Preet Kaur Gill MP has paid shopworkers a visit at a local Co-operative supermarket in Edgbaston. The visit comes just after Labour announced a raft of tough new measures to protect shopworkers amid a “horrifying” rise in violent attacks last year under the Tories.
Gill is also the Parliamentary Chair of Co-operative MPs.
Under the Conservatives, shoplifting offences skyrocketed. According to Trade Union Usdaw, in the year to June 2024 there was a 29% increase in shoplifting offences.
Abuse of shop workers soared by 50% over the past year. Usdaw state that nearly a fifth of retail staff suffered a violent attack last year, and nearly half reported they had been threatened with violence.
This week, the Labour Government announced measures to reverse the wave of violence on shopworkers:
A reversal of the Conservatives’ Shoplifters’ Charter: a rule introduced in 2014 brought in a new category of ‘low-value shoplifting’ to describe the theft of goods worth under £200, meaning the police would not routinely investigate crimes below this threshold.
Millions of pounds of new money to tackle retail crime: the government announced in the Budget that new money will be invested in prevention, training the police and retailers on specific retail crime tactics to stop crime before it happens. An extra £5 million will be invested over three years to crack down on organised shoplifting gangs, funding a specialist analysis team within the National Policing Unit for serious Organised Acquisitive Crime.
Tougher action against criminals that assault retail workers: Labour will legislate for assaults against retail workers a new stand-alone offence. The change is supported by Usdaw union through its ‘Freedom from Fear’ campaign. The Co-operative Party and group also support the campaign.
13,000 additional neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the street and a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Preet Kaur Gill, Labour MP for Edgbaston, said:
“After 14 years of Conservatives, too many communities and high streets have been blighted by staggering increases in shoplifting and antisocial behaviour. Retail workers have suffered especially. The shopworkers I have met today have seen record high levels of shoplifting, facing abuse, threats, and violence if they interfere.
“It’s not right that shopworkers and customers in my constituency are made to feel unsafe by the rise in retail crime. Labour has introduced a raft of new tough measures to crack down on shoplifting by taking tough action on those that commit retail crime or assault workers.
ENDS
Notes:
Usdaw survey shows a 29 per cent increase in shoplifting across England and Wales: https://www.usdaw.org.uk/latest-news/alarming-29-increase-in-shoplifting/
Comments