At a time when retail is undergoing a dramatic reinvention, with technology changing the way we shop, businesses can ill-afford to be burdened by huge crime-related costs. So says the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which in its annual crime survey found the total cost of crime and crime prevention for retailers was £1.9 billion last year, up 12 per cent from the previous year. The trade association points to the £900m direct cost from retail crime, and £1 billion spent on efforts to prevent crime.
The BRC found from members a £700m loss arising from customer theft, a 31pc rise on the previous year. That total cost, at £1.9bn, is equivalent to about a fifth of the estimated profits of the entire UK retail the BRC says.
The BRC reported use of knives by assailants as an issue of significant concern. Most, about 70pc, of respondents described the police response to retail crime as poor or very poor. And while opinions showed the police response was generally better for incidents with violence, as compared to customer theft or fraud, only 20pc of respondents considered the response good or excellent. The report includes anonymous case studies of armed attacks on staff in stores; the report warns of ‘an increasing willingness to use weapons to intimidate even for relatively small amounts’. Besides violence with intent, violence also arises out of retailers having to ask if someone is under-age when seeking to buy cigarettes or alcohol; and attackers being under the influence of drink or drugs. All three the report says present ‘a real public policy challenge‘.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the BRC, pictured, said: “Violence against employees remains one of the most pressing issues retailers face, yet once again we have seen an increase in the overall number of incidents. Such crimes harm not just hardworking employees, but also on their families and communities. No one should go to work fearing threats and abuse.
“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.”
As for cyber-crime, retailers are spending 17pc more on cyber-security than last year (up to £162m from around £139m the year before), and nearly 80pc of the retailers surveyed have seen an increase in the number of cyber attacks. Most threatening are phishing (‘seen by virtually all respondents as a high risk type’), and theft of data. The report suggests that losses in general are not all reported. Like other dissatisfied users of the national official reporting line Action Fraud, according to the survey ‘opinions of the police’s Action Fraud Reporting System (‘AFRS’) and associated police response remain strongly negative’.
It’s not all gloom; ‘tagging’ of specific goods minimises the risk of theft; the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), featured in the December 2018 print issue of Professional Security, is described as a ‘strong positive influence’; and Dickinson said in a foreword to the 30-page report that industry response is becoming more ambitious; a ‘‘Shop Safe Alliance‘ is due to launch shortly.
