Retail chiefs have met senior police to discuss a spike in attacks on shop workers.
A Retail NI survey recently found that 67% of members said their staff have been victims of assault and threats and 51% were losing staff as a result.
Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts led a delegation to meet Chief Constable Jon Boutcher at PSNI headquarters on Friday.
He described a “worthwhile meeting” to discuss the impact that crime is having on businesses, their staff and the wider economy.
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“It is a startling statistic that 67% of our members surveyed in our recent report said that their staff have been victims of assault and threats and 51% were losing staff as a result,” Mr Roberts said.
“Our members are really struggling with the growing epidemic of shoplifting and we need to ensure tougher sanctions are put in place for those found guilty of this crime.”
He said Retail NI fully supports the chief constable’s call for more funding for the PSNI, and particularly for its Neighbourhood Teams to keep town and city centres safe places for members, staff and customers.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Boutcher described “shocking cases of violence against staff and increasing levels of shoplifting offences impacting on local businesses”.
“We are very much alive to these and other pressures across the retail sector and are determined to do everything in our power, through collaborative approaches with industry, to reduce incidents and harm to staff and businesses,” he said.
Mr Boutcher said the current record low numbers of police officers are having a “real impact” on their capacity for this work.
“In particular, we are feeling the reduction in our numbers of neighbourhood officers who are key to maintaining effective local relationships and reducing crime,” he said.
“In spite of these pressures I have assured everyone at today’s meeting that we will continue to work closely with all partners to robustly tackle business and retail crime and to help ensure that Northern Ireland remains a safe, attractive and prosperous place to live and do business.”