Fresh figures have revealed both how common crime in the retail sector is, and how little of it goes reported, with shopkeepers logging only half of all thefts, and just one in five incidents of verbal abuse, with police.
The data comes from the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), which runs a bi-annual survey of its members. The latest results show that while 80.26% of retailers report being victims of theft in the past 12 months, up from 72.34% in Bira’s previous October survey, just over half (50.82%) say they don’t bother reporting such incidents to police. When theft is reported, police fail to attend premises in half of all cases, while just 6.7% of reports result in convictions, the survey found.
Some 39.76% of independent retailers say they have been subject to verbal abuse in the last year, and while 58% agree this issue has become worse, 79.4% don’t report verbal incidents to police. This was an improvement on the October survey, though, when 89% said they did not log verbal abuse with officers.
Anecdotal comments indicate there is frustration with how law enforcement engages in the sector, with one retailer remarking that police “don’t turn up for full scale burglaries so aren’t likely to turn up for a spot of verbal abuse.”
Incidents of physical abuse against retail staff have fallen though, Bira found, with just 3.7% of retailers reporting this, down from 10.7% in the organisation’s previous survey – though only 30.77% of retailers say they log these attacks with police.
Cybercrime is far more likely to be reported to authorities, with 70.4% of vicitms of electronic crime reporting this, and 15% of retailers falling victim to this issue.
Bira’s chief executive, Andrew Goodacre, called the results “deeply troubling”, not least given the “sustained increase in criminal activity” is accompanied by “reduced police response”.
Government initiatives, such as the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee announced earlier in the month, may not always generate the intended results , with Goodacre saying “it is hard to see much difference at shop level” following 2023’s national Retail Crime Action Plan.
He added that given the seriousness of crime in the sector, and disparities in how individual police forces treat the issue, “a national, co-ordinated response” is required.
Bira will be sharing its findings with the Home Office and UK police forces, urging officers to respond to more incidents, and the judiciary to impose stronger sentences, while also advocating for greater funding for rehabilitation programs.
