Violence Against Retail Workers

Lord Walker of Broxton Excerpts

Tuesday 14th July 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Walker of Broxton]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to tackle rising violence against retail workers.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Hanson of Flint) (Lab)]

Violence and abuse towards retail workers is unacceptable. Through the Crime and Policing Act 2026, the Government have created a new stand-alone offence of assaulting a retail worker, which we are working to commence as soon as possible. We are also restoring neighbourhood policing to tackle retail crime and improve safety for retail workers, with more than 3,100 additional neighbourhood officers and PCSOs since March 2025. I declare my interest as a long-standing member of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers.

[Lord Walker of Broxton (Lab)]

My Lords, needles, knives and hammers are weapons regularly used by violent criminals—let us stop calling them shoplifters—against retail staff on our high streets. These incidents are now routine. For the next month, I will publish weekly summaries of violent attacks against my colleagues so that noble Lords can see the reality on the ground. While some improvements in police responsiveness are welcome, it remains a major issue. Will the Minister acknowledge that two-tier policing is real and issue clearer guidance to forces to ensure that violence against shop workers is properly prioritised?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

Violence against shop workers is properly prioritised. In fact, recorded shop theft fell by 1% in the year to December, the number of charges for shop theft rose by 21% over the previous year and a British Retail Consortium report has shown that violence and abuse fell from 2,000 incidents a day to 1,600. As somebody who has sat in a shop front and worked in a shop, I know that such abuse is not acceptable. I know the threats that people face. We have invested £5 million into Operation Opal, which is a specialist policing unit, so we do take this issue seriously. When we bring the measures forward, they will be a further deterrent to those who choose to attack shop workers and undertake shop theft. I welcome my noble friend’s support.