Following an increase in violence towards shopworkers, the government has announced it will create a new specific offence of assaulting a shopworker.
This Insight looks at the background to the government’s announcement, including the rise in violence and abuse towards shopworkers, existing criminal offences and the calls for a specific offence.
How often are shopworkers assaulted?
In 2024, the Home Office’s annual Commercial Victimisation Survey found that 12% of retail premises in England and Wales had experienced assaults or threats against employees or customers in the previous 12 months.
According to the British Retail Consortium’s 2024 Crime Survey, there has been a “massive increase in violence and abuse” towards shopworkers, with respondents recording 475,000 incidents in 2022/23. This is a 50% increase on the 316,000 incidents recorded in 2021/22 and a 206% increase on the 154,760 incidents recorded in 2020/22.
While most of these incidents were verbal abuse, respondents recorded 41,000 violent incidents; equivalent to over 100 incidents a day.
What existing criminal offences cover assault and abuse?
Several existing criminal offences can be used to prosecute violence and abuse against retail workers, including:
- assault, unlawful wounding or grievous bodily harm under the common law or the Offences Against the Person Act 1861
- harassment or putting people in fear of violence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997
- affray or threatening or abusive behaviour under the Public Order Act 1986
Under section 68A of the Sentencing Act 2020, courts must treat an offence as ‘aggravated’ (meaning it can impose heavier sentences) if the victim of the offence had been providing a public service, performing a public duty, or providing services, goods or facilities to the public.
This change was introduced by section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 as a result of debates about retail workers during the act’s passage through Parliament.
Who has called for a specific offence?
In July 2020, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) launched a petition calling for a specific offence of abusing, threatening or assaulting a retail worker. The petition was signed by 100,000 people. The government’s response stated that a “wide range of offences already exist” which cover assaults against shop workers.
In May 2021, the Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, Helen Dickinson, called for a “standalone offence of assaulting a shopworker” which she said would “provide our colleagues with the protections they need.”
In June 2021, the Home Affairs Committee held an inquiry into violence and abuse towards retail workers. The committee concluded that the “patchwork of existing offences” did not provide adequate protection and said that the government should “consult urgently on the scope of a new standalone offence”.
When has Parliament considered proposals for a specific offence before?
The Conservative government initially rejected calls for legislative change and instead introduced a Retail Crime Action Plan in October 2023 to “tackle the rise in shoplifting, catch more offenders and keep retail workers safe.”
In January 2024, Alex Norris MP (Labour) tabled an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill 2023-24 at committee stage, which would have made it an offence to “assault, threaten or abuse another person who is a retail worker”. The amendment was defeated.
In April 2024, the Conservative government announced further measures to tackle retail crime, including plans to introduce a standalone criminal offence of assaulting a retail worker through an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill.
However, the bill fell when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the 2024 general election and the proposed new offence did not, therefore, become law.
What are the Labour government’s plans for a specific offence?
The King’s Speech included proposals for a new specific offence of assaulting a shopworker as part of a Crime and Policing Bill.
In November 2024, the Policing Minister announced that the new specific offence of assaulting a shopworker would have a maximum prison sentence of six months. Perpetrators would also face an unlimited fine and a ban from the shop where they committed the offence.
The introduction of a specific offence is part of a broader set of measures to tackle retail crime, including funding to crack down on gangs that target retailers, more training for police officers and retailers, and scrapping the offence of low-value shoplifting, which treats stolen goods worth £200 or less as a summary offence and tried in the magistrates’ court.
No date has been given for when the Crime and Policing Bill will be introduced to Parliament.
How have stakeholders responded to the proposal?
Stakeholders in the retail industry have broadly welcomed the proposal for a specific offence for assaulting a retail worker. But others doubt whether a separate offence would deter assaults or improve enforcement.
The Co-op’s Director of Campaigns and Public Affairs, Paul Gerrard, said the announcement marked a “seismic shift in the crackdown on retail crime”, and that it would “send a clear […] message” to those who think it is acceptable to assault shopworkers.
The General Secretary of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw), Paddy Lillis, said he was “delighted” by the announcement and that “the scale of assaults” and threats towards shop workers had been “a disgrace for many years”.
The Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, Helen Dickinson, said “millions of retail colleagues will celebrate the creation of a new specific offence”. But she also urged the government to ensure the offence covers “all those in customer-facing roles, from delivery drivers to till staff”.
During the committee stage of the Criminal Justice Bill, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, said a new offence would “not make a difference” to the police’s investigative and operational approach to reports of assaults on shopworkers.
HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke, stated he would “not necessarily be in favour of a separate offence” without evidence that it would enhance enforcement and reduce offending. HMCI Cooke also said the main focus should be on “how well, or not, policing is dealing with assaults” and shoplifting.
About the author: Greg Oxley is a criminal justice and home affairs researcher at the House of Commons Library.