How England on the pitch affects crime in our stores.

Why there’s more than just a place in the Euro semi-finals at stake on Saturday…

Talk about a nail-biter!

Like a lot of the country, I was on the edge of my seat watching England take on Slovakia last Sunday. It was certainly a rollercoaster of emotions (sorry, X-Factor moment over!).

Frustration and disappointment were quickly replaced by jubilation and relief. A victory snatched from the jaws of defeat.

Phew!

However, if it weren’t for two moments of brilliance in an otherwise lacklustre performance, the nation’s mood would have been vastly different come Monday morning…

Southgate would’ve been packing his bags. The media would’ve been in a frenzy. And we’d probably have entered an unofficial period of mourning for a team that had failed to live up to the hype.

But here’s the darker side: a defeat would certainly have led to a surge in domestic violence. In fact, research shows violent domestic abuse incidents increase by 38% when England loses a game at a major football tournament.

While the matches themselves don’t cause domestic abuse, heightened emotions and alcohol consumption can increase the frequency and severity of existing abuse.

There’s never any excuse for abuse, but it highlights the extent to which national sporting events can change public mood and behaviour – for better or worse.

As Managing Director at Advantage One Security, I can’t watch an England match without thinking about the bigger picture. I’m always considering how the result might affect the public’s psyche.

Why? Because when England wins, everyone’s happy (well, maybe not the opposing team!). And when people are happy, shoplifting incidents and violence against retail staff tend to decrease.

Okay, so it might not be quite that simple, but there is a link between an individual’s emotional state and their propensity to shoplift…

For some people, the act of stealing fills their immediate ‘needs’ but for many triggers a dopamine response in the brain, temporarily boosting their low mood. Or it might just serve as a distraction from their problems. Either way, it isn’t great news for retailers.

Of course, it’s not just football that has the power to influence the national mood. Everything from politics to the weather can affect the public’s behaviour.

Like most of us, I’ve been keeping a sharp eye on the General Election. After all, if there’s ever an event that can change the discourse of the nation, it’s that.

Will a change in government lift spirits? How will key policies affect the pound in people’s pockets? Will there be an increase in the National Minimum Wage? Will retailers need to cut back on security guards to pay for the rise?

These are all questions that keep me up at night (there are many more, but I won’t bore you with them now!).

I might not be able to tell the future, but one thing is for sure: the ramifications of the decisions made over the coming months will be huge – for both the public, retailers and the security industry.

As for England’s footballers, let’s hope they’re victorious in Saturday’s match against Switzerland.

Come on England!

James Haigh
Managing Director
Advantage One Security