Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has plans to increase the length of sentences for violent offences against shop-workers.

Everyone has the right to feel safe at work and assaults on shop workers are unacceptable.

There are a range of offences someone can be convicted of if they assault a shop worker. Maximum penalties for offences are set by Parliament and include five years’ custody for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and life imprisonment for the most serious cases of causing grievous bodily harm.

When making sentencing decisions the courts must follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, produced by the independent Sentencing Council. The Overarching Principles: Seriousness Guideline and Assault Guideline require the court to treat the fact that an offence was committed against those working in the public sector or providing a service to the public as an aggravating factor, making the offence more serious. The Council produced expanded explanations in 2019 which made clear that this factor “applies whether the victim is a public or private employee or acting in a voluntary capacity”. The Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated early this year.

On 5 April 2019 the Home Office launched a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop staff. The aim of this work is to strengthen our understanding of the issue, including how existing legislation is being applied. The call for evidence has now closed and the Home Office are carefully analysing the responses before deciding what further action may be required. The government’s response will be published in due course. ’The National Retail Crime Steering Group will continue to provide input on tackling this issue.