SGF Crime Report reveals soaring levels and costs of in-store offences
SCOTTISH convenience retailers have painted a grim picture of soaring in-store theft, abuse and violent crimes.
Shop theft continues to be the most costly and high-volume form of offence faced by c-store bosses who responded to the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) Crime Survey 2024.
Alarmingly, 99.8% reported that shoplifting had increased in the past year, with 99.5% saying it was a daily occurrence.
And 96.6% claimed police response times to shoplifting incidents were either unsatisfactory or significantly delayed. In turn, 48.2% said they were unlikely or very unlikely to report such crimes to the police.
The SGF study shows the average cost of retail crime per store is £19,673 per year (up 38% from the previous year) – about £102.7million across Scotland – including theft, vandalism and other costs.
But the human cost is arguably even more significant, as 62.5% of businesses that responded said they had at least one member of staff who had experienced mental health issues because of retail crime.
When it comes to physical and verbal abuse, 99.6% of retailers said violence against staff occurred at least once a month.
Worryingly, 79.8% revealed incidents involving a weapon such as a knife, club or firearm also happened monthly or more often.
And 83.5% claimed violence against staff had increased in the past year, with the remaining respondents reporting similar levels.
Furthermore, 98.8% experienced at least weekly incidents of abuse when refusing a sale or asking for proof of age.
Police response times again came under fire, with 36% saying they were unsatisfactory or undermined the effectiveness of reporting the crime.
Meanwhile, 83.3% told of hate crimes taking place at least once a month.
The SGF received 755 survey responses (14.5% of all convenience stores in Scotland) from across a range of symbol groups and independent retailers.
The latest figures up to the end of 2024 show 15,975 crimes have been reported under the Protection of Workers Act since it came into force in August 2021.
SGF chief exec Pete Cheema said: “The reality for many shop workers across Scotland is that each time they go to work, they risk being assaulted, stabbed, spat on, threatened, or abused. Crime against retailers poses a clear and present danger to convenience stores across Scotland.
“The SGF continues to emphasise the urgent need for greater action from government and the police to tackle this scourge on our sector.”
Figures up to the end of 2024 show 15,975 crimes have been reported under the Protection of Workers Act since it came into force in August 2021.
Labour MSP Daniel Johnson, who introduced the bill to Holyrood, told the SGF Crime Seminar in Edinburgh last month that the act had failed to have the desired effect.
He said: “The number of crimes is going up. All the act has done is quantify the problem but it has failed to spur on action to tackle the underlying causes.”
He identified the backlog in the justice system as critical, and called for an increase in the hours worked by the courts and the number of them sitting.
Meanwhile, a Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) survey has found 17% of Scots have seen verbal or physical abuse of shop staff in the last year, while 19% had witnessed thefts at a store.
SRC director David Lonsdale said: “Decisive action is needed to get on top of this scourge and deal firmly with persistent perpetrators.”
