Shops in Northern Ireland demand new law protecting their workers

A recent increase in the number of shoplifting incidents in Northern Ireland has prompted the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) and the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium to jointly write to Naomi Long MLA, Minister of Justice, urging action to protect retail workers from violence and abuse,

The call comes after an epidemic of retail crime, with the latest recorded statistics from the Police Service of Northern Ireland showing shoplifting had more than doubled since the pandemic. The hope is for a law which mirrors the one in Scotland, where retail workers already have the protection of a separate, standalone criminal offence. Retail workers in England and Wales too are set to have similar protections as a result of the new Labour government.

Usdaw’s latest annual survey of over 5,500 retail staff across the UK showed that 18% of shop workers suffered a violent attack last year, compared to 8% in 2022. Six in 10 respondents said incidents of violence, threats and abuse they’d experienced were triggered by shoplifting and armed robbery.

Paddy Lillis, Usdaw’s general secretary said: “Shoplifting has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shop workers. The case for a separate criminal offence for abusing or assaulting a retail worker is clear, with our survey showing that physical assaults are at an all-time high. A separate criminal offence will ensure greater visibility and an awareness of the scale of the problem, prioritisation and resourcing from the police.”