Security warning to farm shop owners as retail crime surges
Date of alert:
Tuesday, 31 October 2023
Crime Ref:
Force:
National
More than eight in 10 retailers have experienced crime in the last six months, with farm shops among those frequently targeted, NFU Mutual has warned.
Farm shop owners are being warned to stay vigilant as the rural insurer's research shows that shopkeepers are facing 'unprecedented levels' of crime.
In the last six months, just over eight in ten (83%) have experienced crime and more than two thirds say retail crime has increased in 2023.
Over a quarter of respondents (27%) said the impact on their own and their staff’s mental health is their most pressing concern.
And almost one in five (19%) live in fear of organised gangs targeting their shops, as seen recently in attacks on farm shops across the UK.
The research comes a year after an urgent security alert was issued to farm shop owners following a spate of organised burglaries across North West England and the West Midlands in the summer of 2022.
