Political opinion: Police and Crime Commissioner candidate vows to protect Sussex shop workers

Paul Richards, Labour candidate for the top cop job in Sussex, has vowed to protect shop workers against a 'tsunami of abuse and assaults'.

Paul Richards said 'I've heard first-hand from retailers and shop workers from Worthing to Hastings that staff face daily abuse and assualt from looters and shop lifters. In one Co-op shop, a crime was in progress as I arrived, with a shop worker nursing a bruise after being hit in the face. The epidemic of shop lifting across Sussex is putting shop workers on the front line. We all rely on retailers, and as police and crime commissioner, I will put shop workers' safety first'.

The Labour candidate's plan for Sussex includes:

• more CCTV and 2-way radios to detect and prevent organised looting
• a specific offence in law of assualting a shop worker to show we take it seriously
• tackle to tackle the addiction issues fueling shop theft
• faster police response times, including more neighbourhood police teams on the high street and in shopping areas
• scrapping the law that says police won't deal with thefts less than £200.

Paul Richards is supporting the shop workers' union Usdaw in its campaign to highlight the issue and protect shop staff.

The election for Sussex police and crime commissioner is on Thursday 2 May, with every registered voter in East Sussex, West Sussex, and Brighton & Hove eligible to vote.