POLICE chiefs have used legislation designed to crack down on the abuse of retail workers to charge almost 20 people since the turn of the year.

Inverclyde and Renfrewshire division’s local policing commander Gordon McCreadie has vowed that the force will take violence against shop staff workers ‘incredibly seriously’.

He made the declaration at a meeting of the local police and fire scrutiny committee.

His comments came after Labour councillor Francesca Brennan pressed him about the steps local police were taking to support shopworkers and train officers in dealing with retail crime.

Councillor Brennan highlighted the work of her party colleague and MSP Daniel Johnson in bringing forward the Protection of Workers Act, which gave new protections to retail workers, and asked divisional chiefs what work they were doing with local retailers.

She said: “It is something that will be important to us all because we want people working in retail to feel safe and secure.

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