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Retail and policing organisations unite for dedicated week of action to protect shop staff against abuse

Retail and policing organisations unite for dedicated week of action to protect shop staff against abuse

The retail sector and policing will come together this November as part of a dedicated week of action to protect retail workers against physical and verbal assaults.

Taking place from 9–15 November 2026, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) will unite with the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) and retail industry charity the Retail Trust to launch activity across the UK.

Together, they will reinforce the message that abuse, violence and intimidation should never be accepted as part of a retail worker’s job and call for coordinated action against the range of crime and anti-social behaviour facing retail businesses.

The collaboration comes as the new Crime and Policing Act’s crackdown on retail attacks and theft is expected to come into force, marking a significant change in the protection given to people working in shops. The new Act is making assaulting a shop worker a standalone offence, ending the £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifting and introducing Respect Orders to ban repeat offenders from public spaces.

The NBCC, the ACS, Usdaw and the Retail Trust will bring together four national campaigns from 9-15 November to ensure the new protections are understood and backed by action to make shops safer.

  • The NBCC’s Safer Action Week brings together police forces, businesses, Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, Business Improvement Districts, security partners, and other local organisations to tackle the issues affecting businesses, employees, customers, and communities.
  • The ACS’s ShopKind campaign promotes positive behaviour towards shopworkers, raises awareness of the impact of abuse, and encourages customers to treat colleagues with respect.
  • Usdaw’s Respect for Shopworkers Week campaigns for action to tackle the high levels of violence, threats and abuse experienced by retail workers, encourages members to report incidents and makes it clear that abuse should never be part of the job.
  • The Retail Trust’s Let’s Respect Retail campaign unites retail workers, retailers and the public to protect staff against abuse and encourages shoppers to show simple acts of courtesy, kindness and respect to create more respectful shopping environments. 

By aligning these campaigns for the first time, the NBCC, the ACS, Usdaw and the Retail Trust aim to connect public awareness and behaviour change with practical crime prevention, reporting, intelligence, partnership working, and enforcement.

Supt Lisa Maslen, National Business Crime Centre Lead, said: “Retail workers should be able to go to work without fear of abuse, threats, or violence. The new specific offence sends a clear message that this behaviour is unacceptable and must be taken seriously. By bringing Safer Business Action together with ShopKind, Respect Week and Let’s Respect Retail, we can combine awareness, prevention, support, and enforcement.”

“Strong partnerships between policing, retailers and communities are vital. This week is about turning that partnership into visible action and making retail safer for everyone.”

Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust, added: “Hundreds of retailers have already backed our charity’s Let’s Respect Retail campaign and joining forces with the NBCC, the ACS and Usdaw for this week of action will help ensure new protections for shop workers are supported by consistent enforcement and visible action.

 “We all have a role to play in making our shops safer, kinder and more respectful places to work and visit, and we’ll be calling on shoppers to treat retail workers with courtesy and respect while urging retailers to make sure their people receive the protection and support they need.”

Joanne Thomas, Usdaw general secretary commented: “It is brilliant to see the whole industry coming together in welcoming the Government’s actions and continue to push for the specific offence of assaulting a shop worker to come into force as soon as possible. Our joint week of campaigning will help highlight the scourge of retail crime and attacks on staff.

“The positive actions taken so far by the Government in response to the retail crime epidemic they inherited are welcome. Progress has been made with the rate of shop theft reducing over the last two quarters, but much more needs to be done. That’s why we need the landmark legislation passed earlier this year to come into force soon as possible.”

Association of Convenience Stores chief executive Ed Woodall said: “Stopping violence, abuse and other criminal activity is a top priority for retailers, with almost a million incidents of abuse recorded in the last year alone. We are delighted at the support for the ShopKind campaign shown in thousands of shops across the UK and believe that bringing ShopKind Week together with leading awareness campaigns from shopworkers union USDAW, the Retail Trust and the National Business Crime Centre, sends a clear united message that colleagues shouldn’t have to face abuse, that the businesses they work for will report incidents, and that the police will respond effectively. Together with the backing of tougher legislation, we can make a real positive difference to hundreds of thousands of people working in our nation’s local shops.”  

Retailers will be encouraged to support the campaigns, promote respect, report incidents and work with police and local partners to tackle retail crime.

Further details will be announced ahead of 9th November 2026.