Theft and violence costing retailers hundreds of thousands of pounds per year

Shopkeepers step up measures to combat rising crime

• Almost three-quarters of retailers surveyed have suffered from crime in the last 12 months
• Crime costing retailers nearly £60,000 per year on average – with some losing more than £500,000
• Retailers forced to adopt protective measures like bodycams, panic alarms and self-defence training
• British Retail Consortium says ‘scourge in retail crime must be stamped out’
• NFU Mutual issues key prevent and protect advice

New figures lay bare the true cost of crime to the UK’s high-street, as retailers look to take desperate measures in the face of an alarming rise in theft and violence.

The research* from commercial insurer NFU Mutual shows that nearly three-quarters of retailers (74%) surveyed have suffered from crime over the past 12 months – costing shops an average of almost £60,000 in that time. Shockingly, NFU Mutual found that one in 20 retailers had lost half a million pounds to crime over the same time period.

In a bid to try and combat the costly and widespread issue, almost two-thirds of retailers say they have had to take security measures in the last year alone. That includes a variety of physical and technological protection, with a quarter employing full-time security and 66% installing CCTV.

Some businesses have resorted to more drastic measures to protect staff, with 32% training employees on safety and self-defence, and just shy of a quarter giving staff both bodycams (24%) and nearly as many giving staff panic alarms on their person and on counters (23%).

The rise in crime is felt beyond monetary loss alone, with more than a third of retailers (37%) saying it’s impacted their mental health and three in 10 admitting they live in fear of theft or violence on their store.

Zoe Knight, Head of Commercial at NFU Mutual, said: “Our study shows a worrying number of our retailers are falling victim to crime, which continues to plague our shops, and more than eight in 10 (81%) believe it has increased in the last year.

“With retailers on average suffering losses of around £60,000 a year as a result of theft, the results of this survey will concern the industry.

“And the impact of this ongoing crime wave clearly extends way beyond a cost perspective, with a worrying number saying incidents have had a negative impact on their mental health and others constantly living in fear they will be targeted.

“What is clear, and important to see, is people are making a huge effort to protect their stock, staff and premises. While it does come at a cost, we would urge all retailers to do everything they can to deter thieves to feel as protected and supported as they can, should the worst happen.”

The most common type of crime retailers have suffered was the theft of goods from the shopfloor or stockroom in working hours (48%), with verbal violence or assault against staff and customers (38%), overnight theft (23%), criminal damage (20%) and theft of money from tills or safe (13%) also featuring highly.

The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) crime survey, revealed in February, further highlighted the issue and the action that needs to take place to tackle incidents in the sector.

Tom Ironside, Director of Business & Regulation at the BRC, said: “Violence and abuse take a huge toll on retail workers, their families, and their friends. While incidents might be over in a few minutes, victims can carry these experiences with them for a lifetime – and can have a severe impact on victims physical and mental health.

“Everyone has a right to go to work without fearing for their safety, and we must stamp out this scourge in retail crime once and for all for the sake of all the hardworking people in retail.”

NFU Mutual Risk Management Services’ advice for retailers to protect against shoplifting:  

• Use customer service as a tool to deter thieves – greeting them lets them know they have been acknowledged and may deter them as they have been identified 
• Make sure store layouts are organised and tidy, placing high-value or items which are more desirable for thieves in monitorable areas. Consider adding mirrors to the store to reduce blind spots 
• If possible, limit the number of high value items on display and secure remaining stock within a robust, lockable area 
• Train staff to recognise shoplifting tactics and ensure they know how to keep themselves safe from the risk of violence 
• Consider displaying signage in-store notifying thieves that they will be prosecuted 
• Try to minimise cash takings and use counter caches to deposit cash during opening hours. Install a good quality compliant safe which is fixed in place and preferably kept in an alarm protected area 

NFU Mutual Risk Management Services’ advice for retailers to protect against break-ins:   

• Ensure all doors and windows have good quality locks (to BS3621) which cannot be opened from the outside or from the inside without the use of a key 
• Always keep keys to doors, windows, and safes, in a secure location. Always remove them from your premises outside of business hours and limit their distribution amongst managers or staff.  
• Consider investing in good shutters, grilles and bars on doors and windows. 
• If investing in an intruder alarm, ensure it is installed by a NSI or SSAIB approved company, compliant to EN1350-1 and provides remote signalling to an alarm receiving centre 
• If investing in surveillance (CCTV) ensure it provides good quality images, is recorded to the cloud with links to mobiles and/or remote monitoring, and meets requirements of GDPR 
• Be aware of cyber threats and make sure you have cyber insurance in place should the worst happen 
• Consider hiring data protection specialists to provide ongoing security of your data 
• Have a robust policy in place for responding to intruder alarm activations – i.e. don’t let a keyholder turn up on their own 

Find out more about NFU Mutual’s information for retailers: https://www.nfumutual.co.uk/insurance-for-retailers/

CASE STUDY – BRADBEERS DEPARTMENT STORE

For Bradbeers Department Store, the issue of theft has been a problem which has cost thousands in both stock loss and prevention.

Over the last seven years, Bradbeers – which has five department and furniture stores in Hampshire and Wiltshire – has seen thousands of pounds worth of stock stolen and thousands of pounds spent on various deterrents.

A family-owned, independent retailer, Bradbeers stocks male and female clothing brands including Barbour, Gant, Joules, Ben Sherman, Hobbs and Phase Eight, while also selling high-end fragrance and beauty products, fashion accessories and homewares.

The most recent incident in December saw thieves smash through a toughened window in the early hours of the morning and make their way to steal men’s stock, including Gant and Barbour.

“Staff are called, and police alerted by the alarm monitoring company as soon as an incident happens, which can be at any time of the night,” Mark Hall, Bradbeers’ Property and Procurement Manager, said.

“The problem isn’t just the stock loss but it’s the whole process afterwards – getting the glass cleared, boarding up and re-securing, police reporting and forensics, quotations for repairs, alarm resetting – it is a time-consuming process.

“Attempted theft in our geographical area has been on the increase from what we have noticed. It could well be to do with the cost of living with thieves trying to get expensive goods they can then sell on easily – some stock has been recovered by police, but it’s often been the sort of items that criminals can move on fairly quickly, that never get found.”

A further incident in December last year highlighted another increasing issue in the industry – violence towards staff, as thieves engaged in an altercation with shop workers who tried to stop them from stealing vacuum cleaners.

“It was an afternoon incident and thieves took four vacuum cleaners and tried to run out with them,” said Mark. “Two of our female members of staff managed to recover some items after trying to fight them off.

“Staff safety is paramount, but sometimes the adrenaline kicks in. We are an independent, family business and people that work here feel upset that others would come in and try to steal from us.”

The company has installed metal roller shutter doors and smoke cloak fogging devices among a host of other protection measures, and extensive CCTV which has proved useful to police in identifying perpetrators.

“It really is a big issue and not just for us, but for the retail sector as a whole,” said Mark.  “However, we have certainly seen the benefit of the investments we have made to minimise incidents.”