Shop staff 'afraid to come to work'

Figures suggest a dozen offenders are responsible for 70% of Hartlepool's retail thefts

Some retail staff are "afraid to come to work" due to fear of violence and abuse linked to thefts, according to a survey of businesses.

The feedback forms part of a consultation on the experiences of business owners and retailer held by Hartlepool Borough Council.

Respondents talked about a "fear of violence, verbal abuse and threatening behaviour", council officers said.

Councillors also saw data from Cleveland Police which indicated that "70% of thefts in Hartlepool are actually undertaken by 12 individuals".

The survey was carried out from November to January, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

At an audit and governance committee meeting, scrutiny and legal support officer Gemma Jones said some some respondents reported their staff had "experienced actual violence".

Speaking about the criminals targeting shops and businesses, scrutiny manager Joan Stevens said: "The cohort of reoffenders is relatively small and they're responsible for a large amount of the retail crime or thefts that exist in the town."

She added that data indicated "over 50% of theft appears to be driven by substance misuse issues", which was supported by findings from police interviews with offenders.

Meanwhile, the meeting was told "it didn't appear that the cost of living crisis was a significant impact" in driving retail crime.

The consultation was carried out as part of the committee's investigation into "ways of designing out and reducing incidents of retail crime".

It will culminate in a final report in March.