A 63-year-old female member of staff from the Catrine Convenience Store in Ayrshire has been left in a critical condition after she was seriously assaulted by a man during a robbery.
The incident happened at about 14:35 on Sunday November 5 in the shop in St Germain Street, Catrine. Police said the man got in through a rear entrance and threatened the assistant with a knife and another heavy blunt weapon. The shop worker handed over a sum of cash, believed to be four figures. However, the man attacked her and left the shop via the rear.
A 39-year-old local man was subsequently arrested and charged with attempted murder and robbery. He remains in custody.
The incident came just two days after MSP Daniel Johnson MSP announced that he intends to bring forward new legislation to protect retail staff from violence while at work. The member’s bill will create new offences around assault and abuse of workers who are involved in the sale of age-restricted items like alcohol and tobacco. Initial proposals for the new bill will go to public consultation within the next few weeks.
Strongly condemning the attack, SGF Chief Executive Pete Cheema said: “We know how vulnerable shop staff can be and this shocking incident drives home how important it is to change the way we deal with in-store violence. The new proposals will not cover every kind of in-store incident but if taken forward they will ensure that retail crime moves up the agenda, is taken more seriously and that more effective deterrents are put in place.”
The bill aims to protect staff from physical and verbal abuse. Levels of physical and verbal abuse have sharply increased in the last few years, and figures from SGF show that refusal of sale and challenging for ID are consistently among the main triggers for incidents of abuse in-store. This is a growing issue in the UK as the Retail Crime Survey, released in February 2017, reported that there had been a 40% increase since last year of incidences of violence and abuse against retail staff.
Analysis by the Scottish Retail Consortium has also revealed a rise in the number of assaults. SRC Head of Policy Ewan MacDonald-Russell said: “More needs to be done to deter and prevent this abuse. Mr Johnson’s consultation provides a welcome opportunity to revisit the legislative framework, and we will continue to work with him and others on the right way to deal with these often terrifying incidents.”
