Project implemented with

the nancial support of

the European Commission
Preventing third party
violence in commerce
A toolkit
Stop it!
October 2009
This project is implemented in the framework of the Healthy Workplaces
Campaign 2008-2009 promoted by the OSHA (European Agency for Health and
Safety at Work)
Sole responsibility lies with the authors and the European Commission is not
responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
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Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 1: Risk Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Chapter 2: Prevention of Incidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 3: Conict Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 4: Partnership and Cooperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 5: Where to Learn More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Table of Contents
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It is estimated that more than 3 million people working in the European commerce
sector have been subjected to some sort of violence, according to statistics gath-
ered by the European Commission. Given the nature of the work in the commerce
sector, there is reason to fear that the actual number is far greater, with incidents
happening daily.
Contributing to this fear are the many reports received by social partners from
their afliates while creating this toolkit, showing that, nationally, incident num-
bers are on the increase.
The social partners (UNI Europa Commerce and EuroCommerce) believe that all
workers have the right to be protected from third-party violence in the workplace.
This principle reects both the ILO understanding of decent working conditions
and the ambitions of the European Commission enshrined in the Lisbon Goals.
Co-operation on workplace safety predates the creation of the social dialogue
committee, as the rst joint statement of the social partners in commerce on this
issue was signed in 1995. In this document, the social partners called on public
authorities at national and local levels to attend to the problem of violence and
crime against retail. They also called for tripartite action on guidelines for dealing
with crime and violence in the workplace.
Since 2005, work has continued in working groups, debates in the social dialogue
committee and, in particular, the exchange among the social partners of good
practice to be promoted and implemented at national and company level.
The partners have also discussed how to deal best with third-party violence and
have taken part in the multi-sectoral initiative organized by the European Com-
mission in March 2008.
To strengthen their cooperation, UNI Europa Commerce and EuroCommerce have
implemented a common project at European level with the nancial support of the
European Commission.
The social partners have focused on violence arising from a third-party external
to the work place. The joint toolkit is based on a denition of violence as:
Introduction
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Insults, threats or physical or psychological aggression exerted by people from
outside the organization, including customers and clients, against a person at
work that endangers their health, safety or well-being.
Aggressive or violent acts take the form of uncivil behaviour; lack of respect
for others; physical or verbal aggression; intention to injure and/or assault;
intention to harm the other person.
This denition was agreed in 2006 on commencement of the current project,
when the social partners signed a joint statement on promoting a safer working
and shopping environment.
In drafting this joint handbook on the promotion of a safer working and shopping
environment in the commerce sector, we wish to:
Develop a specic sectoral approach for the prevention of third party violence
and protection of employees on the basis of existing good practice successfully
implemented at national or local level;
Raise awareness among public authorities of the importance of adopting a
common preventive approach;
Provide a support tool to both shop owners and employees at EU level aimed at
helping them improve safety in the workplace through social partnership
It comprises the following main chapters:
Risk assessment
Prevention of incidents
Conict management
Partnership relations
Resources for more information and training
Throughout the toolkit the word staff is meant to encompass both shop workers
and store managers. The social partners recognise that incidents in the work
place affect both parties. Even though they may have different roles as a result of
their positions, managers and workers can share the same experiences. When a
particular task needs to be performed by either party, the text will show this.
This handbook is intended to be a practical and exible tool to be widely dis-
seminated; it has a special focus on SMEs, which represent 95% of companies in
the sector.
The European social partners for commerce hope that their affiliates in all
countries and people working in companies of all sizes will benet from the
experience brought together in this toolkit. It is based on examples of good
practice developed through social partnership aimed at improving the protection
of those working in shops.
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The rst step in the process of making the workplace more secure is to conduct a
risk assessment. The details of a risk assessment will depend on the size and loca-
tion of the different stores, etc.
Purpose:
identify vulnerabilities relating to the facilities and location of the workplace
identify issues which make staff feel insecure and exposed
think about all the staff categories such as part-time workers, seniors, young
workers etc. Consideration should also be given to non-regular staff such as
maintenance, security and staff from contractors.
Risk assessments should be regularly reviewed in consultation with the staff.
Risk assessments are a requirement of European Health and Safety Law
1
.
A risk assessment should address as many as possible of the following issues:
Location
Understanding location and the neighbourhood communities is a key factor in
assessing the risk of robbery.
Access
Analyse how customers and staff get to the store (availability of public transport,
designated parking spaces etc.) and the security of access to the store itself.
Lay-out
Analyse the lay-out of the store (visibility in the store, queues at the cash-tills), as
bad conditions may encourage theft or customer dissatisfaction/anger.
Customer service
Verify that procedures, staff training and actual handling of customers requests
and complaints are adequate to minimise the risk of abuse and violence.
Shop theft
Verify that procedures, staff training and actual handling of shop theft are
adequate to minimise risk of abuse and violence.
1 Information available on the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work website:
http://osha.europa.eu/en
CHAPTER 1: Risk Assessment
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UK rises to the risk assessment challenge
In the UK, the duty of employers to protect staff from third party violence un-
der health and safety law has been recognised for many years. But, by 2003,
concern was growing among retail workers that the problem was getting
worse. As a result, the union of shop distributive and allied workers (Usdaw
the main union for retail workers) launched its Freedom from Fear campaign.
As part of the campaign, Usdaw developed model policies on the management
of risk and a simple checklist on risk assessment http://www.usdaw.org.uk/
campaigns/freedom_from_fear/.
In the UK, local authorities are responsible for enforcement of health and safety
law for the retail sector. Several local authorities took up the Usdaw campaign.
In particular the ten local authorities in the Greater Manchester area, working
jointly with the Greater Manchester Police, developed an enforcement plan.
They found that many employers had inadequate risk assessments and worked
with them to improve staff protection. In the rst year of the project, the
number of robberies of retail premises fell by 75% in Bury and 49% in Salford.
Nationally, the Health and Safety Executive also recognised the seriousness
of the issue. In consultation with local authorities, the unions and the em-
ployers organisations, they developed a risk assessment toolkit. The toolkit
gives advice on how to conduct a risk assessment for retail employers and
on practical measures that reduce risk http://www.hse.gov.uk/violence/
toolkit/index.htm.
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Once risks and immediate threats have been identied and assessed,
the next step is to prevent them from turning into incidents. A wide
range of measures can be taken in order to build an adequately pre-
ventive environment: a workplace which is arranged to optimise staff
safety in combination with shop procedures aimed at minimising the
likelihood of unexpected incidents.
The following 3 main themes, illustrated by numerous examples, should
be considered in creating an adequately preventive environment:
Training
Once you have decided what staff protection measures are needed, it is
crucial to instil a thorough understanding of shop procedures through
proper training on the use of security devices and the handling of con-
ict and aggression. The store should adopt a plan for training all staff
to ensure that each individual is familiar with the role they must play
in any given situation. Inadequate training can actually increase the risk
of violence.
Design issues
Lay-out of the shop
adequate visibility easy overview of the business area. This can
be improved by placing mirrors, widening aisles, or by a transpar-
ent shop front making it possible to see what is going on both
outside and inside the shop.
a well-designed counter can serve as a barrier to prevent incidents.
Cash registers
safety-systems which make removal of the cash drawer impos-
sible for anyone other than the cashier.
if this is impossible, the cash register should be placed out of
reach of customers in order to discourage theft.
Entrances and exits should be if possible:
easily accessible
quick to lock/ unlock
away from possible hiding places.
Good lighting inside and outside the store
to create a general feel-good atmosphere and professional
look
to avoid dark corners and a scruffy look
customer parking and delivery areas should be well lit.
CHAPTER 2: Prevention of Incidents
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Preventing third party violence
Carrefour SOS conict training course
Facing security issues is one of the priorities of the Carrefour Group to ensure
all workers are given help and protection when facing any situation of violence
from a third party.
The rst objective of the training is to give practical tools to trainees to bet-
ter manage a conict situation.
The training is done by professional trainers, or by managers who have already
received training. This double line of trainers and trainees helps to better
transfer the requisite skills to employees in stores.
The aims
Strengthen the ability to respond professionally in the management of vio-
lent situations
Take into consideration all situations which might arise in a shop, from the
mildly aggressive to the most dangerous
The training
The training materials have been compiled with the objective of helping man-
agement to train employees. The non-professional trainer will have access to
a video and visual support tools to help them conduct optimum training days.
The overall approach of the training is to give employees an understanding
of the emotional mechanisms involved in violent situations and help them
learn appropriate responses to violence. It uses 3 practical exercises and a
video.
The expected results
a better understanding of the possible reactions of diffcult clients for a
better response in a given situation;
a range of solutions, according to circumstances to prevent or manage
conict situations;
a good understanding of the emotional mechanisms at play in cases of
threats, blackmail or hold-ups.
Useful data
700 employees received training in French supermarkets between 2007
and 2008 (equivalent to 4859 hours of training).
Number of trainees in French hypermarkets between 2007 and 2008:
7658
Safety rst at REWE Group
The REWE Group aims to protect as far as possible its employees in all outlets
from robberies and their consequences. To this end, REWE Group has developed
an information and prevention programme in cooperation with the German
Employers Liability Insurance Association BGHW and an external service
provider. Among the recommended measures are organisational changes
and building alterations.
A robbery at a supermarket usually only lasts a few minutes. With its preven-
tion programme the REWE Group offers quick and comprehensive help to
its employees.
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CCTV (closed circuit TV):
is a security measure which can be introduced after due consideration and
according to national law
is not a one size ts all solution
Staff representatives should be consulted and informed when CCTV is in-
stalled
Staffs right to privacy must be respected.
Promotion of a safer working and shopping
environment in Denmark
In Denmark, HK Handel, the union for shop and clerical workers, cooperates
with the Danish Chamber of Commerce on various information campaigns and
activities aimed at supporting the industrys health and safety initiatives. This
cooperation primarily takes place through the government-backed health and
safety body, Work Environment Council for Retail, BAR Handel.
In September 2001 BAR Handel initiated the campaign Hand over the money.
The campaigns aim was to create awareness on preventive work on violence
and robbery in the retail sector.
As part of this campaign, two guidebooks were published which focus on how
shops can prevent violence and robbery as well as how to tackle such events.
The guidebooks give technical and practical preventive suggestions relevant to
both employers and employees, as well as guidelines on making work practices
safe against robberies and violence. They were sent out to all the organisations
member enterprises and all health and safety shop stewards (the employees
health and safety representative in workplaces with more than 10 employees).
These popular guidebooks are available to download at www.barhandel.dk.
To create awareness of the campaign, employers and employees were invited
to evening meetings across Denmark. There would typically be a presentation
from the police robbery unit detailing how robberies usually take place and
how the police investigate. This would be followed by a presentation from a
psychologist on how to prepare oneself mentally for involvement in a robbery
and how best to give psychological rst aid. The local police were also invited
to explain local safety initiatives and to give recommendations on alarms etc.
The campaign received good coverage in the press, which continues, given the
persistence of these crimes and the continued need for vigilance.
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Cash handling in Sweden
Cash Handling at check-outs
Cash shall be handled safely and with care. The following three different meth-
ods should be considered to achieve security at the check-out.
- Closed Cash Handling Systems
Closed cash handling systems calculate the amount of cash in the register.
They therefore protect against robberies and theft, eliminate unexplained dif-
ferences in the cash registers and save time in the back-ofce. Depending on
the system, such solutions ensure that cash is seldom or never exposed in the
store, thus preventing robberies and other spontaneous attempts to get hold
of money. This system provides a safer and more secure workplace as well as
delivering easier and faster cash processing without any cash differences. The
closed cash handling system means that the register always contains cash from
the previous day, which can be used directly in case of queues. This also allows
customers, even the rst customer of the day, to obtain cashback with their
bank cards.
- Tube System
A tube system transports cash from the check-out to a safe place within the
store. This minimizes the amount of cash that must be held in the register and
removes the need for the cashier to carry large amounts of cash from the reg-
ister to an ofce in the store.
- Deposit Boxes
A system of secure deposit boxes enables the store to limit the amount of cash
in its registers. The deposit box is installed in such a way that it is impossible to
remove and is emptied when it is safe to do so, e.g. after closing. The key to the
deposit box should be stored in a safe place and not in close proximity to the
box itself.
Shop procedures
Handling of cash
Money should not be allowed to build up in tills.
Routines for emptying the cash registers and for transporting cash to
the counting room or to the bank should be worked out, understood and
respected by all staff.
Money should be kept out of public view and should not be sorted or counted
in public areas.
Another way of limiting the amount of cash in the store is to allow customers
to pay with bank cards or other electronic means where feasible.
A good customer ow through the shop must be maintained
avoid long queues at the checkouts
Develop safe procedures for opening and closing the shop.
When planning stafng levels, take account of the different risks associ-
ated with particular times of the day and of the week.
Keep the store tidy, inside and outside.
Establish procedures to deal quickly with faulty equipment.
Develop procedures for dealing with shop theft and attempted robberies.
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Conict management is:
a complex process because conict consists of many phases and many possible
developments.
a skill that can be learned but may never be fully mastered, as the outcome
partly depends on matters out of ones control.
It is important for all staff in contact with the public to respect and try to under-
stand angry or agitated customers. They need to be trained in conict management
and on how to ask questions appropriately.
What follows is an example of advice and training that the staff may need to deal
with conict.
The three phases
Conict management can be broken down into three phases: before, during and
after.
Before
Talk openly about any conicts that arise.
Make agreements with your colleagues and manager on how to help each other
and at what point.
Study the shops guidelines for customer service, returning and exchanging
goods and other relevant policy e.g. a conict policy.
During
Do not blame, attack or evade.
A conict will always escalate if nobody does anything to solve it.
Try to calm the customer down and get him/her out of the emotional involve-
ment, before discussing the details of the problem.
CHAPTER 3: Conict Management
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REWE Groups de-escalation training and
aftercare programme
Since 2007, REWE Group has offered employees de-escalation training from
specially trained external service providers. Participants learn how to behave
appropriately during a robbery and that the most important priority in such
a situation is the employees safety and health. A further module of the pro-
gramme is professional aftercare. REWE Group, in agreement with the German
Employers Liability Insurance Association BGHW, works closely with special-
ists to provide adequate psychological aftercare for affected employees.
What the customer
may be feeling?
THE CONFLICT
LADDER
What I can do at the
various stages on the
conict ladder?
We disagree, but its ok!
STEP 1
DISAGREEMENT
(THE ISSUE)
Keep focussed on the
issue and avoid becoming
personal. Be interested in
the customers situation
You just dont understand
and are not listening!
STEP 2
BLAME (THE PERSON)
Find out how the
customer perceives the
situation
This is just typical.
I have had problems with
you before...
STEP 3
MORE PROBLEMS
Remain focused on the
actual issue
You are unbelievable.
I can treat you as I
want to!
STEP 4
OPEN HOSTILITY
Calm yourself down.
Apologise for what you
might have said or done.
You may need to get help
from a colleague
This is completely
unacceptable.
I am out of here!
STEP 5
SEPARATION
Try to re-establish
contact with the
customer and try again to
solve the conict
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What to do
Act with consideration, but rmly.
Listen to the customer and be sympathetic about his/her situation.
Try to understand what the problem is and why by allowing the customer to tell
his/her story without interrupting.
Keep focussed and stick to the point do not discuss other problems that the
customer introduces and only say things that the customer can accept as facts.
Show that you are listening and willing to understand him/her you dont need
to agree, only show that you respect the customer and his/her view upon the
situation, and accept how he/she feels.
Ask questions and let the customer explain how he/she views the issue.
Do not offer additional explanations, correct the customer, provoke or tell your
version of the issue, before the customer is no longer emotionally involved and
is able to listen to you and to understand you.
If the customer is threatening, aggressive or indecent, tell the customer that
he/she seems to be very angry, and ask what he/she is angry about.
If you feel that you have reached your limit, call for assistance.
If you believe that it is impossible to manage the conict, you can break
away from the customer by telling him/her, that you will not tolerate his/her
behaviour.
Be aware of your communication both verbal and non verbal.
After
Even after the customer has left and the situation is dealt with, the staff involved
might need some time to recover from the conict.
Talk about the situation with your colleagues and manager.
Do not blame yourself or your colleagues if you/they did not solve the conict.
Accept that some conicts are unmanageable.
Your manager and colleagues can do the following things:
listen and let you talk about the situation without interrupting,
remain neutral and impartial both about the colleague and the customer,
respect and accept your perception of the experience, even if they disagree,
refrain from becoming personal and assuming you are to blame,
stick to the point.
When you have described your own experience and calmed down, you can talk
with your colleagues about how you think the customer experienced the situation,
and if anything could have been done differently.
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Carrefour / INAVEM agreement
Dealing with third party violence
Carrefour France has decided to promote prevention and training and has cre-
ated a partnership with other bodies to nd solutions to third party violence.
Carrefour France established an agreement with the French national institute
for victim support (INAVEM), an association made up of 150 local associations.
INAVEM has agreed to offer psychological support to victims of violence as
quickly as possible after the event.
Best practice for the promotion of a safer
working and shopping environment
Denmark
In Denmark HK Handel, the union for shop and clerical workers, cooperates
with the Danish Chamber of Commerce on various information activities aimed
at supporting the industrys enterprises in their health and safety efforts. This
cooperation primarily takes place through the government-backed health and
safety body, Work Environment Council for Retail, BAR Handel.
In October 2008 BAR Handel launched a meeting package Ease off, that
guides companies through the holding of two hour meetings on how to tackle
conicts with customers. The meeting package contains a spoken and non-
spoken powerpoint presentation that demonstrates how to tackle conicts
as well as three roleplay games and 5 interactive lms. The package also
contains a guide for the meeting leader on how to chair the meeting and on
the preparation recommended for using the powerpoint presentations and
the other material. For example notes are provided for each powerpoint slide.
The meeting package also contains a printed manual to be handed out to
all employees. All of this can be downloaded for free and seen on www.
trapned.dk.
There are already supermarkets, organisations and places of education that
use the meeting package in their educational activities and instruction of
employees in tackling conict situations with customers. The 5 interactive
lms are especially popular.
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Experience shows that the most successful initiatives to increase the safety of
staff and customers have always taken place in close cooperation with a number
of stakeholders. Wellbeing at the workplace is an issue which greatly affects local
and neighbouring communities. Therefore, it is of great benet to involve local
community organisations and public authorities when a plan on how to increase
safety is being drafted and implemented.
Below is a list of stakeholders who should be taken into consideration, though this
list may not be exhaustive and must be adapted to the actual area.
CHAPTER 4: Partnership
and Cooperation
In Italy: Vademecum per la sicurezza
delle imprese del commercio
Local initiative (by the Unione del commercio, del turismo, dei servizi e delle
professioni di Milano member of Confcommercio)
The Vademecum per la sicurezza delle imprese del commercio (vade-
mecum for the security of commercial enterprises) was implemented by del
commercio di Milano, in cooperation with the Police of the State/Questura of
Milan and the Arma dei Carabinieri Comando provinciale di Milano. This rst
publication is aimed at commercial enterprises which are more exposed to
risk of criminality because of their activities. It is available in print and on the
website of the Unione del commercio di Milano (www.unionemilano.it).
The publication points out how the level of safety in a shop can depend on
attention to detail. For example, the shop should be designed to avoid zones
of shadow and a wide and lighted desk with a smooth surface should be used
to facilitate the collection of nger-prints. Also, windows should be well-lit to
allow good visibility to colleagues or to passers by who can raise the alarm in
the event of any incident.
In this clear and readable publication, such examples are illustrated by
vignettes giving advice on how to behave in the event of robbery. These aim
to not only reduce risk, but also to allow the police to collect as much
information as possible which may lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.
There is also practical advice on security and for the prevention of shoplift-
ing, theft and credit card and electronic payment fraud. Finally, useful contact
information is also given, including telephone numbers and website details.
National/local social partners
Police
Local authorities
Media
Private security rms
Consumers/consumer organisations
Local business associations
Local shopping community
Owners of local facilities
Training/education providers
Victim support groups
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In Italy: Negozio sicuro
Negozio sicuro is a national initiative created and implemented in Italy by
Confcommercio Imprese per lItalia (Confederazione Generale Italiana
delle Imprese, delle Attivit Professionali e del Lavoro Autonomo). Over the
years, this initiative has been held in high regard among commerce sector
professionals. By uniting and coordinating the efforts of commercial operators,
police and public authorities, Negozio sicuro has greatly contributed to the
progressive decrease in crime against commercial activities.
Following the success of the rst initiative, Italian Minister of the Interior
Roberto Maroni and Confcommercio President Carlo Sangalli signed an
agreement for video monitoring in July 2009. This aimed to improve safety
in the commerce sector and to continue the partnership for the dissemination
of information on safe, legal measures to combat crime.
Underlining the importance of the agreement, Minister Maroni said, It is an
important step towards the ght against organized crime against retailers.
The video monitoring system, which relays a real time view of what is hap-
pening in the shop premises, is a highly advanced tool both for catching
the perpetrators, and for prevention of the crime. Shops and commercial
activities which join the network will be seen as safer and better protected.
This project is a part of the safety participation strategy set up in the
framework of the partnership between the State, local collectivities and
professional associations.
Recent data shows a progressive decrease in robberies against commercial
premises. Between January and April 2009, there were 2.419 robberies,
compared to 3.198 for the same period in 2008, i.e. a decrease of 25%.
Nevertheless, more than 360 shops are visited by delinquents every day
in Italy, a fact which entails an increase in the costs for entrepreneurs in
protecting their premises.
Text of the agreement:
http://www. i nterno. i t/mi ni nterno/export/si tes/default/i t/assets/
les/16/0237_Convenzione_sistema_videoallarme.pdf
http://www.confcommercio.ct.it/download/dossier-sicurezza.pdf
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The following projects are based on the Swedish programme Protection
against robbery in the retail sector. The police, the Swedish National Council
for Crime Prevention and the trade sector are supporting the programme.
The programme is avaible at www.handelnsarbetsmiljokommitte.se/pro-
tectionagainstrobbery.
Security certication
of Sickla commercial block
In 2007, property owner Atrium Ljungberg AB, decided to security certify all
the stores in the Sickla commercial block according to the Protection against
Robbery Programme, with the aim of providing a safer shopping location for
both customers and employees.
The project was initiated at an enthusiastic start-up meeting with Svensk Han-
del, the Swedish Commercial Employees Union, the local branch of the Swed-
ish National Council for Crime Prevention, Nacka Local Police and G4S (the
property owners security company).
As part of the project, Atrium Ljungberg organised training for employees
working in the area with the help of training material from the Commercial
Employees Unions Working Environment Committee (HAK). Some training
courses took place on site for the larger stores and some were open groups to
which all stores were invited. This also created a good contact network for all
the employees in the area.
HAK has trained personnel working for the property owner who certify the
stores. The property owner has also purchased a number of cash boxes as a
service to the stores. Nacka Local Police have been very cooperative and have
appointed a contact person for this project.
Project schedule:
October 2007 Start-up meeting with everyone involved.
January 2008 Training of ve people as certiers by Svensk Handel staff.
February/April 2008 Open training courses run for all staff.
April Certication activities.
To date, 60 stores have been certied, more than 30 courses implemented
and 400 people trained.
Stores Group in Uppsala: New working methods to deal
with robberies and store burglaries
In 2005, the Uppsala County Police instituted a new working method to deal
with robberies and burglaries in stores. A working group, called the Stores
Group, was set up, made up of representatives of the Swedish Work Environ-
ment Authority, Svensk Handel, the Swedish Commercial Employees Union,
the Swedish Transport Workers Union, Svensk Bensinhandel (the Union for
petrol station employees), Lnsfrskringar and the Crime Victim Helpline
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etc. The goal was to provide vulnerable stores with relevant crime prevention
and victim support information.
A survey of Uppsala showed that stores which had been subjected to repeated
crimes accounted for approximately one third of the robberies/burglaries
within the following year. The primary aim of this new working method was
to decrease the number of stores in Uppsala County that were repeatedly
robbed.
To decrease criminality and increase security, the Stores Group decided to
work with certication of stores in accordance with a 13-point programme.
This programme is primarily aimed at preventing robberies.
This working method meant that, within around two weeks of experiencing a
crime, the stores received a visit from the police and representatives of Svensk
Handel or the Swedish Commercial Employees Union who provided relevant
crime prevention and victim support information. In addition, the stores re-
ceived an offer to implement the Protection against Robbery Programme
with the aim of gaining certication. Certication was implemented by expe-
rienced police ofcers from the Crime Victim Support Unit.
The nal stage was that all the stores which had been the object of robberies
or burglaries were contacted again around eight months after the crime. This
contact was made by unions and employers organisations to verify that the
measures previously undertaken were still in operation.
Of the stores in Uppsala that have been robbed, 22 have accepted the cer-
tication offer and only one of these stores has been the object of a repeat
robbery.
Social Partner Involvement in Germany
The social partners in German commerce, (HDE and Ver.di for retail), have
been co-operating closely for many years on the issue of violence in commerce.
The social partners control the statutory accident insurance provider for
commerce, BGHW (Berufsgenossenschaft Handel und Warendistribution).
Within BGHW, they have been jointly leading the work on prevention and reha-
bilitation in cases of robberies and shop theft. Some of the results of this work:
various brochures raising awareness and giving advice to commerce
companies of different sizes and sectors
a major nationwide statistical exercise enabling the social partners to
conduct a well informed analysis of the problem
frequent training courses for commerce employees
psychological victim support programmes
better cooperation with the police
More information: http://medien-e.bghw.de/asp/dms.asp?url=/bge/m8/m8.htm
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Since 2006 there has been an increased focus upon violence in the retail sector, the
consequences for people working there and the ramications for society. There are
now numerous sources where you can learn more about the topic and nd details
of where to get more training.
Internet/DVD
Books/literature
Training providers
EU
Carrefour France
SOS Conit training course
Contact person: Coline Donon
coline_donon@carrefour.com
Available in: FR
Format: Video, Handbook, Trainers guide
Website: www.carrefour.com
Confcommercio Italy
Negozio Sicuro and Vademecum per la sicurezza
delle imprese del commercio
Contact person: Rosella Marasco
rosella.marasco@confcommercio-int.eu
Available in: IT
Format: paper, electronic
Website: www.unionemilano.it
HDE Germany
Contact person: Beat Spth
spaeth.europa@hde.de
Available in: DE
Format: electronic
Website: http://medien-e.bghw.de/asp/dms.asp?url=/bge/m8/m8.htm
CHAPTER 5: Where to Learn More
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HK Handel Denmark
Contact person: Merete Hansen
44MH@hk.dk
Available in: DK
Format: electronic
Website: http://www.trapned.dk/, www.barhandel.dk
REWE Group Germany
Contact person: Roland Kraemer
Roland.Kraemer@rewe-group.com
Available in: DE
Format: paper, electronic
Website: http://medien-e.bghw.de/asp/dms.asp?url=/bge/m8/m8.htm
Svensk Handel Sweden
Protection against robbery
Contact person: Johan Bark
johan.bark@svenskhandel.se
Available in: SV, EN
Format: paper, electronic
Website: www.svenskhandel.se;
www.handelnsarbetsmiljokommitte.se/protectionagainstrobbery
Usdaw United Kingdom
Freedom from fear
Contact person: Doug Russell
Available in: EN
Format: electronic
Website: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/campaigns/freedom_from_fear/
http://www.hse.gov.uk/violence/toolkit/index.htm.
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NOTES
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EuroCommerce
Avenue des Nerviens 9-31
B-1040 Brussels
T: +32 2 737 05 91
F: +32 2 230 00 78
www.eurocommerce.be
Uni europa commerce
Rue de lHpital 31
B-1000 Brussels
T: +32 2 234 56 56
F: +32 2 235 08 70
www.uniglobalunion.org