The last year or so has seen a worrying rise in violence towards shop workers. From small corner shops to the biggest supermarkets, shoplifting is rife and this has coincided with an increase in threats against staff. During the Covid pandemic and subsequent lockdowns there was a marked change in how some people behaved. It was, of course, a stressful time but still no excuse for abusing shop staff. Roll on to the cost-of-living crisis and this has exacerbated the situation, with the rise of stealing goods to order by organised crime groups. Now add to the mix an over-stretched and under-resourced police force – thieves are becoming more brazen in their actions and have no fear of being apprehended or prosecuted.

In a recent report the British Retail Consortium has claimed that there is an average of 1,300 violent and abusive attacks on shop workers every single day. That’s around 50% more than the previous year – horrific!

Last summer I attended the Runnymede Awards and was sat at a table with several members of staff from a large Tesco store. We got talking and I was shocked when they told me that many of their colleagues had, whilst working, been verbally abused, pushed or hit by customers. The fact that the store has security at the entrance makes no tangible difference. The security guard can be called to intervene and remove the offending person from the store, but it doesn’t change what happened to the member of staff.

Shop workers should not have to work in fear

Let’s put it in context. Look around the next time you do a supermarket shop – who is filling the shelves? Students who might be as young as 16 or 17, mums working shifts that fit with school hours, older people who still enjoy working a few days a week, people working to earn a wage to pay their rent or mortgage and feed their families. Normal people. I know of one young man who, at 21, is working at a local supermarket alongside his university studies. He might be 6’ 2” but, when the security guard called him to provide back-up to apprehend three shoplifters, did he know how to do so safely? Was it even fair to expect him to potentially put his personal safety on the line? What if one of the shoplifters had a knife?

Back to my chat at the awards ceremony, we talked about empowering staff, giving them the tools to feel and act more confident in their work environment. It clearly resonated with my fellow guests and they were keen to organise a self-defence session for their colleagues. Given the nature of retail, where workers are on different shifts, it proved impossible to organise a group session. However, I did run a 1-2-1 session with one of the people I’d met. Having experienced various levels of violence herself, it was impacting on her wellbeing at work. Not surprisingly, some of those who had threatened or harmed her live locally, as does she, and she has always tried to play down the various incidents for fear of reprisal outside the store environment. She was going to work scared.

Self-defence is not about being handy with your fists

I started the session with one of the most valuable skills anyone can learn, how to stand tall and the importance of making eye contact – two simple actions that would mean Sally (not her real name) no longer looked like an easy target. We then discussed situational awareness and being alert to what’s going on around her. In the event of someone becoming aggressive, we explored ways to de-escalate the situation whilst maintaining personal space. This involves raising the hands to protect one’s face and body and ready to react to a slap or punch. Equally, with palms facing the other person it’s a calming and non-threatening gesture.

We then moved on to the Educational Stop, protecting your personal space by pushing the other person back and adopting a bladed stance. This is where you step back with one leg for greater stability. With one hand in front and one behind, you then use a firm voice and tell the other person to back off. In the event that the other person is still determined to cause harm, I taught Sally how to defend against being hit or punched. In the course of that one session, Sally grew. Having arrived as a very timid person she transformed into someone far more confident – and she recognised just how different she felt.

Krav Generation can help shop workers ‘be more Sally’

Whist retailers are taking measures such as offering staff body-worn cameras and installing protective toughened glass screens at till areas, I strongly believe that teaching basic self-defence and de-escalation skills would have a positive impact and help reduce the fear that many shop workers cope with day in, day out. It would give them greater confidence to deal with challenging situations until security or the police arrive. As I always say, it’s better to know self-defence and not need it than to need it and not know it.

As well as our weekly classes, Krav Generation runs private group and 1-2-1 classes for a wide range of clients. If you’d like to find out more about self-defence classes for yourself and/or your colleagues, please get in touch!