Poundland enforces new rules at 800 UK stores as 'enough is enough'

-Credit:Rachel Lawton
-Credit:Rachel Lawton


Poundland has issued a stern warning to shoppers across its 800 UK stores, declaring: "Enough is enough." The discount retailer - which has stores across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire - has started its "Against Retail Crime" campaign as part of its ongoing efforts to combat the rise in shoplifting.

In addition to tackling theft, Poundland is also determined to curb abuse and harassment of staff. The high street chain is bolstering its security infrastructure with the introduction of anti-theft technology and communication headsets for its staff across all stores.

The company is also recruiting additional security officers, investing in CCTV, and deploying Motorola Solutions VT100 body cameras to stores with the most significant crime issues. These cameras, which act as a visual deterrent for offenders while recording incidents, have led to an 11% decrease in violence against Poundland's colleagues and a notable reduction in shoplifting since their initial trial, ", reports Birmingham Live.

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In a LinkedIn post, Poundland stated: "At Poundland, we're committed to creating a safer shopping experience for our customers and a secure environment for our colleagues. So, we will be launching our 'Retail Against Crime' campaign this month-a bold approach to tackling theft and anti-social behaviour in our stores.

"This campaign is a commitment to protect our people and our community by actively challenging crime and creating an environment where theft and anti-social behaviour have no place. Together, we can make shopping in our communities safe and enjoyable, making retail crime a thing of the past."

This statement is released in light of troubling statistics from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which highlight that daily incidents of violence and abuse against UK shop workers have surged by 50% over the last year, now standing at 1,300 such cases every day. Poundland's head of loss prevention, Christina Jesty remarked: "The rate of store theft and colleague abuse has accelerated significantly across our stores in the last 18 months, and this has been very challenging for our people. Whether it's store theft undermining all our colleagues' hard work, or incidents of violence and abuse making our colleagues feel unsafe at work, something must change."

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She further conveyed Poundland's ethos: "At Poundland, we pride ourselves on being a value-led high street retailer, where protecting our colleagues goes hand in hand with protecting our prices. That is why we're saying enough is enough and beginning a campaign to support our front-line teams and crack down on retail crime across our stores."

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