Action is needed to tackle retail crime and end shopworkers abuse, said Andrew Pakes, the Labour & Co-operative Parliamentary candidate for Peterborough, on a recent visit to meet staff at local Co-op stores.

Andrew joined a tour of local Central Co-op stores across Peterborough, meeting staff and shoppers to hear their experiences of anti-social behaviour and retail crime.

The visit comes after reports from retailers of soaring levels of crime across the sector, including shoplifting and increased instances of assaults on front-line retail workers.

According to retailers such as the Co-op Group, the increase is driven by repeat and prolific offenders, often associated with organised criminal gangs.

The Co-op Group alone has said there were about 1,000 incidents a day in its stores across the country in the six months to June alone.

The retailer also demonstrated many police forces have failed to prioritise retail crime, with on average 71% of serious crimes in retail stores not responded to.

Retail staff in shops have reportedly been offered body cameras amid the rise in violent crime, with significant increases in the levels of violence, threats and abuse directed towards them.

Speaking after the visit, Andrew commented:

“Over the last year alone we have seen a huge rise in incidents of shoplifting and antisocial behaviour affecting businesses and retailers across the country.

“Aside from the significant costs to businesses on our high streets, this has had a profound impact on the frontline retail staff who are enduring assaults and abuse at the hands of repeat offenders and organised gangs who are too often operating with apparent impunity.

“It was good to meet staff at the Co-op to hear their experiences first-hand and to discuss what action we need from the police to give greater support and protection to shops and retail workers.”

Adam Waudby, Head of Retail Operations, Central Co-op added:

“We’ve seen that violent crime, where store colleagues have been assaulted is up 57% year on year.  Verbal abuse, threats and intimidation are up 43% year on year.

“Ensuring our colleagues return home safely each day is our highest priority and we continue to invest in measures to protect them, however, we also need the police to prioritise these offences and improve their response to incidents.

“The police’s own data shows they did not attend in 73% of incidents reported by to them by British Retail Consortium members. We want to work together with the police and local leadership with a clear purpose as this is a key area for improvement.”