Retail workers in Scotland have reported almost 12,000 assaults since the Protection of Workers Act came into force in 2021.
Figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request by The Grocer’s sister title Forecourt Trader showed 11,794 assaults on retail workers were reported to Scottish police between 24 August 2021, when the law was introduced, and 1 June 2026.
Reported incidents have also increased year on year. They climbed from 1,562 in 2022 to 2,461 in 2023, up 58%, then to 2,840 in 2024, up 15%. Cases then hit 3,165 in 2025, rising a further 11%.
There have been 1,318 incidents of assaults reported to Police Scotland in 2026 so far.
Data from the Office for National Statistics indicated 208,300 people were employed in the Scottish retail sector, meaning an equivalent of 5.6% staff have been assaulted over five years.
An average of 8.7 staff assaults took place every day in 2025, up from 7.8 a day the previous year, and 6.7 in 2023, according to analysis by Forecourt Trader.
The FOI data also revealed Police Scotland had ‘detected’ 61.5% of assaults on retail workers, whereby the person responsible has been identified, from August 2021 to June 2026.
The force’s most successful year for detection was 2022, when officers achieved a 64% rate.
Police Scotland said the rise in reported shoplifting offences was “in part” due to retailers having more confidence in reporting incidents and the police response.
“We cannot and will not become complacent and we recognise that further work is needed to reduce the number of offences occurring across Scotland,” said inspector Emma Wright, tactical lead for Police Scotland’s Retail Crime Taskforce.
“We take these offences extremely seriously and through continued partnership working we strive to make our communities a hostile environment for retail crime offenders.”
The Protection of Workers Act, which was delivered by Daniel Johnson MSP with the support of Scottish Grocers Federation (SGF), makes it a statutory offence to assault, threaten or abuse a retail worker as they’re going about their job.
SGF CEO Pete Cheema said the legislation had been “instrumental in raising awareness about the stark reality of abuse and assaults that retail workers are forced to deal with every day”, but the sector still needed “meaningful changes through the whole Scottish justice system”.
“No one should have to go to work wondering whether they will be threatened and spat at, or worse, attacked with a knife, bat, or dirty needle,” said Cheema. “Not to mention the wider impact on the wellbeing of staff, their family, and the wider community.
“We very much welcome the encouraging progress that has been made, both through the act and by the new Retail Crime Taskforce. But it’s not enough to simply log incidents of hate, antisocial behaviour and assaults – there needs to be swift justice for those committing the crimes, many of whom believe there will be no consequences for their actions.
“That is why we also need to see meaningful changes through the whole Scottish justice system, clearing the backlog in the courts and ensuring repeat offenders and organised gangs are sufficiently punished.”
Association of Convenience Stores CEO Ed Woodall added: “A standalone offence for attacking shopworkers sends a clear message that violence and abuse in local shops will not be tolerated. It’s hugely positive to see the evidence from Scotland showing that this measure is having a real impact, helping to bring more offenders to justice and better protect retailers and shopworkers.”
The FOI data comes as the Crime and Policing Bill received Royal Assent in April, which introduced a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker in England and Wales. It also removed the £200 threshold for ‘low-level’ theft.
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