Proposed Five-Year Prison Terms for Assaults on Retail Staff Gain Strong Backing from Catch a Thief UK

Retail and hospitality workers across the UK are set to receive long-promised protection under new Government proposals introducing a standalone criminal offence for assaulting shop workers with sentences of up to five years in prison. The measures come amid rapidly rising levels of retail crime, violence and abuse towards staff, and growing calls from the industry for meaningful action.

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The proposed offence forms part of the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill and is designed to ensure that threats, intimidation, verbal abuse and physical assaults against customer-facing workers can be more easily recorded, charged, and prosecuted. The changes also aim to close long-criticised sentencing gaps, giving police and the courts stronger powers to deal with repeat and violent offenders.

A Growing Crisis: The Reality of Retail Crime in the UK

Recent data from across the sector shows a surge in criminality affecting stores, fuel stations, and hospitality venues:

The British Retail Consortium reports over 2,000 incidents of violence and abuse every single day — a dramatic rise from previous years.

The ACS Retail Crime Report recorded 6.2 million incidents of theft, alongside extremely high levels of staff abuse, with 87% of workers experiencing verbal abuse.

Retail theft losses hit a record-breaking £2.2 billion in the past year, while millions more are spent on additional security, technology and loss-prevention measures.

Convenience retailers and forecourts report increasingly frequent assaults on staff, weapon intimidation, organised shoplifting groups, and aggressive customer behaviour linked to fuel disputes, age-verification, and theft attempts.

Violence and abuse now rank among the top reasons retail workers leave their jobs, creating staffing challenges and serious safety concerns for the public.

Catch a Thief UK Strongly Supports Tougher Sentencing for Violent Offenders

Catch a Thief UK fully backs the Government’s proposal for tougher penalties — especially the new five-year maximum sentence for violent assaults against retail staff.

The organisation emphasises that customer-facing workers, including security staff and members of the public caught in the crossfire, deserve full legal protection. These individuals are often the first responders to criminal behaviour in stores and petrol stations, with many facing daily threats, intimidation, and physical danger.

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Catch a Thief UK believes:

Stronger sentencing will deter violent behaviour

Recording assaults as a specific criminal offence will remove loopholes

Repeat offenders must face serious consequences

Police must be better resourced to respond to retail crime effectively

The Work Catch a Thief UK Does to Protect Retailers and Communities

As one of the UK’s leading community-focused retail crime partners, Catch a Thief UK plays a vital role in supporting stores, fuel forecourts and the public through deterrence, intelligence gathering and proactive crime-prevention initiatives.

1. Helping Retailers Deter and Detect Crime

Catch a Thief UK provides a wide range of support to convenience stores and petrol stations, including:

Crime pattern analysis and reporting

Digital suspect identification support

Theft-prevention strategies tailored to high-risk locations

Behaviour-recognition guidance for staff

Assistance gathering intelligence for police investigations

Public custody updates and incident reporting

Awareness campaigns around violent incidents

Working directly with store owners, managers and regional security teams

Many retailers credit Catch a Thief UK with helping reduce losses, improve staff safety, and speed up responses to criminal activity.

2. Community & Social Enterprise Support

Through the Catch a Thief Social Enterprise Fund, the organisation invests back into local communities by:

Supporting neighbourhood safety initiatives

Providing education on personal safety and situational awareness

Funding early-intervention youth programmes

Offering crime-prevention tools and training at subsidised rates

Delivering safety briefings and community-based security workshops

Working with vulnerable individuals, local groups and schools to promote safer environments

This work makes Catch a Thief UK a true community and retail crime-prevention partnership, bridging the gap between retailers, residents, and police.

Unions, Retailers and Safety Groups Welcome the New Measures

Shop worker unions have long argued that violence towards staff has reached breaking point. Retail groups agree that criminal gangs and repeat offenders are exploiting weak penalties, stretched police resources and under-recording of offences.

The introduction of a standalone offence is seen as a critical step in protecting workers and restoring public trust in the justice system.

A Step Toward Safer Stores

Catch a Thief UK believes these proposed changes represent a strong step forward — but stresses that the real impact will depend on enforcement, police response times, and the courts’ willingness to issue meaningful sentences.

The organisation remains committed to supporting retailers, fuel stations, hospitality venues and communities through its crime-prevention services and social enterprise initiatives.

Catch a Thief UK will continue working alongside partners to ensure that frontline workers, security personnel and members of the public are protected and respected in every retail environment.

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