Retailers See Signs That UK’s Crime Spree Is Finally Slowing

A post-pandemic spike in violence and abuse against UK retail workers is easing, new data show, as more spending on security measures and improved police responses begin to pay off.

Reported incidents fell by a fifth to an average 1,600 a day in the 12 months through August, the British Retail Consortium said Tuesday. Retailers spent more than £5 billion ($6.8 billion) in the last five years on improved security — from staff to CCTV — to tackle the rise of shoplifting and abuse against staff blamed in part on cost-of-living pressures.