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Retail Sector

72,900 reports of violence, threats or verbal abuse in 2005*

According to the British Retail Consortium's Annual Crime Survey, in 2005 there were 72,900 reports of violence, threats or verbal abuse to retail staff in the UK*.  It is generally believed that many more go unreported.  Increased levels of risk exist outdoors, when staff are moving to or from their place of work or unlocking or locking their premises early in the morning or late at night.

Violent and verbal attacks on staff working within the retail sector is currently escalating.  The number of incidents reported have now reached their highest level in more than a decade.

The British Retailers Consortium's Annual Crime Survey, released in October 2005, has highlighted that the most worrying trend ‘is a continuing growth in violence and verbal abuse directed towards retail staff’, and figures have shown that in the last five years physical abuse against staff working for retail organisations, both large and small, has risen by over 50%.

According to the survey, in 2004, verbal abuse against staff had risen by 35% and physical violence by 14% since 2003. This worrying trend is seen to be increasing year on year, and as a result, over the last five years, retailers have spent around £3.5 billion trying to protect themselves, their properties and their businesses. Interestingly twice as much money and therefore double the amount of investment has been lost (£7 billion) in acts of crime.  Crime, and measures to prevent it, is costing retailers an average of £2.24bn per year.

The figures show:

  • Cost of crime is up by 9%
  • Customer theft is up by 18%
  • Violence against staff is up by 14%

Cost contribution by retailers into crime prevention:

  • Security staff – 37%
  • Alarm monitoring – 2%
  • Alarm systems – 2%

It is worth noting that these figures may not reflect the true extent of retail crime, because small retailers do not tend to bother reporting incidences, as they think reporting will be a waste of time. There is a widespread perception that reported crime largely goes unpunished – leading many SME retailers to report less crime, creating a vicious circle of tolerance to criminals.

Panic Alarms - The issues.

Many retail environments have employed the use of panic alarms (PA devices), there are an estimated installed base of 600,000 PA devices in the UK. Installed to assist workers raise an alert if confronted, PA devices suffer from some significant issues:

  • Approximately 80% of alerts raised from PA devices are false alarms thus impacting heavily on the likelyhood of a Police response. False alarms often lead to a reduction in Police cover for the store.
  • Traditional PA devices tend to be fixed to a counter or wall. They are therefore of use only when stationed at that point, there is no protection afforded to the worker in other parts of the store or outside (when locking up for example).
  • Traditional PA devices when activated issue an alarm signal through to an alarm receiving centre (ARC), there is no way of verifying whether it is a real incident or a false alarm. If real, the severity of the incident cannot be judged.
  • Fixed PA devices are costly to install as engineer's time is involved and permission often required from the property landlord.

SoloProtect addresses all these issues as the Identicom device moves with the worker at all times and is operable wherever the worker is, including outside.

 

Retail staff at risk include...

  • Petrol forecourt staff – 24 hour operation, a major lone worker environment, a trend towards these ‘shops’ selling convenience goods which is heightening the risk of robbery.
  • Confectionary Tobacco and News (CTN) agent staff – open late at night, often working alone and often in remote areas.
  • Keyholders – lone workers are most vulnerable when opening and closing stores, and when attending branches due to alarms activated during unsocial hours.
  • Distribution / logistics staff – lone workers carrying valuable goods are vulnerable both during transit and when collecting/dropping off goods at premises (especially ‘dead drop offs’ during the night).
  • Branch managers – lone workers are vulnerable when opening and closing branches, and when attending branches due to alarms activated during unsocial hours.
  • Pharmacy staff – late night opening hours, often collection and disposal sites for drug user needle packs, store drugs, and are often located in vulnerable areas.
  • Staff based in stores selling desirable goods – electrical/high-tech equipment, jewellery and alcohol are at risk of being targeted for robbery. 
  • Field based engineers – those visiting premises for installation, maintenance work, fault evaluation and repairs are at risk of abuse and accident while at work.

 

SoloProtect benefits for the retail sector

  • SoloProtect helps to ensure that employers are meeting their legal ‘duty of care’ to their lone working staff.
  • Identicom provides a means by which lone workers can safely and discreetly raise an alarm without putting themselves at further risk of attack.
  • SoloProtect's monitoring centre is available 24 hours a day to react to and manage the response to any alarm raised by the user.
  • The open voice channel created when an alarm is raised is recorded and can be used as evidence of verbal and physical abuse in a court of law.
  • This audio capture can support CCTV footage within or around the retail environment.

  • As Identicom is worn by the user, it enables the lone worker to raise an alarm whether the incident takes place at the counter, in the stock room, when opening/closing stores, or when walking to and from cars, buses, etc. Fixed panic buttons and alarms under the counter are of no use if the worker cannot get access to them.

  • GSM technology enables Identicom to operate whether indoors or outdoors and is not limited by distance from a receiving box, as per some fixed site building alarms.
  • A timer function on the Identicom device can be utilised to provide additional reassurance to workers and can automatically go into an alarm state if it is not manually closed down. Examples include keyholders initiating the timer before entering premises to deactivate alarms or opening/closing premises, distribution drivers initiating the timer before entering a depot to collect/drop off goods.
  • SoloProtect provide comprehensive training that ensures that staff are fully familiar with the operation of Identicom and the support accessible through the SoloProtect service.
  • SoloProtect's proactive reporting service through the included TotalCare support package provides critical feedback on the way in which each Identicom is being used within your organisation.

 

* Source: British Retail Consortium, Annual Crime Survey, 2005

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