New data shows the severity of retail crime

Police data shows more than 400 retail crimes were reported a day last year - with six staff a day complaining to police they'd been assaulted.

In 2023, there were more than two-thousand assaults on retail workers, including almost 400 sexual assaults -- a 20 percent increase from 2022.

Police Association president Chris Cahill says there are 40-thousand retail outlets, so about one percent a day are hit by crime.

He's keen on campaigns like in Tauranga, where a group of officers are concentrated on retail crime in the CBD, which is having a big effect.