Rising Retail Crime Is Not Just an American Problem: UK Businesses Lost $2.13 Billion Last Year

Rising retail crime isn’t just a problem for American businesses.

On Sunday, leaders from 88 retailers across the UK – including top bosses from Clarks, Dr. Martens, Dune Group and JD Sports – have signed a new letter penned by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) to UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman demanding action over rising rates of retail crime.

In the letter, leaders stated that they are seeking support for colleagues who continue to face “unacceptable levels of violence and abuse,” amid a rise in theft, much of it organized crime, and “anti-social behavior” which in many cases are the root cause of violent incidents.

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As such, the retailers are making two demands of the government. Firstly, retailers are asking the government to create a new statutory offence of assaulting, threatening, or abusing a retail worker, allowing for tougher sentences for offenders – similar to the 2021 Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) Act passed in Scotland.

According to the BRC, this move would act as a deterrent and provide a “clear message” that Parliament will not tolerate crime and acts of violence against retail workers. It would also require police forces to record all incidents of retail crime, allowing for better allocation of resources to the issue. 

“This standalone offence would send an important signal that our colleagues will receive better protection in law and act as a deterrent to would-be offenders,” the letter stated. “This action should be taken without delay.”

And secondly, retailers are asking the government for greater prioritization of retail crime by police forces across the UK. “While the police face challenges across numerous competing priorities, 44 percent of BRC members rate the police response as poor or very poor,” the letter stated. “For one major retailer, the police’s own data shows that they failed to respond to 73 percent of serious retail crimes that were reported.”

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said in a statement that these actions are “vital” and should be taken before crime gets any worse. “We are seeing organized gangs threatening staff with weapons and emptying stores,” Dickinson said. “We are seeing a torrent of abuse aimed at hardworking shop staff. It’s simply unacceptable – no one should have to go to work fearing for their safety.”

According to the BRC’s 2023 Crime Survey, violence and abuse against retail workers in the UK had almost doubled on pre-pandemic levels to 867 incidents every day in the period of April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022.

The UK’s retail trade organization also put the scale of retail theft in the country at 953 million British pounds ($1.2 billion), despite retailers spending more than 715 million pounds ($867 million) on crime prevention. This means the total cost of retail crime stood at a whopping 1.76 billion pounds ($2.13 billion) for the 12-month period to April, the survey found.

A separate BRC survey of members in 2023 found that levels of shoplifting in ten major cities had risen by an average of 27 percent. This is not to mention the cascade of recent press stories detailing the wave of theft and violence currently impacting shops across the UK.

This move by British retailers comes days after the National Retail Federation (NRF) highlighted just how much retail crime has grown in the past year here in the U.S.

In its latest National Retail Security Survey, the NRF found that, when taken as a percentage of total retail sales in 2022, shrink accounted for $112.1 billion in losses, up from $93.9 billion in 2021.

What brings these two countries together are retailers from both sides of the pond calling on their governments to step in and help curb the problem. While the UK is asking its government for harsher punishment for retail crime offenders, retailers in the U.S. are hoping for similar legislation.

Retailers across the U.S. are banking on policy reforms such as raising the felony theft threshold – the amount that must be stolen in order to be considered a felony – or removing or eliminating cash bail may have unintended consequences for retail theft.

Another bill still awaiting a vote in Congress that could aid retailers is the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act. The bill would establish the Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate federal law enforcement activities related to organized retail crime. This center would facilitate information sharing across federal, state, local and tribal agencies and support multi-agency investigations.

This legislation follows the passing of the Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act, which officially became law in June. The legislation established better rules for the secure and safe e-commerce usage in the United States to protect consumers from fakes and stolen goods sold via online marketplaces.