Approximately 250 retail staff are victims of violent assaults every single day- according to latest Home Office report

The ‘Crime Against Businesses: Findings from the 2017 Commercial Victimisation Survey’ report published by the Home Office in May this year reflects how wholesale and retail premises consistently experience the highest levels of crime compared with other surveyed sectors.

This report encouraged online marketplace, OnBuy.com to investigate the issue of anti-social behaviour toward the wholesale and retail sector. To achieve the data, OnBuy took time to analyse the government report which you can read in full here.

Some of the statistics revealed include:

Assaults against retail staff are up by 25% and threats toward retail staff are up by 38%.

Approximately 250 retail staff are victims of violent assaults every single day.

1,433 incidents of ‘assaults and threats’ per 1,000 wholesale and retail premises, in 2017.

62% of anti-social behaviour victims admit it has had a negative impact on their business.

‘Youths on the street’ is the number one anti-social behaviour experienced in wholesale and retail businesses.

Worryingly, it’s likely you and other consumers will experience – or witness – such behaviour as when browsing the local high street. It was found 14% of wholesale and retail businesses experienced anti-social behaviour in the last 12 months. Additionally, over the past year, almost two-thirds of shop workers were verbally abused and 40% were threatened.

In addition to the negative social impact, this lawless behaviour also has financial implications on businesses. Victims of anti-social behaviour were asked how, if at all, the incidences impacted on business at their premises: 34% of victims felt it had a financial impact on business. 32% of respondents believed it had a negative impact on custom, and a further 29% said it had a negative impact on employees.

To put it into greater perspective OnBuy.com discovered 1,433 incidents of ‘assaults and threats’ per 1,000 wholesale and retail premises, occurred in 2017. This highlights the need for action in the protection of shop workers – something close to heart for the NFRN (The Federation of Independent Retailers) and outlined in their Independent Retail Report 2018.

Cas Paton, managing director of OnBuy.com, exclusively comments:

“What’s most worrying is that in this current climate of lawless behaviour and seemingly minimal consequence, the anti-social behaviour experienced by those in the wholesale and retail comes as no real surprise. It may be the government needs to revisit its stance on the leniency of some of the sentences for behaviours like those listed, or put stronger, firmer measures in place to reassure staff they are protected, and consequence is on the cards for those who act out inappropriately.”