RETAIL bosses told politicians that shop works have “had enough” of being abused and assaulted – amid calls for a new law to offer them more protection.
MSPs heard evidence from retail and pub organisations on plans to make it a specific criminal offence to assault, attack and hinder shop workers.
The Bill, introduced by Labour MSP Daniel Johnson, would help protect around 285,000 workers across Scotland.
Dr Pete Cheema, chief executive of the Scottish Grocers Federation told MSPs that “we’ve had enough” as assaults on retail workers have increased - while union bosses said austerity was partly to blame.
He added: “I’ve been spat at, I’ve been called names, I’ve been threatened – I’ve been attacked, I’ve had my tyres slashed, I’ve had my windows broken.
“This amendments needs to go through in order for retail workers to be able to do their job properly, to do it in a safe environment. The police don’t come out because it’s seen as a low-level crime.
“What do you expect them to do when they have no faith in the police and no faith in the procurator fiscal? It’s time that this changed.”
READ MORE: Shop workers subject to violent attacks 'not taken seriously' by Police Scotland
Dr Cheema likened this proposals to an amendment to the Race Relations Act 2000, which he said resulted in a culture change.
He added: "After that, people stopped calling me 'p***' or 'black b******'.
"It changed a culture, it changed an attitude."
Paul Gerrard from the Co-operative Group, told MSPs that assaults and abuse against shop workers is not taken seriously by authorities.
He said: “Retail workers don’t believe the police care, they don’t believe the criminal justice system cares and they don’t believe that elected representatives care because there’s so little being done.
“They (police) are very stretched and they do not consider this to be a priority. They are not responding because they don’t have the resources to.”
Earlier, police had raised concerns that specific plans to make “hampering” shop workers a specific offence could be too heavy handed and “criminalise children”.
Police Scotland’s superintendent for safer communities, Ian Thomson told MSPs that Police Scotland treat abuse and assaults against retail workers as an “absolute priority” and stressed that “it is not acceptable and must be eradicated”.
He warned that a move to include hampering shop workers as a new offence could be seen as “lowering the threshold of criminality” – particularly around age-related products.
He added: “There is a risk that the end does not justify the means. The outcome isn’t achieved and there’s a risk that it actually criminalises children and young people and making an adverse impact on their life choices.
“Through a criminal process and getting to court, I’m not sure that will ultimately stop the crime taking place.”
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