High street crime has become “more brazen, more organised and more aggressive,” with retail staff enduring daily abuse and violence, Marks & Spencer’s director has warned. T
hinus Keeve called on the Government and City Hall in London to tackle anti-social behaviour, citing large groups of teenagers, often encouraged by social media, swarming shopping districts.
In a statement on the retail giant’s website, Mr Keeve said: “Without a government seriously cracking down on crime and a Mayor that prioritises effective policing we are powerless.
“We need a stronger, faster and more consistent police response, using tools that already exist to target repeat offenders and crime hotspots.
“And we need far greater transparency on crime so the true scale and impact is understood and can be used to target resources.”
Mr Keeve said M&S chief executive Stuart Machin has written to the Home Secretary, while he has written to London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan over the issue.
It comes after teenagers arranged to meet in Clapham, south London, in the last week as part of “link-ups”, using social media apps including TikTok and Snapchat, before they surged into shops.
About 100 officers responded to antisocial behaviour on Tuesday, according to the Metropolitan Police. Five people were assaulted, including four police officers.
On Thursday, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said a 48-hour dispersal order is in place covering Rochdale town centre until Saturday at 11.30am.
Groups of young people were reported to be harassing staff and causing criminal damage at a business and in the town centre on Wednesday.
Inspector Meena Yasin, from the GMP’s Rochdale district, said: “We have implemented this order to provide further powers for officers in the area to robustly deal with anti-social behaviour, and to protect people and businesses.
Mr Keeve, in his statement – headlined Retail crime chips away confidence in our High Streets – said: “It is becoming more brazen, more organised and more aggressive.
“It’s a clear ask: support our police. Help them show up in our communities when and where we need them.
“Give them the resources they need to tackle crime effectively and ensure they work with retailers to consistently use the tools we’ve developed to share data and help them actively target offenders.
“This is not complicated. The capability exists. The data exists. The investment has been made. Time is up, we need to deal with this now.”
He said he saw “the hurt” in shop workers and customers following attacks.
“Too many are dealing with theft, intimidation and verbal and physical abuse as part of their daily reality,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
“It impacts well-being, and it drives people out of the industry.
“When stores become unsafe, we’re not just failing retail workers, we’re failing the next generation of the workforce.”
Sir Sadiq has condemned the scenes of teenagers in Clapham as “utterly unacceptable” and said further arrests were likely within days as officers review CCTV and bodyworn video.
He warned “the culprits will face the full force of the law” and said police are working with social media companies to try to clamp down on “viral online content which promotes violence and theft”.
Sir Sadiq said: “Not only did they spread fear in the local community, but assaulting and intimidating hard-working retail staff and police officers are serious offences.”
The Met are taking “a zero-tolerance approach to any form of criminality”, increasing officer numbers in hotspot areas and potentially using dispersal orders.
