The minister for social partnership in the Welsh government, Jack Sargeant MS, visited a Boots store in Bangor to see how abuse in retail is tackled.

On August 27, Mr Sargeant and the North Wales police and crime commissioner, Andy Dunbobbin, visited the store on Bangor high street to learn about measures in place to ensure the protection of retail staff from verbal and physical abuse.

It's a visit that happened one year after the implementation of the Welsh government’s Retail Action Plan, which was set up to combat abuse against shopworkers.

Figures from the BRC’s Crime Survey 2024 show that more than 475,000 incidents of violence and abuse were recorded against retail workers across the UK during 2022-2023.

That works out to about 1,300 incidents a day, a significantly higher figure than the 850 incidents daily in 2021-22.

It's nearly triple the daily rate of 450 during 2019-2020.

Only 36 per cent of these events get reported to the police by retailers.

At the Boots store, Mr Sargeant and Mr Dunbobbin met with the manager, Fiona Evans, and her team.

During their visit, they discussed the nature of the abuse staff were coping with daily, on both the retail and pharmacy sides of the store.

They talked about how they currently handle such situations and the support they receive from the wider Boots organisation.

The usage of body-worn video cameras and a wireless alert system for hostile situations were demonstrated for the visitors.

The group had a constructive discussion on how these issues can be lessened and how to make the store safer for staff and shoppers.

Mr Dunbobbin said: "Retail staff have a right to go to work and feel safe, and business owners have a right to know that the police are there for them if the worst happens.

"I hope that the new UK government will press ahead with a new law to make assaulting a retail worker a standalone criminal offence and I look forward to further close partnership working with the Welsh government on reducing violence towards retail workers as their innovative plan takes further effect."

Mr Sargeant said: "This criminal activity creates a climate of fear and uncertainty for consumers and the wider community - tackling this is crucial to ensuring the safety of these communities, and it is a key focus in our collaboration with Welsh police forces, crime commissioners and the retail industry."