Retail trade union Usdaw welcomed the news that the justice minister will introduce a new offence of assaulting a person providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing services to the public.
The change comes after Usdaw and the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium made representations to the minister highlighting statistics from the Police Service of Northern Ireland showing that shoplifting in Northern Ireland had more than doubled since the pandemic.
Results from Usdaw’s annual survey also reported that six in 10 incidents of violence, threats and abuse were triggered by shoplifting or armed robbery.
The justice minister, who agreed that the aggression displayed to retail workers was unwarranted and unacceptable, will introduce to the Assembly a new offence by way of a Sentencing Bill.
This will provide the protection retail workers so desperately need.
Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis said: “We welcome the justice minister moving rapidly on this issue and confirming that this new offence will be introduced in the Assembly in 2025.
“We are pleased to see that the offence goes further than what we called for and will rightly cover all public-facing workers.
“This will send a clear message to those abusing and assaulting public-facing workers that what they are doing is unacceptable and will land them with a stiffer sentence. Our hope is that this will result in retail staff getting the respect they deserve.”
Director of Northern Ireland Retail Consortium Neil Johnstone said: “I am delighted that the justice minister has agreed to legislate on this crucial issue and that shop workers in Northern Ireland will receive the same protection as their colleagues in the rest of the UK.”