Crimes against retail workers highlighted

Retailers across the country have told RTÉ's Prime Time of how they've been impacted by a wave of harassment, vile abuse, shoplifting and other crimes.

RGDATA, which represents more than 4,000 independent grocery stores, said the levels of abuse and harassment of retail workers are "out of control".

Tonight's Prime Time programme, which looks at these incidents, will strike a chord with many Meath businesses who have been targetted by thieves and vandals.

Recent incidents locally included a shocking assault that left a Navan store worker hospitalised with head injuries. The man received kicks and blows to the back of the head when he he asked the youths who were throwing things around to leave the shop.

In another incident, a brazen thief smashed a rock through the front door of a premises and snatched the till's cash box early one morning.

Tonight's Prime Time ‘Retail Torment’ with reporter, Conor Murray and producer, Samantha Bourke airs at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player.

It features Tara Buckley, RGDATA Director General, who told Primetime: "The amount of crime, day in, day out, shoplifting, theft, assault, harassment, racist attacks, sexual harassment … our members are really concerned."

She added: "Young staff are being harassed; the racism staff who are from other countries have to deal with; spitting, kicking, punching, shouting and making a scene in the store, throwing things at them. It's actually out of control."

Shop workers across the country say they are experiencing a surge in harassment, physical attacks, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

Some of them have told Prime Time they believe some customers have become more aggressive since the Covid-19 pandemic.

A recent RGDATA survey of the owners of 400 convenience shops, forecourt stores and supermarkets found that 95 per cent of them have been victims of crime in last 12 months.

The survey found that 93 per cent have been victims of shoplifting and a quarter have been the victims of robberies or burglaries.

The programme hears that shoplifting is so rampant that a lot of retailers no longer report all incidents to gardaí.

According to figures presented to the retail sector by gardaí at a recent meeting of the National Garda Retail Theft Forum, reported theft from shops increased by 41 per cent last year.

This increase is primarily due to increased theft from supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol stations with 53 per cent of incidents involving the theft of food and groceries.

In a statement issued to Prime Time, Tesco said: "Every day our colleagues, along with other retail workers, face abuse and threats of violence from a small number of customers, simply for doing their jobs, which is unacceptable behaviour."