Matthew Scott, Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner, is supporting the #KeepingChristmasKind campaign and standing up for our festive frontline.

The campaign is a national effort which sees Police and Crime Commissioners join with USDAW, the Co-op, Business Crime Partnerships, industry bodies and the Home Office to raise awareness of the abuse shop workers have faced and encourage others to show some kindness this Christmas.

Matthew said:

“As someone who has in the past worked in retail, I have seen at first hand some of the abuse and assaults shop workers face and the impact that it has. Enough is enough – we must not tolerate any attacks on shop workers, pharmacists, delivery drivers or anyone else who is working on the festive frontline. During the pandemic, they have been there for us, and now we must all be there for them.”

The need for the campaign has been emphasised by the findings of the PCC’s Business Crime survey, which showed that 39% of respondents said that they or their staff had been a victim of assaults in the last twelve months.

Matthew added:

“I started this survey to show my support for Kent’s businesses and those who work for them. It has been an important exercise which has highlighted the need for robust action to tackle crimes against businesses and attacks on workers. Through the expansion of town centre PCs and the boost in police numbers, my hope is that we can better protect our shop worker superheroes”.

Notes to editors

The Business Crime Survey closed in November 2020. When asked what types of crimes businesses experienced during the previous year, 77 of the 198 respondents selected “Assault (this could be verbal or physical)”. The full survey results will be published alongside the Annual Policing Survey results in January 2021.

More resources including video and audio case studies and graphics are available at https://www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk/keepingchristmaskind-resources/