The Fed slams the lack of Government support
INDEPENDENT retailers are demanding tougher action to fight back against crime, according to new research from the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed).
A massive 91% of retailers have called for more police patrols on the street, while a similar number – 90% – said that shoplifters should be handed harsher sentences.
The new research conducted by the Fed comes as the UK’s convenience retail sector has been hit by a crippling crime wave, costing store owners millions of pounds in the process.
Indeed, 72% of respondents to the Fed’s research said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins as well as damage to property, and have received physical or verbal threats towards them and staff members.
Just under half – 47% – of respondents said they and their employees had been threatened by members of the public or had suffered abuse and violence when asking for proof of age ahead of selling an age-restricted product.
The results of the Fed’s survey come after a report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which revealed that shoplifting was at a record high, with almost half a million offences recorded in the last year.
According to the ONS, 469,788 offences were logged by forces in the year to June 2024 – a 29% increase when compared to the previous 12 months. This marked the highest figure since records began in March 2003.
Mo Razzaq, national president of the Fed, said: “Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen.
“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by the police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.
“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age-restricted product.
“If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.
“Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”
