North Nottingham MP joins 'zero tolerance' campaign to protect Co-op workers

Alex Norris, MP for Nottingham North, has been campaigning for years via his Assault on Shop Workers Bill for staff in stores to be afforded greater protection in carrying out those public duties.

The parliamentarian has now backed the retailer’s plea to would-be criminals to think twice before they target its staff after three appalling attacks – one which included a knife and another a wrench – took place within ten days of each other at Central England Co-op stores.

Alex said: “Every day there are more than 400 acts of violence or abuse against shopworkers. Each one of those is a person just trying to do their job.

“The recent unprovoked attacks are an example of this and are utterly unacceptable. That's why I strongly believe Parliament needs to protect shopworkers better.

"My thoughts are with those involved and I commit to taking action to try to tackle this scourge”

Craig Goldie, loss prevention manager, said: “Stronger laws and punishments are needed for criminals who feel that it is acceptable to target shop workers in these types of brutal and appalling ways.

“While we continue to campaign for more to be done, we also want to send a message to would-be criminals.

"We have a zero tolerance approach to any kind of crime and, if you still want to commit a crime, we will work around the clock with local police forces to bring you to justice in an effort to keep our colleagues and customers safe.”

The retailer’s zero tolerance campaign has also received backing from more than 200 other MPs up and down the country and from across the pollical divide. Support has also come from several police forces and police and crime commissioners.

New figures from the retailer recently showed assaults jumped by 100 per cent, threats and intimidation by 25 per cent and verbal abuse by 175 per cent since the start of the year, and since the lockdown was introduced, there have been more than 100 incidents related directly to people using Covid-19 as a threat.

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