Tesco, one of the UK's largest supermarket chains, is taking measures to address rising concerns over violent attacks on its staff by providing them with body cameras, as

announced by the company's CEO. Over the past year, Tesco has experienced a concerning 33% increase in physical assaults against its employees, reflecting a broader trend identified by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) earlier this year. The BRC's report revealed that abuse targeting retail staff had nearly doubled compared to pre-Covid levels.

In an op-ed published in the Mail on Sunday, Tesco CEO Ken Murphy has called for stricter laws aimed at deterring offenders. While recent changes have made assaulting shop workers an aggravating factor in convictions, Murphy advocates for making "abuse or violence towards retail workers" a standalone offense. He points to Scotland's Protection of Workers Bill as a model, which already criminalizes assault, threats, and abuse directed at retail staff.

Additionally, Murphy is pushing for supermarkets to be kept informed about the progress of cases involving incidents in their stores, providing them with a more active role in the resolution process. He emphasizes the need to combat crime effectively, describing it as a "scourge on society" that affects both shoppers and retail workers, calling the abuse suffered by the latter "heartbreaking."

The BRC's Crime Survey, published in March, revealed more than 850 daily incidents of retail-related crime in 2021/22, a significant increase from the pre-pandemic level of 450 per day in 2019/20. These incidents encompassed racial and sexual abuse, causing significant emotional and physical harm to individuals. The trade association, representing over 200 UK retailers, estimated the cost of retail crime at £1.76 billion in 2021/22, with £953 million attributed to customer theft and £715 million allocated to prevention efforts.

Helen Dickinson, the CEO of the BRC, commented on the alarming normalization of violent and abusive behavior towards retail workers during the pandemic. She emphasized the urgent need for action to address this issue effectively.

In July, the Co-op, another prominent food retailer, warned that some areas could become "no-go" zones for their operations due to a 33% increase in crime over the past year. The company cited a Freedom of Information request revealing that 71% of serious retail crimes went unattended by the police. Waitrose, a subsidiary of the John Lewis Partnership, has also experienced a rise in shoplifting attributed to organized theft groups and has responded by providing body cameras and de-escalation training for staff in response to these incidents. Photo by Mark L, Wikimedia commons.