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Retail Case Studies>
Retail Crime Survey - Cost of Crime Falls, but UK Retailers Spend More on Prevention
3 Jun 2004
However, the total cost of crime to the retail industry has increased because the sector is spending far more on combating crime. In 1999 spending by the retail industry on crime prevention was £554 million, last year that spending increased to £626 million - an increase 13%.
The full impact of crime and crime prevention amounted to £2.044 billion in 2000, up from £2.015 billion in 1999, equating to a cost of £85 per household. The cost of retail crime has been successfully contained to 0.91% of retail turnover, approximately half the level recorded in the first retail crime survey of 1994.
The cost of customer theft increased by 18% from £634 million in 1999 to £746 million in 2001. However, staff theft declined to £426 million from £538 million, a fall of 21%. Incidents of robbery and burglary also fell.
Violence against staff increased to five per 1000 staff in 2000 from four per 1000 in 1999. Preventing customer theft was the main cause of reported incidents of violence - firm evidence that shop theft is not a victimless crime.
Bill Moyes, BRC Director General, said: "Retail crime needs to be tackled effectively not just because of its economic impact, but also because of its social and human consequences. The survey reveals the heavy investment retailers are making to combat crime, but there are limitations on how much we can achieve on our own.
"Drug abuse is a major driver of customer theft in the retail industry. If the Government is to reduce retail crime and social disorder it must focus even more effort on reducing drug dependency and helping offenders to regain a useful place in society.
"Twenty two percent of customer thieves are under the age of 18. The government have started a welcome reform of the youth justice system, making accountability and responsibility central features. BRC supports these reforms and views the extension of Restorative Justice cautioning as a positive development that should be adopted nationwide."
Commenting on the BRCís findings, Bob Ainsworth, Home Office Parliamentary Under Secretary of State said: "Partnership is the key to retail crime reduction. This is why successes being achieved by more than 250 Retail Crime Reduction Partnerships are so important. The BRC survey shows that small retail businesses suffer significantly higher levels of crime, including assaults on their staff. The £15 million we have announced today will be targeted specifically at making small retail premises more secure and safer for their staff to work in."
About the BRC
The British Retail Consortium represents 90% of the retail trade, by turnover, in Britain. Its members run a variety of outlets, from one-person corner shops to one-stop-shops, out-of-town hypermarket stores, malls, e-tailers and mail order. Find out more at http://www.brc.org.uk/
Source: BRC press release.
British Retail Consortium
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