University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs hospitals in Brighton, Worthing, Haywards Heath and Chichester, recorded nearly 2,000 incidents of verbal threats, assaults and aggressive behaviour against its 20,000 staff in twelve months. The trust has already introduced body-worn cameras and knife amnesty bins, and is now adding a formal warning system that can bar abusive patients or visitors from its sites except in emergencies. The latest NHS staff survey found almost one in three ambulance staff reported unwanted sexual behaviour at work.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026, creating a specific offence of assaulting a retail worker in England and Wales, carrying up to six months in prison and a presumption of a Criminal Behaviour Order on first conviction. Commencement is staged, with the retail worker provisions expected to come into force around 29 June 2026. The British Retail Consortium’s 2026 Crime Report recorded roughly 1,600 incidents of violence and abuse against retail staff every single day.

SoloProtect’s Lone Worker Survey 2026, based on 2,500 frontline workers across housing, healthcare, charities and local government, found that 56 per cent had experienced verbal or physical abuse in the past year and 61 respondents had been threatened with a weapon. More than a third of those incidents were never formally reported.

A teacher told her union conference she now spends more time managing violent pupils than she does teaching. Delegates at a national teaching union conference voted for action on classroom violence after members described being grabbed, kicked, punched, spat at and cornered by pupils. A separate survey of over 10,000 teachers found two in three said disruptive pupil behaviour regularly interrupted lessons. Union leaders said schools lack the staffing and specialist support to intervene early.