Manchester students targeted in retail crime

SIX in ten students have been victims of verbal assault while working in Manchester City Centre.

The figure, part of the research carried out by Student Direct, comes days after a 41-year old shopkeeper was battered to death by a mob of youngsters in Wigan.

Physical and verbal threats, aimed at the student workforce, are also on the rise as a nine percent increase in crime was reported across the UK.

Of the student workers questioned, over seventy percent have been threatened either physically or verbally while being at work with a few being victims of physical assault as well; reaching its epic with a male staff being punched in the face.

“It’s just not worth it. You come into work on a Saturday to get some extra cash to spend during the week. Being sworn at or a hand in the face just isn’t required,” said Miss. X (the person’s identity cannot be revealed due to shop management’s request).

Over half of them have had a personal experience with shop-lifters but 95% would never personally confront one in the future, be it the stores’ policy on shop-lifters or the fact that the students just do not want to get involved.

Efforts have been undertaken by stores and police to clamp down on retail crime in the City Centre but students do not feel any safer as a great majority of them possess a fear of being attacked while at work.

© Faras Ghani 2005.