Tackling Violence Against Shopworkers – A report from ACS

15 March, 2022

Safetell recently attended the Association of Convenience Store’s Crime Report Launch & Security Showcase, which provided an overall view of how retailers have experienced crime over the last year.

The Association of Convenience Stores is a champion of issues being faced by convenience stores; it carries out high-quality research in the convenience sector, including understanding crime against retailers, potential solutions, and good practices to reduce crime.

Below we highlight some key statistics and takeaways from the report.

Cost of crime to convenience stores

£100m to the sector
£2,134 per store
9p crime tax per transaction

Investment in crime prevention

£236m invested in crime prevention across the sector over the last year
On average each store spent £5,239 on crime prevention measures over the year

Top features in-store

CCTV
Intruder alarms
Cash handling and storage
Perspex Screens
Staff training on crime management

Tackling violence against shopworkers

Number of incidents of violence estimated in the sector = 35,216
9% of violent incidents result in injury
Over 800,000 incidents of verbal abuse
Number of violent incidents where a weapon was used 16,753
Number of incidents of robbery 9,059
£4mil cost to the sector

Crimes where a weapon was present

44% knife
55% other weapon (e.g. axe, hammer, syringe)
1% firearm

#ShopKind a campaign from ACS

“The ACS are a great authority in the sector, Safetell have drawn on their knowledge a number of times to inform market decisions and help us provide quality security solutions to retailers.”

Nick Paget, Head of Business Development, Safetell

Safetell offers a number of security solutions that can help retailers combat violent crimes in their stores, including security screen systems to protect cashiers and till areas, transfer units, doors, ATM pods, glazing and counters.

Speak to one of our experts to discover more about how Safetell can help retailers protect their staff and make them feel secure, as well as mitigate the risk of theft in their stores.

Discover more about ACS

“ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) is the voice of over 33,500 local shops, supporting our members through effective lobbying, comprehensive advice and innovative networking opportunities.

[Their] membership includes a diverse range of convenience store retailers, from stand-alone family-run independent stores to symbol groups to multiple convenience stores. These retailers operate in neighbourhoods, villages, on petrol forecourts and in city centres.

ACS’ core purpose is to lobby Government on the issues that make a difference to local shops. [They] represent the interests of retailers on a range of issues, including business rates, energy, regulation, planning, alcohol and many more.”