Tesco gives workers bodycams after rise in
violent attacks
Chief executive says chain has invested heavily in
security after assaults rose by a third in a year
PA Media
Sun 3 Sep
2023 11.21 BST
Tesco’s
chief executive has called for a change in the law to make abuse or violence
towards retail workers an offence across the UK.
Writing in
the Mail on Sunday, Ken Murphy said the supermarket chain had offered body-worn
cameras to members of staff who need them after seeing physical assaults rise
by a third in a year.
He said
Tesco had invested £44m in four years on security measures including door
access systems, protection screens and digital radios, as well as the cameras,
but called for more to be done against offenders.
“Money
spent on making sure people are safe at work is always well spent,” he said.
“But it should not have to be like this. Crime is a scourge on society and an
insult to shoppers and retail workers.
“These
people are small in number but have a disproportionate impact.” It was “time we
put an end to it”, he added as he labelled the rise in incidents as
“unacceptable” and the impact on workers “heartbreaking”.
“I want
those who break the law in our stores brought to book,” Murphy said. “After a
long campaign by retailers and the union Usdaw, last year the government made
attacking shop workers an aggravating factor in convictions – meaning offenders
should get longer sentences. Judges should make use of this power. But we need
to go further, as in Scotland, and make abuse or violence towards retail
workers an offence in itself.”
He also
called for better links with police forces and for businesses to be given a
right to know how a case is proceeding when someone commits a crime in one of
their stores. “This would help us to spot patterns and provide reassurance that
justice is being done,” he said. “Gangs take advantage of the fact we do not
share enough information. We’ll only be able to stop these thugs if we work
together.”
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