18
FEATURE: SECURITY
Criminal
DAMAGE
This month’s publication of the Retail Crime Survey 2009 has revealed the true impact
of recession on UK crime levels
T
he number of retail thefts by customers rose by a third in a While some put the rise in customer theft down to financial
single year, and violence and abuse against staff doubled, hardship, BRC’s director general Stephen Robertson refuses to let
according to the British Retail Consortium. the recession to be used as an excuse. “The increase in retail crime
The findings, published in the Retail Crime Survey 2009, identified during the recession can’t be justified as a move from ‘greed’ to ‘need’.
significant reversals in the reduction of crime over the last five years. Whatever the motivation, shoplifting is never victimless or acceptable.
According to the report, there was a 10 per cent rise in the total cost The cash costs are met by honest customers who end up paying more
of retail crime in 2008/2009 with UK shops paying £1.1bn in damages and the human costs by shop staff who intervene,” he said.
– the equivalent of 72,000 retail jobs. “It’s shocking that a shop theft happens almost every minute, 24
Customer theft accounts for the biggest share of all retail crime, hours a day. We need tougher sentencing to deter thieves and more
both by the number of incidents (94 per cent), and by monetary value consistent use of fixed penalty notices between police forces. Too
(42 per cent). The survey recorded 498,405 incidents – around eight many fines for shoplifting remain unpaid. We need more effective
per cent higher than the five-year rolling average. However, for the enforcement so they aren’t devalued as a deterrent.”
first time the BRC survey also assessed the proportion of retail crimes
not reported to the police. The 60 retailers that took part estimated
half of all customer theft goes unreported, bringing the real level of
theft into the region of 750,000 to one million incidents in one year.
“It’s shocking that a shop theft
The value of each theft has continued to fall, averaging at £45 a
time, as retailers improve the protection of high value items. Mixed
happens almost every minute,
retailers, DIY and hardware stores, in particular, experienced worse
than average customer theft.
24 hours a day”
Another disturbing find was the doubling of violence against retail
staff compared with last year. At least 22,000 staff suffered physical
or verbal attacks or threats, with the overall level of recorded incidents Based on the findings in this survey, the BRC has compiled a list of
running at 20 per 1,000 staff members. The BRC notes that the actual recommendations with a major focus on better engagement between
figure is likely to be higher as a good deal of abuse goes unreported. police and local shops. Retailers should be genuinely involved in setting
Last year’s downturn prompted over half of retailers to invest local crime priorities and treated as key partners in the community.
more in crime prevention and security, with an average spend per The BRC also calls for more police focus on tackling serious and
store of £13,950. Despite this extra spend, the number of burglaries organised crime against businesses, and better co-ordination of
was up by a third and robberies almost doubled. The research shows offences that cross police boundaries.
burglaries increased to 21 incidents per 100 outlets, reversing a five- Robertson added: “The police and criminal justice system must
year downward trend. But as with customer theft, the value of an take retail theft more seriously. There’s been some progress but,
individual robbery was down by 61 per cent on last year to an average with a fifth of retailers saying they don’t report crime because they
cost of £2,077. have no confidence in the police and two thirds of shop thefts going
In another reversal of fortunes, criminal damage more than unreported, not enough.”
doubled reaching 47 incidents per 100 outlets – the equivalent to
nearly half of all stores being affected – ending a nine-year drop. Find out more:
However, only a third of incidents were reported to the police, again For more information, please contact the author or visit the website:
highlighting a worrying discrepancy between police recorded crime

www.shopping-centre.co.uk/security
and crime experienced by retailers.

lauren.vanderkar@jldmedia.com
SHOPPING CENTRE January 2010 www.shopping-centre.co.uk
18-SCJan10-Security2.indd 18 14/1/10 19:22:44
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