Retailers across Cumbria and Northumberland could soon benefit from a new crime-reporting system that allows shop theft offences to be logged with police in as little as 30 minutes.
The technology, which has helped almost double the number of solved cases during a Co-op trial, is now being considered by more police forces as businesses continue to battle persistent retail crime.
Under the initiative, store staff upload incident details, CCTV footage, photographs and impact statements directly to officers.
Police can then record and allocate an offence in as little as 30 minutes, a process that previously took up to seven days.
The retail giant said the number of cases solved has almost doubled thanks to the new fast-track reporting system.
Discussions are now under way with other police forces to introduce the platform more widely.
Data from the initiative revealed that 90 per cent of identified shop theft offenders are repeat offenders.
The technology is designed to enable closer collaboration with police, stronger intelligence sharing and improved tracking of prolific thieves.
Paul Gerrard, director of campaigns, public affairs and policy at the Co-op, said: “The reduction in retail crime at Co-op is very welcome, but these are green shoots with crime levels remaining higher than before the pandemic.
“The success of this initiative demonstrates the benefits that we know can be realised when retailers and police work together.
“We have seen that offenders can be identified and investigations can progress much faster and, importantly for everyone, outcomes improve significantly.”
The pilot has been taking place across all Co-op branches in Devon and Cornwall.
In that force area, just 50 individuals were found to be responsible for around a quarter of all shop theft offences, often with more than 100 known offences each.
Chris Chaloner, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “The results from this pilot have been extremely impressive. The evidence provided through the platform is available to officers immediately, allowing investigations to progress much more quickly.
“Crucially, this approach helps us to link crimes and identify and target those prolific offenders who are responsible for a disproportionate amount of retail crime.
“We know that a relatively small number of individuals commit a large volume of offences. By working closely with retailers, building effective partnerships and receiving high-quality evidence, we can take earlier action, secure more charges and achieve better outcomes for our high streets and communities.”
Policing minister Sarah Jones said: “Collaboration between the retail industry, police and government is exactly what I want to see as chair of the retail crime forum. This pilot is a great example of what can be achieved when working together to tackle crime.
“Shop theft is falling across the country and more criminals are being charged. This is good progress, but we will go further, restoring neighbourhood policing, with thousands more officers already in our communities.
“We are also changing the law to make it clearer that there will be consequences for shop theft of any value and bringing in a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker.”
Share