Shopkeeper slashed in horror machete attack backs call for action on 'tsunami' of retail crime

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Shopkeepers subjected to horror attacks have backed calls for emergency action on a “tsunami” of retail crime sweeping Scotland.The Scottish Grocers' Federation (SGF) has today called on the Scottish Government to put an emergency plan into action after thousands of assaults on shop workers and reports of thefts doubling in recent months.The SGF say retailers have reported being abused or assaulted almost 8,000 times in just two years.The federation claims the torrent of shop theft – some involving organised crime groups – has led to suspected losses worth millions and led to rising numbers of staff being forced out over safety.Mohammed Rajak, who was slashed with a machete at his Glasgow east end store, and Ilhan Ahmedov, who was left bloodied and battered by thugs in his East Lothian shop, told the Record it’s a dangerous time to be a shopkeeper in Scotland.SGF chief executive Dr Pete Cheema OBE said: “I have worked in retail for 35 years.

I have personally been sworn at, attacked, spat at. And things haven’t changed. They’ve got worse.“We have never experienced such a tirade of retail crime as we have now.“The underlying problem is that the police aren’t doing enough and prosecutions are taking so long that organised crime is coming into convenience at a heavy pace.“People are filling their rucksacks and bags and just walking out because they know the police won’t do anything and they won’t come to justice.“When these people are stopped, they spit in shopkeepers' faces, there is racist behaviour and staff are threatened with knives.“We are experiencing this every single day.

When is the government going to wake up and take action?”The Protection of Workers (Retail) Act came into force in August 2021 after campaigning