Attacks on staff rise 15 per cent
Crime against Scotland's convenience-store sector has risen at an 'alarming rate', with few retailers reporting it to the police, an annual crime survey shows.

Physical attacks on store staff rose by 15 per cent by the end of last year, compared with the same period last year.

Threats of violence against staff rose by 29 per cent compared with 2003 figures, the Scottish Grocers' Federation (SGF) reports.

The figures confirm that convenience stores are still being targeted by criminals who see the sector as a 'soft touch,' despite retailers spending up to£2 million protecting their premises.

However, retailers have lost faith in the legal system, with 'few offenders apprehended or successfully prosecuted,' confirmed the SGF.

In response, it has stepped up its Every Crime, Every Time campaign to encourage retailers to take action and report every crime no matter how small.

SGF is also calling for the courts to act against neighbourhood crime. It believes the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders in particular is 'inconsistent'.

Deputy justice minister Hugh Henry MSP will speak at the SGF's annual conference in St Andrews Bay on Friday to discuss remedies to the situation.

Retailer Pete Cheema, who will take over as SGF president on Friday from outgoing president Hamish Stewart, said: 'Let us all ensure that the authorities first of all are aware of what's going on and then encourage them to deal with the perpetrators.'

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