Poundland has issued a stern warning to shoppers across its 800 UK stores, stating: “Enough is enough.”
The discount retailer has initiated its “Against Retail Crime” campaign as part of its ongoing efforts to combat rising shop theft. In addition to tackling theft, Poundland is also taking measures against abuse and harassment of retail staff.
The high street chain is bolstering its security infrastructure, introducing anti-theft technology and communication headsets for staff across all its stores. Additional security officers are being hired, investment in CCTV is increasing, and Motorola Solutions VT100 body cameras are being rolled out to stores with the most significant crime issues.
These cameras, which act as a visual deterrent and record incidents, have led to an 11% decrease in violence against Poundland’s colleagues, along with a noticeable reduction in shoplifting and theft, since their initial trial. In a LinkedIn post, Poundland stated: “At Poundland, we’re committed to creating a safer shopping experience for our customers and a secure environment for our colleagues. So, we will be launching our ‘Retail Against Crime’ campaign this month-a bold approach to tackling theft and anti-social behaviour in our stores.”
“This campaign is a commitment to protect our people and our community by actively challenging crime and creating an environment where theft and anti-social behaviour have no place. Together, we can make shopping in our communities safe and enjoyable, making retail crime a thing of the past.”, reports Birmingham Live.
It was revealed after the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported that UK shop workers are now facing 1,300 incidents of violence and abuse every day, which marks a 50% increase from the previous year.
Poundland’s head of loss prevention, Christina Jesty, expressed her concerns: “The rate of store theft and colleague abuse has accelerated significantly across our stores in the last 18 months, and this has been very challenging for our people. Whether it’s store theft undermining all our colleagues’ hard work, or incidents of violence and abuse making our colleagues feel unsafe at work, something must change.”
“At Poundland, we pride ourselves on being a value-led high street retailer, where protecting our colleagues goes hand in hand with protecting our prices. That is why we’re saying enough is enough and beginning a campaign to support our front-line teams and crack down on retail crime across our stores.”