Shop workers urged to report every incident of retail crime to police

Retailers Against Crime (RAC) teamed up with the Scottish Grocer’s Federation (SGF) earlier this year to raise awareness of the growing impact of retail crime on local businesses and shop staff by revamping the SGF’s Don’t Put Up With It! Campaign.  

The campaign aims to provide information and guidance for retailers about the support available through the Protection of Workers (Retail) Act 2021 and charitable organisations such as Grocery Aid.  

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It also urges everyone in retail to report all retail crime, from shoplifting to violence, to police to send a message that it “will not be tolerated”.  

Maxine Fraser, managing director of RAC, says she believes incidents of retail crime have risen because “there’s no consequences” but says police are not to blame.  

She said: “The police do as much as they can do and we have to remember they have much more heinous crimes to deal with.  

“The government are continually letting people out of jail who should probably still be in there, although jail isn’t the answer for everybody.  

“There are people out there that have substance abuse issues, whether that's drugs or alcohol, so if you put them in jail it’s like a roundabout.” 

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Maxine Fraser (Image: Supplied) Maxine says there needs to be more rehabilitation programmes and early intervention to divert children away from crime.  

She said: “We have home grown large teams of individuals who are parents, children, grandchildren, and it’s moving from generation to generation. 

“If you don’t deal with these habitual criminals they’re going to continue to do it.” 

We previously reported that in Glasgow, retail crime rose by 37% from 2022/23 to 2023/24 and at just over halfway through the financial year are so far noting a similar percentage increase.

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Maxine says the rise has got “nothing to do with the cost-of-living crisis” but says the only “knock on effect” could be a rise in theft to order.  

She said: “There’s no morals or standards in people who steal.  

“You get people who think the world owes them a living. 

“These aren’t just a couple of meals. These are trolleys loaded with alcohol and clothing. 

“It isn’t the cost of living that has driven them to steal £500 or £1000 worth of stuff.” 

She continued: “The knock-on effect of the cost-of-living crisis may be if you previously bought your partner or children designer clothes but you can't afford them anymore you will maybe buy them from someone else who’s selling them but that’s reset, it’s a crime to buy stolen goods.  

“So maybe these individuals who steal to order, their orders have increased.” 

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(Image: Newsquest) This year up until the end of September, RAC have had 1314 incidents reported involving violence with Maxine saying reading about some people’s experiences can be “very emotional”.  

She said: “We see when people are stopped by staff or security stealing items, they just start shouting and become aggressive.  

“There’s been large bottles of alcohol thrown at staff and customers, it’s beyond belief.  

“I have no idea what drives that.  

“Violence against staff has to be completely eradicated.”  

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Dr Pete Cheema OBE (Image: Supplied) Dr Pete Cheema OBE, SGF chief executive, agrees that the rise in retail crime is because of a lack of consequences.  

He said: “Crime has really exacerbated since Covid and it's been on the rise since then.  

“The main cause is the blockage in the Scottish judicial system, which is failing to tackle the growing problem of retail crime.  

“The backlog hasn’t been cleared since Covid which has meant people feel they can get away with it.” 

The SGF 2023 crime survey found that 100% of retailers who responded say shoplifting increased in the last year while 99.5% say it is a daily occurrence.  

We also previously reported the survey found 92.8% of retailers who responded said violence against staff occurs at least once a week while 57.5% said violence against staff had increased in the past year.  

Dr Cheema says the figures are “horrific”.  

He said: “There are daily instances of abuse when refusing a sale or asking for proof of age is still a big problem.  

“Shop theft, violent crime, abuse, robberies, it’s on the increase and we are going to see a continued increase until the government gives the police the resources to carry out their duty.”