Shop Kind: Greater Manchester Police launch new retail crime action plan

Nearly 1 in 10 retail workers in the UK report that they have been physically assaulted at work. As part of the #shopkind campaign, Greater Manchester is on a mission to stop abuse against shop workers. The campaign urges the public to be mindful of shopworkers’ essential role in supporting people during these difficult times.

Despite shop workers being hailed for the essential role they played during the pandemic, in the first wave of restrictions, abuse against retail workers doubled.

At a visit to a local CO-OP store, also attended by Deputy Mayor Bev Hughes, in support of the national #ShopKind campaign, and to talk to some of the shops’ workers and gain an insight from their experiences, GMP unveiled its new retail crime action plan.

The plan sets out how the force will raise the standard of service its delivers to local retail businesses across the city-region in order to increase the confidence the sector has in the police, and target offenders.

The force recognises that incidents of retail crime are often underreported and that often incidents occur in repeat locations or by repeat offenders. It has established a Retail Crime Steering Group made up of large and small retailers, victims services, the Community Safety Partnership and GMCA.

Work has already begun with this group, to develop a new pilot scheme which aim is to make reporting to GMP quicker and more simple for retailers, as well as assist retailers in steps they can take to protect themselves from crime. Police presence within the retail sector will focus on hotspot locations and target prolific offenders.