New legislation to crack down on shoplifters and under-age drinkers is impractical, say independent retailers. Glynn Davis reports
On a busy Friday night, a 16-year-old attempts to buy alcohol illegally from an independent grocer, so the shopkeeper decides to enforce an on-the-spot fine. He calls the police and apprehends the person as best he can until the officers arrive and issue a £50 fine.
Well, that’s what should happen.
Unfortunately, in the six months since the first legislation targeting those caught shop-lifting or buying for under-age drinkers came into force, precious few on-the-spot fines have been issued (‘Few police issuing on-the-spot fines’, The Grocer, April 23, p10).
Now, many independent retailers are questioning whether these or the latest round of fines to be introduced will have any impact.
Like many independent retailers, Deepak Patel, operator of a Budgens franchise in Clacton-on-Sea, believes the fines are impractical and expects them to make little difference to his business - just as on-the-spot fines for shoplifting and buying alcohol for under-18s have had zero impact since they came into force last November.
“I’ve not heard of a single retailer who’s used the new legislation and nobody will put it into practice in our area. As if my manager would hold a person! And the number of times that I’ve called the police asking them to just drive past my shop because of groups congregating outside, and they’ve not done so! How can they give on-the-spot fines if they are never on the spot?” he argues.
Patel believes one of the main problems is that very few people have been informed of the new laws, including the local council, police and retailers. “I’ve not had any letters about it. There seems to be a lack of communication.”
Patel has noticed the crackdown on retailers selling to under-18s - through the use of ‘test purchases’ - as he has been on the receiving end of three since the legislation came into force, also in November. Any retailer caught committing such an offence is given an on-the-spot fine of £80 for a first offence, which for many shopkeepers is preferable to an appearance in court.
But it is information on how retailers can themselves help enforce the on-the-spot fine legislation that is thin on the ground, according to Bill Warnes, trading director at Roys of Wroxham, a chain of eight grocery stores located around Norfolk. He says he is surprised by the limited levels of knowledge on both sets of legislation.
“I’ve been talking to our local bobby and showed him an article in The Grocer about the new fines and talked him through it. He could not see how it would work - and neither do we. It’s good to have it on our side, but it’s not practical,” he says.
Bahi Bakeerathan, who runs a Costcutter store in North London, admits he also found out about the legislation somewhat by chance - through scanning the newspapers in his shop. He questions the worth of the legislation because it still involves him having to call the police, so on the surface it does not appear to offer anything particularly different to what was already in place.
Patel is concerned that even if a fine has been issued, the retailer would not necessarily know, because the police take the person away immediately and then provide little feedback as to how they dealt with the offence.
“It’s just the same as before. We’ve caught shoplifters and then called the police, who’ve taken them away, and we’ve then not heard anything from them,” he complains.
This is an issue that has been recognised by the Association of Convenience Stores. Shane Brennan, public affairs executive at the ACS, says that although the removal of the culprit as quickly as possible from a retailer’s store is preferable, it would be good to have some feedback.
“It’s a teething problem, because retailers do want to know the result of each case. We’ve got assurances that this will happen, but there have been some instances where the police have taken the person away and handed out an on-the-spot fine at the station and not told the retailer,” he says.
The ACS believes that pressure should be put on the relevant authorities to ensure that the police are fully aware of how they should be using these powers. “Otherwise we can see the same happening with the newest legislation,” he warns.
Not everyone is as sceptical. The Home Office says it is unable to provide any statistics at this early stage, but stresses that it could take up to 12 months for the legislation to fully bed in. It would be premature to write off the legislation without hard evidence that it is not working, says a spokeswoman, who adds it is a lengthy process collating the information from the 42 local police forces around the country.
However, the British Retail Consortium, which is currently working with the Home Office to pull together the data through feedback from its members, also admits it is unable to provide any firm evidence of the numbers of fines that have been issued so far.
A spokeswoman adds that she fears the new legislation aimed at stamping out under-age drinking is let down by ID abuse, with many people easily faking their proof-of-age documentation - a situation that makes the life of a shopkeeper especially difficult.
She says that although the government has recognised that there is a problem with fake ID, it should provide more support for the PASS (Proof of Age Standards Scheme) ID card that was created by the BRC, the Home Office and other relevant trade associations, and contains a difficult-to-copy hologram. Only with such a piece of documentation in mainstream use will retailers confidently apply the ‘No ID, no Sale’ rule in their stores, believes the BRC.
“It seems to be an obvious way to tackle under-age drinking but we need more support. It’s been half-hearted support from the government,” she suggests.
While this remains the case, Tesco has created its own internal initiative to deter under-age drinkers - ‘Think 21’. It has been rolled out to all its stores, including the Express format, and involves staff being trained to work on the basis that they only serve people whom they believe to be aged 21 or over. A spokeswoman for Tesco says: “We look at this issue closely and have our own compliance manager.”
She believes that the new legislation for on-the-spot fines will have little effect on the supermarket because they are mainly aimed at the on-trade - with pubs and bars having more of a problem with under-age drinking.
This might be the case for Tesco, but many smaller independents feel very much on the front line of the drinking problem and they will be hoping that the new legislation will make their lives easier.
But it is still very early days to see how effective the on-the-spot fines will ultimately prove to be.
Brennan concludes: “It is a good, positive step that the legislation is there, and the jury is still out in terms of how it will help retailers on the ground. But we’re optimistic and we hope that it will have an impact on both theft and illegal alcohol sales.”
On a busy Friday night, a 16-year-old attempts to buy alcohol illegally from an independent grocer, so the shopkeeper decides to enforce an on-the-spot fine. He calls the police and apprehends the person as best he can until the officers arrive and issue a £50 fine.
Well, that’s what should happen.
Unfortunately, in the six months since the first legislation targeting those caught shop-lifting or buying for under-age drinkers came into force, precious few on-the-spot fines have been issued (‘Few police issuing on-the-spot fines’, The Grocer, April 23, p10).
Now, many independent retailers are questioning whether these or the latest round of fines to be introduced will have any impact.
Like many independent retailers, Deepak Patel, operator of a Budgens franchise in Clacton-on-Sea, believes the fines are impractical and expects them to make little difference to his business - just as on-the-spot fines for shoplifting and buying alcohol for under-18s have had zero impact since they came into force last November.
“I’ve not heard of a single retailer who’s used the new legislation and nobody will put it into practice in our area. As if my manager would hold a person! And the number of times that I’ve called the police asking them to just drive past my shop because of groups congregating outside, and they’ve not done so! How can they give on-the-spot fines if they are never on the spot?” he argues.
Patel believes one of the main problems is that very few people have been informed of the new laws, including the local council, police and retailers. “I’ve not had any letters about it. There seems to be a lack of communication.”
Patel has noticed the crackdown on retailers selling to under-18s - through the use of ‘test purchases’ - as he has been on the receiving end of three since the legislation came into force, also in November. Any retailer caught committing such an offence is given an on-the-spot fine of £80 for a first offence, which for many shopkeepers is preferable to an appearance in court.
But it is information on how retailers can themselves help enforce the on-the-spot fine legislation that is thin on the ground, according to Bill Warnes, trading director at Roys of Wroxham, a chain of eight grocery stores located around Norfolk. He says he is surprised by the limited levels of knowledge on both sets of legislation.
“I’ve been talking to our local bobby and showed him an article in The Grocer about the new fines and talked him through it. He could not see how it would work - and neither do we. It’s good to have it on our side, but it’s not practical,” he says.
Bahi Bakeerathan, who runs a Costcutter store in North London, admits he also found out about the legislation somewhat by chance - through scanning the newspapers in his shop. He questions the worth of the legislation because it still involves him having to call the police, so on the surface it does not appear to offer anything particularly different to what was already in place.
Patel is concerned that even if a fine has been issued, the retailer would not necessarily know, because the police take the person away immediately and then provide little feedback as to how they dealt with the offence.
“It’s just the same as before. We’ve caught shoplifters and then called the police, who’ve taken them away, and we’ve then not heard anything from them,” he complains.
This is an issue that has been recognised by the Association of Convenience Stores. Shane Brennan, public affairs executive at the ACS, says that although the removal of the culprit as quickly as possible from a retailer’s store is preferable, it would be good to have some feedback.
“It’s a teething problem, because retailers do want to know the result of each case. We’ve got assurances that this will happen, but there have been some instances where the police have taken the person away and handed out an on-the-spot fine at the station and not told the retailer,” he says.
The ACS believes that pressure should be put on the relevant authorities to ensure that the police are fully aware of how they should be using these powers. “Otherwise we can see the same happening with the newest legislation,” he warns.
Not everyone is as sceptical. The Home Office says it is unable to provide any statistics at this early stage, but stresses that it could take up to 12 months for the legislation to fully bed in. It would be premature to write off the legislation without hard evidence that it is not working, says a spokeswoman, who adds it is a lengthy process collating the information from the 42 local police forces around the country.
However, the British Retail Consortium, which is currently working with the Home Office to pull together the data through feedback from its members, also admits it is unable to provide any firm evidence of the numbers of fines that have been issued so far.
A spokeswoman adds that she fears the new legislation aimed at stamping out under-age drinking is let down by ID abuse, with many people easily faking their proof-of-age documentation - a situation that makes the life of a shopkeeper especially difficult.
She says that although the government has recognised that there is a problem with fake ID, it should provide more support for the PASS (Proof of Age Standards Scheme) ID card that was created by the BRC, the Home Office and other relevant trade associations, and contains a difficult-to-copy hologram. Only with such a piece of documentation in mainstream use will retailers confidently apply the ‘No ID, no Sale’ rule in their stores, believes the BRC.
“It seems to be an obvious way to tackle under-age drinking but we need more support. It’s been half-hearted support from the government,” she suggests.
While this remains the case, Tesco has created its own internal initiative to deter under-age drinkers - ‘Think 21’. It has been rolled out to all its stores, including the Express format, and involves staff being trained to work on the basis that they only serve people whom they believe to be aged 21 or over. A spokeswoman for Tesco says: “We look at this issue closely and have our own compliance manager.”
She believes that the new legislation for on-the-spot fines will have little effect on the supermarket because they are mainly aimed at the on-trade - with pubs and bars having more of a problem with under-age drinking.
This might be the case for Tesco, but many smaller independents feel very much on the front line of the drinking problem and they will be hoping that the new legislation will make their lives easier.
But it is still very early days to see how effective the on-the-spot fines will ultimately prove to be.
Brennan concludes: “It is a good, positive step that the legislation is there, and the jury is still out in terms of how it will help retailers on the ground. But we’re optimistic and we hope that it will have an impact on both theft and illegal alcohol sales.”
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