse against shop workers is getting worse and we need the government to take urgent action to provide our colleagues with the support and protection that they so desperately need.”
Stuart Reddish, national president of the Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN), has written to all MPs in Westminster asking them to back the amendment NC31, which will give new and important legal protections to those working in the retail sector who are victims of verbal or physical abuse.
Reddish said: “Recent research by retailers shows that the rate of incidents has risen even further during the coronavirus pandemic, as our members have worked hard to support their local communities and provide a shopping environment that is safe for customers and staff alike.
“No-one should face verbal or physical abuse just for going to work, but this has, for too long, been the reality of working in the retail sector. I would therefore ask you to stand with those who work so hard to serve their local communities, oppose threats and violence against retail workers and to support amendment NC31 this evening.”
One hundred of the UK’s leading retailers have yesterday written to the prime minister calling on him to support the amendment to bill.
The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) most recent crime survey reveals a 7 per cent year-on-year increase in incidents of violence and abuse in 2019, which equates to 455 cases each day. The ACS 2021 Crime Report reveals that 89 per cent of colleagues working in local shops have experienced some form of abuse, with over 1.2 million incidents recorded over the last year.
“Retailer workers are facing violence and abuse every day just for doing their jobs – keeping customers safe during the pandemic, checking ID, and confronting shoplifters. Behind each of these statistics is a person, a family, colleagues and communities that have to cope with this trauma,” Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC said.
The proposals in the amendment will give retailers in the rest of the UK the same protection as those in Scotland, where Daniel Johnson MSP’s Protection of Workers Bill became law earlier this year. Last week, a Home Affairs Select Committee report has also concluded that a new criminal offence is needed to protect retail workers from a “shocking upsurge in violence and abuse.”
ACS has urged the convenience retailers to contact their MPs in support of new amendments using their postcode tool here.
