Today the Prime Minister has announced a tough new package of legislation to crackdown on retail crime.
Alongside a raft of new measures such as tags for repeat offenders to prevent future offences and £55.5 million for facial recognition technology to identify offenders, there will now be a specific new offence for assaulting shop workers.
Every day, retail staff are facing the consequences of shoplifters’ brazen behaviour.
The Co-Op and other retailers, together with shop workers unions, asked me years ago to get the law changed and I have actively backed their request since.
On the whole, much crime is coming down but not assault on people in shops.
In recent weeks, I have come together with our hard-working Police and Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne, to hear about her work to establish Operation Pegasus with 15 of the UK’s biggest retailers to map the organised crime gangs operating across the retail sector.
Her work, combined with my campaigning in Parliament, has fed directly into Government planning and we welcome the Government agreeing to now change the law.
Like public transport staff and the emergency services, a person of any age, any background and of either sex should feel safe when serving the public in retail premises.
I will ask that the same provisions apply to people in hospitality, working in pubs, cafes and restaurants.
