§ Linda PerhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the trends in assaults on workers in the retail sector; and what action he has taken in the light of such assessments. [80541]
§ Mr. DenhamStatistics are not collected on a regular basis about assaults on shop staff. However, we have launched the first independent crime victimisation study of the retail and manufacturing sectors for 10 years. This will gather valuable information about the types of crime businesses suffer and help in developing the best ways to tackle these. In May 2002 we issued "Don't Discount Crime", a new user-friendly crime reduction guide for retailers. This is of particular relevance to small retailers and includes basic guidance on what steps to take to reduce crime as well as what to do in crime situations. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also published "Work-related violence: managing the risk in
106W
Special constable total strength, September 1995 to March 2002 September 1995 March 1996 September 1996 March 1997 September 1997 March 1998 September 1998 March 1999 September 1999 March 2000 September 2000 March 2001 September 2001 March 2002 Avon and Somerset 676 688 662 759 629 621 584 547 482 459 416 400 391 364 Bedfordshire 196 189 189 182 186 186 175 154 148 151 134 115 119 118 Cambridgeshire 264 275 302 303 336 320 308 310 293 274 214 218 197 207 Cheshire 269 274 350 475 491 459 416 407 358 350 307 290 233 191 Cleveland 204 195 180 160 157 164 136 126 108 128 122 93 98 85 Cumbria 221 201 184 189 184 198 210 204 193 176 167 156 125 102 Derbyshire 440 413 405 428 414 380 355 317 303 282 286 275 263 260 Devon and Cornwall 1,079 1,102 1,133 1,148 1,079 1,024 916 918 908 870 836 796 780 689 Dorset 230 254 263 289 325 315 303 305 287 298 278 267 258 253 Durham 192 187 187 184 178 144 159 159 169 157 155 146 146 134 Essex 548 608 614 634 641 638 590 544 528 483 478 445 413 381 Gloucestershire 330 330 315 297 287 276 245 233 221 206 197 183 153 154 Greater Manchester 749 746 710 685 657 598 567 523 498 457 408 367 355 338 Hampshire 549 564 519 621 681 698 747 760 720 615 500 454 437 444 Hertfordshire 307 315 309 297 306 306 267 238 232 216 214 198 177 206 Humberside 380 391 363 340 348 324 289 269 263 246 198 212 207 207 Kent 598 555 545 589 588 592 565 526 484 436 416 392 366 327 smaller businesses" on 9 July 2002. The publication includes 10 case studies on reducing risk of violence to staff.