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According to a report released on Thursday, theft and violence against retail workers in Britain reached record levels last year and are being driven in part by criminal gangs, with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reporting over 20 million theft incidents in the year to Aug. 31, 2024, a cost of 2.2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion).

The BRC cited a significant rise in incidents linked to organized crime, with violence and abuse cases climbing to over 2,000 per day, compared to 1,300 in the previous year. BRC's CEO, Helen Dickinson, stated that retail crime is escalating, with workers facing threats, racial abuse, and assaults on a daily basis, leading to an increasingly bold and hostile criminal landscape.

The report highlighted dissatisfaction with the police response, with 61% of those surveyed rating it as "poor" or "very poor". Dickinson emphasized that the lack of police presence contributes to criminals feeling emboldened to commit crimes.

In response to the crisis, retailers have significantly increased spending on crime prevention measures to an all-time high of 1.8 billion pounds, including investments in CCTV, security personnel, anti-theft devices, and body-worn cameras.

The new Labour government has promised to address the surge in retail crime through tougher initiatives targeting shoplifting and anti-social behavior, including the introduction of a specific offense for assaulting a retail worker. Major retailers such as Tesco, John Lewis, and Primark have raised concerns regarding this escalating issue, mirroring similar challenges seen in the United States and elsewhere.