Violence and abuse against shopworkers surged last year and gathered pace further as the enforcement of coronavirus measures such as face masks and social distancing fuelled more incidents, according to new research.
The latest annual report into retail crime by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed there were 455 incidents of violence and abuse every day in the year to March 2020.
It reflects a 7% jump in incidents from the previous year but sector leaders have said the situation has only worsened following the pandemic.
Tom Ironside, director of business and regulation at the BRC, said: “These figures don’t cover the vast majority of the pandemic, but we have had a lot of information shared to show there was a trigger point caused by the virus and rule enforcement.