‘Keep cracking down on rioters’ call

Six months since the first night of violence sparked riots across the country, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) says the increased use of the courts to punish those involved in stealing from shops or other retail crimes should be continued.

According to the BRC’s latest Annual Crime Survey, the riots last summer had an impact on over 20,000 retail workers. A third of the shops affected said their employees were exposed to violence and nearly 40 per cent reported verbal abuse.

More than eight out of ten businesses said their staff were now afraid of future violence, including reprisals.

A BRC spokesman said: “The overall annual cost of retail crime has risen 31 per cent to £1.4bn as a smaller number of crimes are carried out by more serious and organised perpetrators, imposing bigger losses on the sector.”

Last August, magistrates in Westminster sat until 7am to deal with all those charged during the riots. Special overnight courts were also put in place in Manchester.

More than 4,000 people were arrested following the August riots and around half of those then appeared before the courts charged with riot-related crimes.

After appearing at court for the first time, two thirds of alleged rioters were then remanded in custody pending a further hearing.

BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: “The riots of last summer should have brought home to everyone that crime against shops is crime against communities. Part of the solution is for the judicial system to send out a clear message that it takes crime against the retail sector seriously.

“The appropriate punishment of those who persistently and systematically target retailers can only be achieved if offenders are brought before the courts so the full impact of their crimes is clearly understood.”