Walker Smith worked for Waitrose for 17 years but lost his job after trying to stop a shoplifter. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The GuardianView image in fullscreenWalker Smith worked for Waitrose for 17 years but lost his job after trying to stop a shoplifter. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The GuardianRetail workers call for more security after Waitrose sacking for tackling shoplifterShop workers’ union Usdaw says 59% of its members in its annual survey said they would welcome more security guards in stores
Retail workers have called for more security guards in stores after a Waitrose worker was sacked for confronting a shoplifter.
Waitrose has been criticised over its treatment of Walker Smith after the Guardian reported he was fired two days after he stopped a shoplifter taking items from an Easter egg display, including Lindt chocolate bunnies.
Joanne Thomas, the general secretary of Usdaw, the shop workers’ union, said: “Usdaw supports a physical security presence in stores and we have ongoing conversations with employers about protection for retail workers on the frontline of the rise in retail crime.
“The results of our 2025 annual survey show that 59% of members would welcome more security in stores because security guards provide reassurance, act as a deterrent and have specialist experience to deal with incidents.
“While not as popular as a physical security presence, members also value other security measures such as improved CCTV, facial recognition technology, body-worn cameras and headsets that help to identify perpetrators, record incidents and link workers to a central control for support.”
Smith was offered a job at Iceland after Waitrose doubled down on sacking him. Richard Walker, Iceland’s chief executive, said shop workers needed more tools including AI and potentially batons to deter thieves.
He told Good Morning Britain on Wednesday: “We should call [shoplifting] out for what it is, which in many cases is often violent crime. It’s as simple and base as that. And therefore, that’s why I think we should be doing more, much more, to keep our customers and our colleagues safe.”
Walker said it was proving difficult to use facial recognition to stop thieves. “We do have AI technology that can spot shoplifters, that we are using in our store but that some people, including the Information Commissioner’s Office, have a big problem with because of the human rights of the shoplifters, which clearly is absurd.”
He added: “When you go on holiday in Spain, you’ll have seen it yourself. The in-store security teams there do have pepper spray and batons. Now, my point wasn’t that we need to arm store colleagues, of course, but it was that our in-store security staff … should be given, within reason, as much powers as they can to bring back the stigma to this horrible crime.”
In February a security guard in Milton Keynes was fatally stabbed while at work. Security workers have been calling for shops to allow them to wear stab-proof vests while on shift.
Daniel Garnham, the general secretary of the Security Industry Federation (SIF), said: “We have been working for years to get correct PPE like stab-proof vests or body-worn cameras but the security companies hide behind their client, a retailer, and say they don’t want them because it doesn’t look nice for customers when there is security wearing a body-worn camera or stab-proof vests.”
He said security guards were “ridiculed on TikTok” because supermarket policies did not allow them to physically stop thieves. Instead, he said, “the policies put in place by the companies say they are supposed to have a hands-off approach”.
Garnham said assaults on workers were getting worse and “becoming an everyday occurrence”. The SIF has started a petition to make assaulting a security worker a standalone offence, as it is for emergency services workers, to deter the spate of assaults.
Waitrose said in a statement: “There is a serious danger to life in tackling shoplifters. We refuse to put anyone’s life at risk and that’s why we have policies in place that are very clearly understood and must be strictly followed.
“As a responsible employer, we never want to be in a position where we are notifying families of a tragedy because someone tried to stop a theft. Nothing we sell is worth risking lives for.”
It added: “The reporting on this does not cover the full facts of the situation. While we would never be able to discuss an individual case, we can assure you the correct process is being followed, which includes a standard appeals procedure.”
Lucy Whing, the crime policy lead at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Colleagues safety is of the upmost importance to retailers. They have invested £5bn over the past five years on crime prevention measures such as increased security personnel, body-worn cameras, ant-theft devices and more.”
Shopworkers have for some years been campaigning on safety in store, and last year Co-op workers complained they were being asked to staff shops on their own despite a surge in thefts. They said they felt their safety and security was at risk.
Co-op said at the time that more than 90% of the overall hours worked by its staff were not one-on-one and its stores were set up so workers would not be left alone during deliveries and at busier times of day, such as opening and closing times.
