The annual Retail Crime Survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed that the total cost of crime and crime prevention for retailers reached £1.9 billion in 2018, with 115 retail employees attacked every day on average.
The direct costs of crime included a £700 million loss as a result of customer theft, a hike of 31 per cent on the year before. And as for the human cost of criminal enterprise, the use of knives was highlighted as an area of real concern.
Chief executive of the BRC Helen Dickinson explained that violence against staff members is still one of the biggest issues that retailers face, but a rise in the overall number of incidents has been noted once again.
“The spiralling cost of retail crime – both in losses and the cost of prevention – are a huge burden to a retail sector that is already weighed down by the twin challenges of skyrocketing business costs and Brexit uncertainty.
“We hope this report will act as a catalyst for Police and Crime Commissioners around the country to take action. Retail crime should be explicitly addressed by Police and Crime Plans.
“Furthermore, Parliament must play its part in stemming this tide of crime by creating a specific criminal offence to protect retail employees from assault at work, as has been done for emergency workers,” she went on to say.
If any sort of crime occurs at your place of business, get in touch with the police as soon as you can. Where theft and vandalism is concerned, make sure you have the proper insurance and get in touch with your provider to file a claim. Create a list of losses and prevent theft by installing security shutters and the appropriate alarms.