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Bira cautiously welcomes new crime and policing bill to tackle retail crime across high street businesses

26 Feb 2025

ACT parent company Bira has cautiously welcomed Labour's Crime and Policing Bill but is calling for urgent action and immediate funding to address the surge in retail crime affecting independent... Read more…

Bira warns of 'troubled times ahead' despite interest rate cut

7 Feb 2025

ACT parent company Bira has warned that retailers across Britain face troubled times ahead despite today's Bank of England interest rate cut to 4.5%, as the Bank halves its growth forecast for... Read more…

Free webinar exclusive to ACT members on employment law compliance

4 Feb 2025

The ACT and legal partner WorkNest are hosting an exclusive webinar on how to remain compliant with employment law while making necessary business changes.
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ACT parent company Bira urges Government action as December sales disappoint

23 Jan 2025

ACT parent company Bira is calling for urgent government intervention following disappointing December retail figures, which show sales volumes fell by 0.3% following a modest 0.1% rise in... Read more…

ACT announces new partnership with legal specialists WorkNest

17 Jan 2025

The ACT has teamed up with employment law, HR, and health and safety experts WorkNest as the association's new legal partner.
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Bira comments after BRC release Sensormatic IQ Footfall Monitor Report for December

9 Jan 2025

ACT parent company Bira has warned that disappointing footfall figures for December show mounting pressures on independent retailers, with concerning implications for 2025 as business costs... Read more…

2024 year in review: A message from ACT Director Jonathan Harrison

18 Dec 2024

Director of the ACT Jonathan Harrison has praised the "resilience and adaptability" of the ACT and its members in an end of year message.
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Practical steps to prevent credit card and payment fraud as an independent cycling retailer

4 Dec 2024

As credit card fraud becomes increasingly sophisticated, taking these steps could help you stay ahead of the fraudsters…
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Scottish retailers call for urgent business rates support as gap widens with rest of UK

29 Nov 2024

Scottish independent retailers, including those in the cycling sector, are urging the Scottish Government to provide crucial business rates relief in its upcoming budget, as the disparity in... Read more…

Bira and ACT welcome new House of Lords report on high street regeneration

28 Nov 2024

Independent retailers back call for local leadership and simplified funding.
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Government Response Call for Evidence on Violence and Abuse towards shop staff

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

The Government has now published its response to the Call for Evidence on Violence and Abuse towards shop staff which closed in June 2019. Members of the Independent Retailers Confederation (IRC) responded to the call for evidence calling for tougher penalties for those who attack shop workers, action on the root causes of offending and police response.

The call for evidence received 800 main responses:

  • The majority of respondents believed violence and abuse toward shop staff has increased in recent years
  • A significant number of respondents said they did not report incidents to the police
  • The principal issue for many was the need to create a new offence, but this was not the only issue raised

The Government response states that it "does not consider that the case is yet made out for a change in the law" to create a new offence of assaulting a shopworker. The Government considers the existing legislation that can be applied to incidents of violence and abuse to be sufficient and that under-reporting requires more urgent action.

To address the issues raised in the call for evidence the Government will aim to:

  • deepen its understanding and address the drivers of violence and assault against shop workers
  • send a clear message that such crimes are not tolerated and should be recorded whenever and wherever they take place
  • provide effective support to those shop workers who are the victims of violence and abuse

The Home Office have committed to working through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRSCG) with four dedicated task and finish groups. IRC member ACS is a member of the NRCSG and is involved in the groups. The groups will: develop communications for employees and employers to make clear that violence and abuse is not tolerated; develop a best practice guide for reporting crimes; look at barriers to effective data sharing between businesses and the police to ensure that information can be used to better understand the problem and look at how to better provide support to victims.

New action being pursued by the Government includes writing to Police and Crime Commissioners to set out that the theft of goods valued up to £200 from a shop should be prosecuted as a criminal offence and should not constrain the ability of the police to arrest or prosecute someone in the way they feel is most appropriate. The Government also intends to publish a White Paper ahead of the sentencing legislation announced at Queen's Speech, that will include proposals for tougher community sentences.

 

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