Shop staff given body cams

We are calling for greater protection for shop workers says Co-op

STAFF at Co-op stores are to be given body-worn video cameras similar to those used by police officers in an effort to halt a rising tide of abuse and violence.

The company said the move was a response to an “epidemic” of crime faced by its frontline staff.

The cameras are activated only when needed and capture footage which can be used as evidence in court.

The Co-op said it has seen offences inside its shops rise by over 140 per cent – including 1,350 attacks on its staff nationwide – in the first six months of 2020 alone.

This includes brutal assaults on staff at Leicestershire branches this month.

The units can also feed live footage back to a security centre, enabling staff there to alert police.

The Co-op is running a campaign, Safer Colleagues, Safer Communities, in support of efforts to give shop workers greater protection in law.

Cheryl Houghton, the Co-op’s retail security manager, said: “Shop workers play an essential role serving communities, yet they have to contend with unprecedented levels of violence and abuse on a daily basis.

“As a community retailer we see the impact of social issues in our stores.

“I have never seen such high levels of violence and abuse. It’s a societal issue that all retailers are concerned about and it’s having lasting effects on the lives of shop workers, both mentally and physically.

“It is not part of the job to be verbally abused, threatened or attacked and we’re determined to make sure it isn’t.

“We’re calling for greater protection for shop workers carrying out public duties.”

Central England Co-op, a separate organisation, has also released details of attacks on its staff in the past few weeks. A worker at its Main Street, Markfield, store was attacked and robbed in the shop’s car park shortly after 3.40pm on July 10.

This week, a teenager turned violent on staff at the shop in Anson Road, Shepshed, after they told him he would have to show identification before they would allow him to buy an energy drink.

Labour MP Alex Norris is attempting to introduce legislation which would increase courts’ sentencing powers in cases of people who assault shop workers.

His Bill has received its second reading in Parliament and is due to be discussed again later this year.

Mr Norris, a Nottinghamshire MP, said shop workers deserve greater protection because they perform a vital public duty by upholding the law on age restricted products such as alcohol, cigarettes and knives.

The Co-op said a report published this year by the Association of Convenience Stores found that a quarter of violent incidents in shops resulted in injury, with a weapon used in almost 20 per cent of cases.