Safer Colleagues, Safer Communities

In December 2018, our National Members Council voted for Safer Colleagues, Safer Communities to become an official Co-op campaign, a campaign focused on protecting our colleagues. This video shows our colleagues telling their stories, highlighting why the Co-op launched this campaign.

Throughout this campaign, we have spent millions of pounds in operational changes; we have supported community groups tackling the route causes of crime; and we have continuously lobbied both UK and Scottish Governments, highlighting the need for changes in the law to protect our shopworkers.

Having worked with USDAW since the inception of their Respect for Shopworkers campaign, we have increased our participation and awareness raising activity through our Safer Colleagues, Safer Communities campaign. We have taken opportunities throughout the year, with a particular importance on the focus week in November where we have co-hosted summits with USDAW, ensuring that other retailers understand the importance of shopworker protection; hosted 100’s of cross party MPs and police and crime commissioners in our stores to speak directly to colleagues; and arranging for both retail businesses, trade associations and trade unions to come together to co-sign letters to the Prime Minister calling for a change in the law.

We have used an evidence based approach for this campaign, with Professor Emmeline Taylor leading a number of these research projects which are listed below:

1. It's not part of the job report
2. Breaking the Cycle: Gaining the views of criminal justice practitioners and retail offenders on effective sentencing
3. Young people and the future report
4. Stealing with Impunity – 2024 retail crime report

This campaign has been led by our colleagues sharing their stories, the 100’s of colleagues who sent evidence to the Home Office Call for evidence, or the 1,000’s of colleagues who have written to their Member of Parliament, or Police and Crime Commissioner, sharing their stories and calling for a change in the law.

We were delighted that in 2021, following our successful campaigning, the Government agreed to make assaulting a shopworker – or anyone performing a service to the public – an aggravated offence. This became law in 2022 when the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act received Royal Assent. Thanks to this, along with the specific offence of abusing or assaulting a shopworker, which the Scottish Parliament passed in 2021, shopworkers’ rights across the UK now have greater protection in law.

Through continual review of Co-op crime data, regrettably, we continue to see unacceptable levels of retail crime – including shoplifting, anti social behaviour, and assaults. Now in 2024 and when compared to 2022, retail crime at Co-op has increased by a staggering 41%, anti-social behaviour by 36% and assaults by 23%. In all, Co-op sees 1,000 incidents per day occurring across our 2,400 stores nationwide. However, our efforts operationally, alongside our campaigning activity, see the Co-op under-index on crime compared to the wider sector. In the Association of Convenience Stores Crime Survey 2024, Co-op accounted for 29% of stores in the sample but only 6% of the crimes reported, while in the British Retail Consortium’s Crime Report 2024 the Co-op accounted for 8% of stores but only 2% of the crimes reported.

The Co-op led the way to securing a response from police in October 2023, when the then National Police Chief’s Council published the Retail Crime Action Plan. As a result, we have seen a significantly improved response rate from the police, including a trebling of attendance levels when offenders have been detained in stores by our tactical guarding teams. Following this, our Co-op welcomed commitments from Government and was proud to hear of new legislation outlined in the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024 by means of a standalone offence, protecting shopworkers in England and Wales, much the same as in Scotland. Furthermore, the 2024 Autumn Budget in October saw the Chancellor of the Exchequer commit to repealing Section 176 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Act 2014.

Our Co-op continues to raise awareness through support of Respect for Shopworkers Week. In November 2024, we once again supported USDAW’s Freedom From Fear campaign. Co-op extended over 50 invites to Members of Parliament, presenting them with an opportunity to visit stores and discuss further the impact retail crime has on our colleagues – this resulted in many of those invited taking advantage of the opportunity.

Looking ahead, Co-op will continue to actively lobby police and Government on this agenda, seeking to ensure that their commitments to tackle retail crime are delivered.