BRC releases figures that show the cost of retail crime

30 January 2012 | By Casey Coughlin

British Retail Consortium (BRC) has released figures in the last couple of weeks that put the cost of retail crime at £1.4 billion in last year alone, a 31% increase on last year

The BRC reported that robberies have increased by 20% and the average cost per incident increased by 17% from £847 to £989. Even worse than the increase in incidents is the reported increase in use of weapons and physical violence during these crimes.

Though many retailers have made significant progress and investment in protecting their staff, stock and premises from opportunistic crime, it is the more serious and organised criminals who are more of a concern.

Last year alone the National Association of Goldsmiths (NAG) and TH March joint venture, SaferGems received notice of more than 650 attempted attacks or incidents. 93 of those attacks were recorded as robberies and 17 were on travelling jewellery representatives, resulting in £10 million of stolen goods. Michael Hoare, chief executive of the NAG, is encouraging retailers to do something to help combat retail crime.

“No matter how the figures stack up, the unspoken cost of crime against jewellers is calculated in fear, stress, and the loss of valued colleagues, who may conclude that this week’s events have tipped the balance against a career in the trade”, said Hoare. “One of the most effective weapons we have at our disposal is intelligence, and I would urge everyone to join the fight against jewellery crime by signing up to SaferGems.”