King’s Speech marks ‘crowning moment’ for all shop workers and communities as crackdown on retail crime and specific offence for attacks and assaults on shopworkers is announced

• Co-op applauds move to legislate and make attacking or abusing a shopworker a standalone offence
• The convenience retailer reveals its latest crime data for H1 (2024)
• The announcement comes as Co-op also launches its new brand proposition ‘Owned By You, Right By You’  – which champions the co-operative model and how its members can campaign for solutions to issues like retail crime. 

With unprecedented levels of retail crime impacting the industry, Co-op has recognised the announcement in the King’s Speech as a positive shift in the crackdown on repeat and prolific offenders that blight many communities.

News of the Government announcement to legislate and make attacking or abusing a shopworker a standalone offence has been roundly applauded. The convenience retailer has campaigned for greater protection for the nations shopworkers for more than seven years, with store workers and member-owners voicing their concern about the impact of crime on their communities, and how brazen criminals were stealing with impunity.

Last year Co-op revealed record levels of retail crime, and has unveiled its latest crime data which shows more than 172,000 incidents in the first half of 2024.

While the rate of increase has slowed, these figures still mark a 4 percent increase on last year’s unprecedented levels of crime, and a 42 percent increase since 2022. The figures comprise more than 22,750 incidents of anti-social behaviour, abuse, harassment, attacks and assaults – which equates to more than 125 of its store workers impacted mentally or physically every day.

It is recognised that the majority of retail crime is driven by repeat and prolific offenders, and local organised criminal gangs – often stealing goods for re-sale or for the funding of addictions.

Last week, Co-op launched a new multi-million pound brand campaign, focused on the ownership element of their co-operative business model, whereby they are owned and run by their members. The new advert, with the new end line, ‘Owned By You, Right By You’ outlines the clear differences this can lead to, and the campaigning to legislate against retail crime is front and centre of this new approach.

Paul Gerrard, Co-op Director of Campaign and Public Affairs, said: “Today’s news marks a seismic shift in the crackdown on retail crime, and will send a clear and powerful message to those who think it is acceptable to attack, assault or abuse shopworkers that, put quite simply, the law does not accept this behaviour and, it will now make it easier and much more straightforward for the authorities to investigate and prosecute – which means all shopworkers will be safer.

We know it will make a difference, because in Scotland – where they have had the standalone offence since 2021 – we see 60 percent of incidents of violence and abuse towards shopworkers (that are reported to the police) resulting in arrest, while in England and Wales, without that standalone offence, the figure is just 10 percent. The news today comes as we also champion the co-operative model and demonstrate how it gives member-owners a real voice – we say ‘Owned By You, Right By You’ and today’s development, along with our partnership approach with numerous Forces, shows that co-operation can provide a solution to many of the challenges we face in society today,”

Co-op has invested more than £200M over recent years in preventative measures. Including body-worn cameras, covert and non-covert guarding, latest interactive CCTV; fortified kiosks and defensive merchandising including ‘dummy’ (or empty) packages and even limiting product on shelf in stores most affected.