Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira, calls on the government to do more for independent retailers as they face continued theft, abuse and organised crime
In the August issue of Toys n Playthings, Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), examined findings from the trade body’s latest retail crime survey. He warned of a rise in theft, abuse and organised shoplifting, placing increasing pressure on independent retailers across the UK.
“Every six months, we ask our members about their experiences of retail crime. Every six months, the results make for difficult reading. But our latest survey findings have given me real cause for concern – not just because the numbers are moving in the wrong direction, but because of what lies behind them,” he wrote.
“Retailers who told us, simply and bluntly: ‘We are on our own’. That phrase has stayed with me because, in many ways, that’s exactly what our members are being asked to be: on their own. More than 45 per cent of those who experienced theft didn’t report it to the police – not because they didn’t care, but because they have lost confidence that anything will come of it. Of those who did report incidents, police attended in 67 per cent of cases and, of those, just 35 per cent led to a prosecution. When you see those numbers repeatedly, year after year, you stop reaching for the phone.”
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