Grocery stores have become hotspots for crime, including abusive attacks on employees by customers.
To combat such incidents, the UK’s largest grocery chain is equipping store staff with body cameras to protect them at work, Ken Murphy, chief executive of the UK’s largest grocery chain, said in a published column. safety in. inside daily mail Sunday.
the company, owns Nearly 3000 stores Cases of verbal and physical abuse of store staff have risen across the UK. Murphy said there was a one-third increase in assault cases last year compared to the same period last year. He called the incidents “unacceptable” and the impact on workers “heartbreaking”.
“I want those who break the law in our stores to be brought to justice,” he said, adding that body cameras were provided to employees to “deter offenders.”
The company is doing its part to curb crime by investing £44 million ($55.56 million) over the past four years to beef up security measures at Tesco stores.
“It’s always worth the money spent on making sure people’s jobs are safe,” he said. “But that’s not how it should be.”
As well as the company’s own measures, the Tesco boss has called for stricter laws and greater cooperation with police to prevent such attacks. One way, Murphy suggested, would be to align England and Wales with Scotland, where assaulting or mistreating retail workers in offices is punishable.
Tesco no immediate return wealthrequest for comment.
Grocery Store Crime: From Abuse to Shoplifting
Tesco’s Murphy isn’t the only one to say his grocery store has seen a rise in crime.
Retail worker abuse has now doubled compared to pre-pandemic levels, trade body figures show Released by the British Retail Consortium revealed earlier this year. The BRC noted that there were more than 850 incidents of abuse, assault or other threats against retail workers in 2021/22, compared with 450 a day in 2019/20.
Chris Brooke-Carter, chief executive of the retail trust, a trade charity that helps retail workers, said workers had become “extremely anxious” and even resigned due to the rising number of attacks.
Abuse isn’t the only crime that has plagued grocery stores in recent years — shoplifting is another problem retailers face, and it’s often expensive.
According to BRC figures for July, retail thefts in the UK’s 10 largest cities rose by 26%. In some cities, the figure is as high as 68 percent, indicating a sharp increase in shoplifting.Cost of retail crime last year £1.76 billion Retailers spent millions of dollars ($2.22 billion) on preventive measures, the BRC found.
Soaring inflation and the UK’s cost of living crisis appear to be contributing to these increased crimes through the COVID-19 pandemic, as customers directly their frustration attack retail workers or steal food because they cannot affordable.
Some retail groups have opted for creative ways to engage police and deter possible crime in their stores. Last month, the John Lewis Partnership, which owns John Lewis and Waitrose stores in the UK, said it would offer police officers free hot drinks and discounted food at its stores to strengthen their relationship with local law enforcement officials.
“Even having a police car parked outside makes people think twice about stealing from our branch, or doing harm to us,” the retail group’s head of security, Nicki Juniper, said of the company’s employees. partners become aggressive.”
Security signage and CCTV cameras will also be added to John Lewis and Waitrose stores to tackle retail crime.
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