Retail workers are calling for more visible security in stores after the dismissal of a Waitrose employee who intervened in a shoplifting incident reignited debate over how retailers balance staff safety with rising levels of theft and abuse.
Walker Smith, who had worked for Waitrose for 17 years, was sacked after confronting a suspected shoplifter at the retailer’s Clapham branch.
Waitrose has defended its position, saying there is a “serious danger to life” in tackling shoplifters and that its non-intervention policy exists to protect both staff and customers.
The retailer said it had experienced incidents in which partners were hospitalised after challenging offenders, and added that the correct internal process, including an appeals procedure, was being followed.
The case has prompted fresh calls from unions and security bodies for stronger on-the-ground protection.
According to the Guardian, Usdaw said 59 per cent of members responding to its 2025 survey would welcome more security guards in stores, while workers also backed measures including improved CCTV, facial recognition, body-worn cameras and headsets linked to central support.
Security staff are also pressing for more protective equipment.
The Security Industry Federation has called for stab-proof vests and wider use of body-worn cameras, arguing that retail security teams are increasingly exposed to violence while operating under hands-off policies that limit their ability to intervene physically.
A parliamentary petition has also been launched calling for employers to provide stab-proof vests to in-house retail security staff.
The British Retail Consortium recently said that violence and abuse against shopworkers still averaged 1,600 incidents a day last year, despite falling from the previous year’s peak.
The BRC also said retailers have invested almost £5.5bn over the past five years in crime prevention measures, including security staff, CCTV and anti-theft technology.
The wider issue for the sector is whether existing policies are keeping pace with the reality on the shopfloor.
While most major retailers continue to prioritise non-intervention to reduce the risk of serious injury, the Waitrose case has sharpened pressure from staff and security teams for retailers to invest more heavily in deterrence, specialist protection and frontline support.
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