The retail industry has applauded plans outlined in the King's Speech to legislate and make a new specific offence for attacks on shop workers.

Co-op director of campaign and public affairs Paul Gerrard said that the plans mark a "seismic shift" in the crackdown on retail crime.

“We know it will make a difference, because in Scotland - where they have had the standalone offence since 2021 - we see 60 per cent of incidents of violence and abuse towards shop workers (that are reported to the police) resulting in arrest, while in England and Wales, without that standalone offence, the figure is just 10 per cent," continued Gerrard.

His comments come as Co-op unveils its latest crime figures, which reveal there were over 172,000 incidents recorded in the first half of 2024.

The retailer has long been outspoken about its concerns with an alarming rise in violence towards the staff in its stores. In February, the company published a new report which showed both shoplifting and abuse had significantly increasing in 2023.

The company said that there were 336,270 incidents of shoplifting, abuse, violence and anti-social behaviour across Co-op’s 2,400 stores during last year, up 44 per cent year-over-year and representing around 1,000 incidents every day across its 2,400 stores.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said that it particularly welcomes Labour's explicit bills to reform the Apprenticeship Levy and planning laws; tackle retail crime and antisocial behaviour; and accelerate the country’s clean energy transition.

According to the organisation, retail crime is currently costing retailers and their customers £3.3 billion a year.

“With over 1,300 incidents of violence and abuse a day against retail workers, there are millions of retail colleagues who will celebrate the creation of a new specific offence of assaulting a shop worker, announced as part of the Crime and Policing Bill," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC. "The government must ensure this Bill protects all those in customer-facing roles, from delivery drivers to till staff, particularly as more risk violence or abuse as they enforce new age restrictions on tobacco products."

Last year, around 88 UK retail decision makers called on the government to tackle the rising rates of retail crime in an open letter to the then home secretary Suella Braverman.

Dickinson added that the industry is "united" in welcoming the announcement of reforms to the Apprenticeship Levy.

"The rigidity of the current system prevents retailers from using funds to provide much-needed training for colleagues and support industry transformation," she said. "We hope that the flexibility offered by the new Growth and Skills Levy will allow for the use of funds for pre-employment courses, short courses encompassing functional and digital skills, and other advanced courses that will meet the needs of a modern workforce."

The chief executive of the New West End Company, a partnership of 600 UK and international retailers and other businesses in London's West End, also welcomed Labour's commitment to strengthen police powers regarding anti-social behaviour.

“We are reassured that the Crime and Policing Bill will introduce a standalone offence for assaults on shop workers, as retailers across the country have tirelessly campaigned for it," said Dee Corsi.

But the chief exec also said that there are some areas the industry still lacks clarity on following the King's Speech.

"While we support the Prime Minister’s ambition to ‘take the brakes off Britain’, thorny issues, including much-needed business rates reform, a review of tax-free shopping, and ensuring police forces have the resources they require to keep our high streets safe and accessible, will require honest conversations and close public-private collaboration to find solutions," continued Corsi.

---