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Protecting Customer Facing Retail Staff from Violence and Abuse

Protecting Customer Facing Retail Staff from Violence and Abuse

Violence and abuse directed towards retail staff remains a significant and persistent challenge across the UK retail sector. For many customer facing workers, the risk of verbal abuse, threats and physical assault has become an increasingly common part of the role.

The National Business Crime Centre continues to work with policing and retail partners to address this issue, recognising the serious impact it has on individuals, businesses and the wider community.

Understanding the threat

Violence and abuse in retail settings is not isolated. It is a high volume, repeat harm issue, often linked to other criminality, particularly shop theft. In many cases, offenders use intimidation or aggression to commit offences or avoid being challenged.

The BRC Crime Report 2026 reported that that there are 1,600 incidents of violence and abuse against shopworkers a day.

Retail workers frequently report verbal abuse, with a concerning number also experiencing physical assault. However, lower-level incidents are often underreported, meaning the full scale of the problem is not always reflected in official data.

From a policing perspective, these incidents are rarely standalone. Repeat offenders, organised retail crime groups and individuals linked to substance misuse are commonly involved. This reinforces the need for intelligence led approaches and consistent reporting.

Impact on workforce and resilience

The impact on retail staff is significant and cumulative. Repeated exposure to abuse can affect confidence, wellbeing and job satisfaction, with some individuals choosing to leave the sector altogether.

This creates an ongoing challenge for retailers in maintaining a stable and experienced workforce. Alongside this, businesses continue to face increasing costs linked to theft, disruption and investment in security measures.

While the financial impact is substantial, the effect on people remains the most important consideration.

A partnership led response

Addressing violence against retail staff requires a coordinated and consistent approach. The NBCC advocates strong partnership working between:

  • Police forces and local policing teams
  • Retailers and security providers
  • Business crime partnerships and local authorities
  • National industry bodies

Consistent reporting and information sharing remain critical. Supported by good quality evidence, this enables police and partners to build a clearer intelligence picture and act against repeat offenders.

The NBCC have worked with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and police forces to develop a standard video witness statement which retailers can use when submitting CCTV evidence to the police using a Digital Evidence Management Systems (DEMS), and a standard witness statement to be used for simple shop thefts where the offence has been witnessed but no violence or abuse has been used. These can be found on the website: NBCC standardised witness statement to support retail crime investigations

Targeted activities such as hotspot policing, offender management and problem-solving approaches continue to show positive results where they are applied effectively. This is work being undertakesn as part of the Tackling Retail Crime Together plan: Tackling Retail Crime Together | National Business Crime Centre

Prevention through design and practice

Retailers are taking practical steps to protect staff and reduce risk. These include:

  • CCTV and body worn video to support evidence gathering and deter offending
  • Store layout and design that improves visibility and reduces opportunities for conflict
  • Staff training focused on conflict management and safe disengagement
  • Clear policies that prioritise staff safety over the recovery of goods

A safety-first approach is essential to ensure staff are not placed at unnecessary risk.

Driving behavioural change

Alongside enforcement and prevention, there is a need to address the wider culture in which abuse occurs. Campaigns across the sector continue to reinforce that violence and abuse towards retail workers is unacceptable.

Promoting respect for retail staff plays an important role in challenging the perception that such behaviour is part of the job.

Legislative and policy context

There is growing focus on strengthening the legislative response to offences against retail workers. Measures aimed at improving protections and ensuring appropriate sentencing help to reinforce the seriousness of these crimes.

The NBCC continues to support developments that improve clarity for enforcement and deliver better outcomes for victims.

NBCC Recommendations

To support the protection of customer facing retail staff, the NBCC recommends a consistent, partnership approach focused on prevention, reporting and enforcement:

For retailers:

  • Prioritise staff safety through clear policies that discourage confrontation
  • Invest in evidence gathering tools such as CCTV and body worn video
  • Provide staff with training in conflict management and situational awareness
  • Ensure all incidents of violence and abuse are reported and recorded

For policing and partners:

  • Use intelligence led approaches to identify and manage repeat offenders
  • Strengthen collaboration with Business Crime Reduction Partnerships
  • Support targeted activity in hotspot locations and higher risk stores
  • Apply appropriate criminal justice outcomes to reinforce deterrence

For all stakeholders:

  • Promote consistent reporting to improve data quality and understanding of the issue
  • Support campaigns that challenge the normalisation of abuse towards retail staff
  • Share best practice across sectors to support continuous improvement

Conclusion

Violence and abuse against retail staff is not part of the job and should not be treated as such.

Reducing harm will depend on consistent reporting, effective use of intelligence and strong partnership working. Where these are in place, there is a clear opportunity to disrupt repeat offending and improve outcomes for victims.

The NBCC will continue to work with partners to support practical approaches that protect staff and strengthen the safety of the retail environment.

Free training, resources and guides to support retailers can be found on the NBCC website: Retail Crime Action Plan