Terrifying footage of a machete wielding gang raiding a Co-op store have been released to highlight a shop crime tsunami.
The gang of three masked men, clad in black, is seen leaping over a counter wielding the weapons and grabbing packs of cigarettes and vapes.
Details were released amid the launch of a new campaign demanding that attacks on shop staff be treated as a new standalone offence.
New figures reveal a 44 per cent increase in theft, abuse and attacks on staff up to a record 336,270 at Co-op stores alone in 2023.
The company, which runs 2,400 community stores, saw a 37 per cent surge in incidents of anti-social behaviour and verbal abuse, taking the figure to 41,875.
And there was a 34 per cent rise in physical assaults taking them up to 1,375, which equates to almost four a day.
Scotland already has a law that treats attacks on shop staff as a specific crime with stiff penalties, and MPs are under pressure to extend this to England and Wales.
The Co-op in partnership with experts in criminology say the offence should be central to new efforts to combat what they called a ‘tsunami of shop crime’.
The footage of the shop raid detailed an attack on a Co-op in London. Staff were threatened by the machete wielding criminals and there was also a store worker behind the kiosk when the raid began.
Last year, the retailer reported that Police failed to attend in 79 per cent of incidents where a criminal had been detained by store security staff.
The non-attendance rate has improved to 38 per cent under a Retail Crime Action Plan. However, this still means that two-in-five criminals detained by store security staff are walking away.
It is hoped that making attacks on staff as standalone offence will put greater pressure on the police to give shop crime a higher priority.
The Co-op said: ‘With an estimated 70 per cent of shop theft committed by frequent users of Class A drugs who are stealing to fund a drug addiction, the crimes they commit become more volatile, desperate, and potentially violent.
‘These repeat offenders steal persistently, at volume. Effectively tackling this group of repeat offenders will have a large impact on reducing retail crime, and its pervasive impact on society.’
The managing director of Co-op Food, Matt Hood, said: ‘We are seeing far too many prolific offenders persistently steal large volumes of products, in our shops every day, and, if they are stealing to fund addictions, the situation often becomes volatile and dangerous.’
He is calling on MPs to support an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which would make attacks on shop staff a crime, that is currently going through Parliament.
Professor of Criminology at City, University of London, Emmeline Taylor, said: ‘Retail crime not only impacts on a business’s ability to operate safely and profitably but also causes serious harm to shop workers, both physically and mentally, and to communities that are blighted by persistent offending.
‘The police in England and Wales have lost grip on the scale and severity of acquisitive crime, and, in turn, retailers have lost confidence in them and the wider criminal justice system.
‘By taking decisive action to tackle high-volume, high-impact retail crime, the police and retail industry can work together to create safer communities in which to live, work and shop.’
General Secretary of the shopworkers’ union, USDAW, Paddy Lillis, said: ‘Retail crime is not victimless and has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shopworkers.
‘Having to deal with repeated and persistent offenders can cause anxiety, fear and in some cases physical harm to retail workers.
‘We urge Tory MPs and Ministers to end their long-held opposition to a protection of shopworkers law, which has already exists in Scotland and has led to over 500 convictions.’
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
