John Lewis is training its store employees across the partnership to help deter shoplifters following the rise of violence against retail workers.
The move comes weeks after chairwoman Sharon White warned criminals had a “licence to shoplift” and had become more aggressive towards shop staff.
As such, store employees at John Lewis and Waitrose have been given de-escalation training, which aims to make the situation less dangerous or difficult.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
Head of security or the John Lewis Partnership Nicki Juniper told BBC News that the retailer was “investing heavily in training” for security and shop staff.
“Should they want to take part in some de-escalation training they’d be able to handle an incident should it arise,” she said.
Some John Lewis employees have been given bodycams to help catch offenders.
Staff are also doing training known as “love bombing”, which uses good customer service in an attempt to deter abuse.
“It has proven very successful in reducing levels of theft,” she said, warning that offenders needed to face consequences.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said retail thefts across the sector in England and Wales rose by 26% in 2022, with more than 850 incidents of violence and abuse towards shop workers recorded every day.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
