Retail Bosses Demand Action Against Shoplifting Violence

0:00On April 4th, retail bosses are pushing for security guards and stores to carry pepper spray and trunchens to fight back against surging shoplifting, violence. Marks and Spencer execs led the charge after hundreds of youths swarmed their clap ham store in South London earlier this week, turning a high street into chaos as part of an online trend. Lord Walker, a top supermarket leader and government advisor, backed the call, saying shoplifting is straight up violent crime, not just petty theft. He pointed to brutal footage of gangs attacking guards and M&S bosses have fired off letters to the home secretary and London mayor Sadiq Khan. Demanding real action on policing. Frontline workers are filling the heat hard with a recent survey of 1000 UK staff showing 43% face abuse or hostility from customers in the last six months up from 36% the year before. 22% dealt with physical threats and many are too worn out to even report it or are eyeing the exit.

1:01A new crime and policing bill is said to make assaulting retail workers a specific crime and it's nearly done after passing both houses of parliament just needs final tweaks. Shoplifting hit 519,000 cases in England and Wales last year to September, up 5%, but still shy of the recent peak. Retail groups like the British retail consortium are rallying behind cops and urging leaders to crush this trend before it guts more high streets. Leaving workers and shoppers in the crossfire.