Dramatic rise in shop violence
Violence against people working in shops has increased by 50% in the last year, new research from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) claims.
Now retailers are calling on the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to make shop crime a higher priority.
The BRC's Annual Crime Survey shows a 50% increase in incidents of physical violence and says that threats of violence against shop staff have doubled.
Representatives of the BRC and the shopworkers union USDAW will present the findings to Ms Smith at the Labour Party Conference in Bournemouth.
A BRC spokesman said:
"In many areas local authorities and local police are treating retail crime as if it doesn't matter. The Home Secretary must use her influence to ensure retailers and shopworkers receive the same level of protection where they work as they rightfully expect at home."
