The Fed meets with new Head of Scottish Retail Crime Taskforce

(DCI Jordan Low (left), head of the Scottish Retail Crime Taskforce meets with senior Fed officials from Scotland)

Senior Fed members in Scotland met with the new head of the Scottish Retail Crime Taskforce, Detective Chief Inspector Jordan Low,  on Thursday, July 30, where they discussed growing concerns about verbal and online harassment and abuse of retailers, as well as theft across Scotland.

The Fed was represented by its Scottish President Uthay Soundararajan, a shop owner based in Leith; Nathalie Fullerton, its National Deputy Vice President, and a retailer based in Partick in Glasgow; as well as its former National President, Mo Razzaq, a retailer based in Blantyre, North Lanarkshire. Also on the call was the Fed’s Political Engagement Coordinator, Douglas Oliver.

The Fed was active in lobbying for the new Task Force’s creation ahead of its establishment a year ago, and was also successful in calls for it to be renewed this year with an additional £3m in public funding and has already urged members to engage with the new body.

The meeting particularly focused on the growing incidents of racism – both in person and on social media – which was creating a threatening environment for retailers from ethnic minority backgrounds. Ms Fullerton stated: “Members have noticed an increase in verbal and online racist abuse in Scotland this summer – particularly following the riots in Southampton in early June.” Mr Razzaq also highlighted the challenge and the massive emotional toll it was having for the small teams and relatively isolated individuals it represents.

DCI Low acknowledged his concern about these challenges and said that this was something he was working on already to improve reporting and awareness, though he also emphasised the need for hate crimes to be reported on the online Hate crime reporting form on the Police Scotland website or 101 so they could be investigated and also recorded properly in police data to help focus resourcing.

Mr Soundararajan also spoke about continued incidences of store theft stating that even common but relatively high value food products like bacon and other food products had been stolen from his and other members businesses, as well as higher value goods like alcohol, making it extremely hard for responsible retailers to turn over a profit necessary to keep their businesses afloat.

DCI Low acknowledged continued challenges regarding retail theft, including recent statistics showing that theft had increased in Scotland. However, as the Fed acknowledged, this was partly a reflection of previous underreporting and better reporting. That said, DCI Low said that his team was working to roll out a new direct reporting tool with a digital element which retailers could use from their mobile phones for convenience and speed. He also said he would be open to supporting the Fed’s suggestion, mentioned by Mr Razzaq, for the government to introduce a targeted retail security grant to benefit small independent shops with CCTV and other security measure.

DCI Low also spoke about accredited training that the Task Force was looking to developing to help independent retailers with their security measures, including personal safety and target hardening. In response to comments Mr Soundararajan made about the role of youths in shop theft DCI Low highlighted educational resources his team was developing through educational videos which are planned to be shown to school children across Scotland in the near future and welcomed Fed input on this, particularly regarding the need for retailers to be treated with respect and the fact that Police Scotland treated racism and harassment of shop workers as unacceptable.

Mr Soundararajan highlighted the many hundreds of retailers the Fed represents in Scotland, both providing vital advocacy as well as business links and introductions. He invited DCI Low or his team to attend the forthcoming Scottish District Trade show which will take place in Edinburgh on 10^ویں November, as well as other events for members across Scotland. DCI Low said the Task Force would be pleased to participate in the events and also invited Fed retailers to join the Task Force’s Retail Forums where the issues raised in the Fed meeting could be discussed further.