For many years we have been concentrating on the more traditional and obvious health and safety risks in retail, such as customer slips and trips and staff manual handling injuries.
Following our project on violence in the workplace it is now clear that the risk of assault in certain areas, with or without weapons, is also significant and carries with it the potential for serious and life-threatening consequences.
In 2006 we were approached by Westminster City Council's CivicWatch Business project team and together we explored the risks to staff associated with abuse and violence from members of the public in some of our Westminster branches.
In one store in particular, staff were experiencing regular threats and quite early on we decided to pilot a new management approach in that store.
The project team provided:
Arising from this review of our arrangements we installed CCTV cameras and rolled out new procedures to allow better reporting of incidents to head office. As a result of these initiatives our staff felt safer and better supported than before. In addition, after just a few weeks, the incident rate of violence had fallen dramatically to the point that they were counting the days between them rather than the number of incidents per day.
The business case for the adoption of these new measures was further reinforced in that there was also a considerable decline in the number of thefts.
This pilot gave us the springboard to extend the project to other stores in Westminster and also nationwide.
As a result we now have the following arrangements in place:
This work will continue to evolve and while we have to accept that when dealing with the public there will always be the potential for violence and aggression, we believe these measures reassure staff of our determination to take effective action to protect them.
One store was responsible for one third of shop based crime in the West End area of Westminster, London, in 2004. This amounted to 900 citizens' arrests being carried out by internal security staff between January and October.
A joint visit was carried out by an environmental health enforcement officer from Westminster City Council, and a police crime prevention officer (CPO). The company had very few procedures in place to protect the health and safety of their staff in terms of work-related violence, in spite of clear evidence that the risk of violence was a significant issue for staff working in the premises.
As a result of the inspection, the following steps were taken:
In 2004, this store had accounted for 36% of all shoplifting arrests in this police district. In 2005, following the implementation of the above recommendations, this had fallen to 13%.
A reduction in crime of this order has had a significant effect, not only in terms of actual incidents of violence involving staff, but also their perception of risk and fear of crime.
Leading national retailers have recognised the importance of providing a safe environment for both staff and customers. A safe environment promotes the well being of staff and delivers a pleasurable and relaxing experience for customers who visit coffee shops and enjoy their products. This approach is now central to their business strategy and has evolved from partnership work which has been carried out with Westminster City Council (WCC) through the Café Watch initiative.
This initiative involved partnership work with WCC environmental health enforcement officers and crime prevention officers employed by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).
Particular stores were identified as having an unusually high incidence of reported crime and high customer numbers throughout the day. These stores were used as a model for the development of new management systems specifically targeted at identifying branches where there was shown to be an increased risk of violence, and the reduction of that risk to both staff and customers.
The introduction of these arrangements has led to a 50% reduction in reported crimes across coffee shop outlets in the project, and a more proactive approach to the management of the risk of violence across the entire chain.
Case study one is a public house in a small, affluent village in the South of England. The landlord and landlady run the pub and also employ one bar person and one cleaner. The pub's busiest nights are Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The pub is split into two bars; the bar and the lounge bar. Its clientele includes regulars as well as customers who travel from further afield, and they also have pool, darts, football and cricket teams. The Historical Society and garden and golf societies also use the pub.
Violence is not a huge problem for this pub although they have experienced some situations that have given rise to the potential for violence. Most aggressive/violent situations tend to be verbal abuse and threatening behaviour between customers as a result of too much alcohol as well as men arguing over women!
The landlord and landlady have a zero tolerance policy on violence in their pub. When they first took over the pub they had to stand their ground in order to turn business around, as the previous landlord took a fairly 'hands off' approach and did not manage customer behaviour. The way in which they countered this was by making a point of keeping a presence in the pub by getting out and talking to customers, a policy which customers supported.
The landlord and landlady try to play the role of the host by talking to customers and mingling with them. Observation is crucial so that they are able to stop anything before it starts. They will stop serving customers if they feel that they have had too much to drink and violence towards any member of staff is not tolerated. They have found that customers tend to be protective over the staff and therefore are part of the protection process. Interestingly, they find that interventions by female members of staff work best when the arguments are between males.
The layout of the two bars means that they are able to keep an eye on both bar areas and that they can see who enters and leaves the bar. The till point is also positioned in the middle of the two bars and therefore staff constantly move between the bars. They have no CCTV or strategically placed mirrors as they feel that it is more important that they have a constant presence to avoid violence.
What impact does this have on the business?
Violence has been reduced in this pub since the current landlord and landlady took over, meaning that customers know that they can go to the pub without the possibility of any violence. The landlord and landlady also encourage their customers to be friendly towards each other to avoid conflict.
Top tips for other organisations
Case study two is a large suburban public house close to a city centre. The landlady and her sister run the pub and also employ part-time staff. It is a music-orientated pub and attracts people from far and wide who come to listen to the bands that they have playing. The majority of customers tend to be in their late thirties.
Violence is not a big problem for this public house and the landlady believes that the age of the customers is a major factor in this. Younger customers that come into the pub can be more of a problem. The main reasons for violence are too much testosterone and too much alcohol. The violence tends to be verbal abuse and threatening behaviour between customers, although the landlady has been threatened once.
Before the current landlady took over the pub they had a very different clientele whose nights out involved fighting, gambling etc. Therefore, since taking over they have had to try to stop such customers coming to the pub. The way in which they have done this is by being firm and refusing to serve certain people, and also by meaning what they say and following through with that.
The landlady will not stand any nonsense and always stands her ground. For larger events or certain times of the year, eg Christmas and New Year, they have door supervisors to help keep control. The pub also has CCTV and extra cameras have been added to enable visibility of all areas of the pub.
