Former Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) president Dan Brown, who heads up Pinkie Farm Convenience Store in Musselburgh, Midlothian, has made a heartfelt plea on social media to raise awareness of theft and violence against shopworkers, calling for the police, councillors and government to take tougher action against shoplifting.
In an article entitled “A ‘victimless’ crime” originally posted on LinkedIn, and published on ConvenienceStore.co.uk with Dan’s permission, the retailer called on readers to put themselves in the position of shopkeepers across the UK, imagining that their homes were repeatedly targeted by thieves, in the same way that stores are.
He asked them to imagine being threatened with knives and needles, and that the police failed to act due to lack of resources. He stated how this lack of action would lead to more people committing such crimes without fear of punishment.
“Shoplifting has essentially been decriminalised and is severely threatening the safety of the millions of shopworkers across the UK,” he stated.
He added: “We need to raise awareness of the impact shoplifting has – it’s not just little kids stealing sweets. It’s developed into violent attacks and even deaths. The losses are adding up. The casualties are adding up. It’s time for the Police, Local Authorities, Councillors, Procurator Fiscal, The Government to all step up. Stop publishing false crime figures. Accept there is a problem. Take action to deal with it.”
Dan’s words garnered the support of numerous members of the retail industry, including Jonathan James, company director at the James Graven Group.
Jonathan said: “Every retailer feels exactly the same way. The rot set in when Fixed Penalty Notices started to be issued, sending out the message that theft from a shop was no more serious than a parking offence. Thankfully it has got in the media spotlight and as retailers we need to keep it there until action gets taken to stop this relentless crime epidemic in our stores.”
George Ezady, a customer trading manager at Sainsbury, also shared Dan’s views. “We need more, much more support from the government to make any shoplifting crime a chargeable offence and with that give shopkeepers the confidence that someday … it will get better and profits, jobs, communities and mental health won’t have to suffer for it,” he commented.
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