South Yorkshire police chief calls for kindness towards shop workers during Christmas period amidst rise in abuse and insults

South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings has said lockdown has made people "more aggressive"and that every morning he was seeing records on police logs of incidents of aggression towards shop assistants.

It comes following a report by shop workers’ union, USDAW, which showed the majority of staff this year had experienced some form of verbal abuse, with one in 10 reporting they had been physically assaulted.

Out of a survey of 2,000 retail staff, some 70 per cent thought verbal insults and aggression had gotten worse during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Each morning I look at a log of incidents that South Yorkshire Police has dealt with the day before and overnight,” Dr Billings said.

“I am always shocked at the number of times someone has entered a shop and threatened the staff, especially late in the evening.

“No one fully understands why this increasing abuse is happening, though there may be a number of factors coming together as a result of coronavirus.

“Lockdowns have made us all that bit more grumpy and perhaps more aggressive.”

Dr Billings said rising levels of anger and aggression were evident on social media and in letters and messages sent to newspapers.

He added: “It is also possible that as some offenders have become more desperate for cash – because lockdown made [drug] dealing more difficult – they have become more violent in their attempts to get hold of money from the till or something they can easily sell – such as cigarettes or alcohol.

“Whatever the reasons, many shopworkers have felt vulnerable and a little fearful.”

Police and crime commissioners across the country have been supporting the ‘Keep Christmas Kind’ campaign, urging for patience and cordiality from customers during the festive period.

“We owe it to them to say ‘enough is enough’ and to try to show our appreciation for what they do for us,” Dr Billings added.

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