Woolworths New Zealand has shared new data showing assaults in its stores are up significantly on the previous year.
In the last year, there have been 925 acts of violence and aggression in the retailer’s stores, up from 848 in the previous year – a 9% increase. Physical assaults have had a particularly notable increase with a 50% jump to 329 incidents in the last 12 months, compared to 219 in the previous year.
Pleasingly, says Woolworths NZ, there has been a reduction in the use of weapons with a 22% drop on the previous year.
The retailer has introduced a range of security and safety measures into its stores as part of its $45 million, three year investment program. These measures include team safety cameras in all stores, trolley lock systems, fog cannons, double-entry gates and anti-sweep shelving. Further security measures are being considered including duress alarms for team members working in isolated locations.
Woolworths NZ Director of Stores Jason Stockill says this behaviour is unacceptable and while new security measures are having a positive effect, more needs to be done.
“Our team is being threatened and hurt in broad daylight, and despite offenders being arrested and going through the justice system, they’re coming back and doing it again. We’ve been pleased to see the focus on law and order and look forward to working with the government further this quarter,” he says.
“Our responsibility is to keep our team and customers safe in our stores, and we’re investing in a range of security measures to help with that, but we can’t do it alone. We need continued collaborative action across government, agency and industry.”