Lindsay Hoyle MP for Chorley has urged Justice Minister Jack Straw to impose tougher sentences on people who attack shopkeepers and individuals working in small businesses.
Mr Hoyle raised the plight of shopkeepers who face physical assault, robberies and abuse and urged Mr Straw to take a tough stance against anyone committing such crimes.
He said: "Companies such as Tesco can get protection from Securicor and other security organisations.
"Shopkeepers and small businesses can not afford the same protection and are too often the subject of attacks, violence and robberies.
"Attacks on small businesses are also attacks on the people who work in them and the customers who use those shops.
"This inevitably leads to further closures of local shops."
advertisement
In response to Mr Hoyle's question Jack Straw, MP for Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "Small shops are a vital part of local communities in urban and rural areas, so we take very seriously the need to ensure that the whole criminal justice system-from the police through to the courts-works effectively.
"As I have spelled out, we have been encouraging the courts to be tougher, as they have been, on theft from and burglaries of shops and other small businesses as well as large businesses.
"That is why the number of people sentenced to immediate imprisonment has more than doubled in recent years, and why sentence lengths at Crown court for more serious offences are rising."
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
