‘Fear has become part of the job’: Shop staff face 1,600 acts of violence or abuse a day with a weapon wielded more than once an hour

Shop workers are suffering 1,600 incidents of violence and abuse a day, damning new figures reveal.

Although the number fell by a fifth last year, retailers say more needs to be done to protect staff who are working in fear.

And the report by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) found there were 118 incidents of physical violence a day with 36 involving a weapon – more than one an hour.

‘The relentlessness may have eased, but the fear has not disappeared,’ said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.

The group represents over 200 major retailers including Tesco, Primark and Sainsbury’s.

‘For too many of our three million retail colleagues, fear has too often quietly become part of the job,’ Dickinson added.

Violent incidents – which include shouted abuse, threats, racist or homophobic slurs, pushes and shoves – fell to 1,600 from 2,000 incidents per day in 2024.

But more than 100 a day involve physical violence, the survey said.

British retailers have invested more than £5billion in crime prevention and staff protection over the last five years, the survey found.

These methods include security guards, CCTV and body-worn cameras, which are used by major retailers, including Tesco.

And Britain is still continuing to be blighted by a shoplifting epidemic – with 5.5million known incidents of shoplifting last year, according to the BRC’s survey.

Although there appears to have been a fall in the number of incidents, from over 20million thefts in 2024, the BRC said that this is because it changed its way of doing its survey.

It now uses the number of known thefts, as opposed to calculating a figure based on a number of missing goods. The BRC admitted the real figure will be much higher.

It said that the alarming levels of theft were mostly down to organised crime gangs. Often criminals are ‘stealing to order’, the group said, where thieves steal pricey goods that may have been requested in advance by potential buyers or organised crime groups.

Dickinson added: ‘And when challenged, offenders do not apologise and hand the items back. Serial thieves know when to run, when to threaten, and when to fight. That is why staff are routinely told not to put their own safety at risk.’

It comes after The Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, was lambasted earlier this year by retailers after saying shopkeepers ‘don’t report anything’ and ‘need to do better’.

Retailers have long complained about the police’s attitude towards incidents of shoplifting, with some saying that theft has been effectively decriminalised.

Dickinson said today that police response towards such crimes is ‘improving’, although ‘the problem is far from solved.’

The BRC also said the industry was hopeful that aspects in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is soon to be passed into law, will help bring crime down.

The bill will remove a £200 threshold for ‘low level’ theft, which it is hoped will encourage police to take incidents of shoplifting more seriously.

And it will make assaulting a shop worker a standalone offence, which will mean tougher sentences for perpetrators.

Theft remains endemic: It is organised crime – they are stealing to order 

By Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium 

Spend time in retail and one thing stands out: almost everyone has a story.

The abuse shouted across a checkout when a refund was refused. The threats uttered when someone challenges a theft. The split second a hand goes into a jacket and a colleague freezes, not knowing whether a weapon might appear. For too many of our three million retail colleagues, fear has too often quietly become part of the job.

Yet there are signs things are improving. The British Retail Consortium’s 2026 Crime Report shows incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers fell by a fifth last year. This matters. 

It means fewer people dreading their shift, fewer colleagues injured just for doing their job, fewer families having to console loved ones after threats or attacks.

This progress did not happen by accident. It reflects sustained action by retailers and better prioritisation by police.

Retailers have invested more than £5billion in crime prevention and staff protection over the last five years: security guards, CCTV, body-worn cameras and specialist de-escalation training. Many colleagues now wear cameras because experience has taught them a visible lens can sometimes prevent a situation spiralling out of control.

Retailers are working more closely with police forces and government through initiatives such as Operation Pegasus and the Retail Crime Action Plan. Police response is improving, with more businesses now rating Police support as good or excellent. But progress is not the same as success – the problem is far from solved.

Violence and abuse in retail might be down, but remains nearly four times higher than before the pandemic. There are still 1,600 incidents every single day. 1,600 incidents of shouted abuse, threats, racist or homophobic slurs, pushes and shoves. More than 100 a day involve physical violence. Thirty-six a day involve weapons – that’s over 13,000 a year. The relentlessness may have eased, but the fear has not disappeared.

That is why the Crime and Policing Bill matters. Creating a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker sends a clear signal: abuse is not part of the job. It ensures these crimes are properly recorded and taken seriously. Removing the outdated £200 threshold for so-called ‘low-level’ theft matters too, because it restores a basic principle: all theft has consequences.

Theft remains endemic – and increasingly organised. Last year retailers recorded 5.5million shoplifting incidents, costing nearly £400million in detected losses. The true figure, including what quietly disappears from shelves, undetected, will be far higher. 

This is not mainly opportunistic theft – a t-shirt slipped into a handbag, or a steak scanned as carrots. This is organised crime, often stealing to order. And when challenged, offenders do not apologise and hand the items back. Serial thieves know when to run, when to threaten, and when to fight. That is why staff are routinely told not to put their own safety at risk.

Retail crime is not victimless. Money spent on guards, security systems, and replacing stolen goods, is money not spent on lower prices for customers, better stores or higher pay. In the end, honest shoppers pay the price at the till.

Retailers and their customers have been forced to fill gaps once covered by policing. As Torsten Bell, now a Treasury minister, rightly argued last year, properly resourced neighbourhood policing should mean retailers do not have to pay for their own guards just to keep people safe and shelves stocked.

We need to see retailers improving the quality of information shared with the police and we need to see more visible policing, consistent enforcement and the confidence that reporting leads to action. Without all that, trust erodes, offenders grow bolder and frontline workers carry the risk.

Falling violence shows what is possible when retailers, police and government work together with focus and determination. But it also shows how far there is still to go.

For the millions of people who keep our industry running, stock our shelves and serve their communities every day, feeling safe at work should not be an aspiration. It should be a basic expectation.