The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and its members are calling on the public to join them in making a stand against violence and abuse towards retail workers this Christmas as incidents soar.
The move comes after the most recent crime survey from the trade association found incidents soared to 1,300 every day, with acts including threats with weapons, physical assaults and racial slurs.
The trade body is looking to highlight that delivery drivers, who have already been subjected to abuse, physical violence and threats with weapons, are set to even busier during this time of the year.
As a result, many drivers are being equipped with protective measures, such as personal safety devices to alert police of their whereabouts, and DNA spit testing kits.
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Retailers are calling on the government to ensure the standalone offence for assaulting, threatening, or abusing a retail worker is introduced as quickly as possible and applies to all working in the industry.
BRC CEO Helen Dickinson said: “What our colleagues face on a daily basis is completely unacceptable. It is vital that the government sends a clear message and ensures the new standalone offence applies to all consumer-facing roles in retail.
“Together we can deliver a safer Christmas for everyone, and end the scourge of violence against retail workers.”
It comes after the BRC organised a letter to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves last week, along with the UK’s biggest retailers, warning of “inevitable” job losses as a result of the government’s decision to increase National Insurance.
Reeves was warned that jobs would be lost, stores would shut, and prices would have to rise due to the hike.
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