Serial shoplifters face being banned from stores as major UK retailers collaborate to stamp out theft, sharing intelligence about repeat offenders on a shared national database, powered by loss prevention platform, Auror.

Leading retailers, including M&S, Boots, Morrisons and Greggs, will share images, CCTV footage and personal details, including vehicle registrations, of offenders on the national database.

This will allow security staff to use the data to refuse store entry to known shoplifters, helping to reduce incidents of theft. The data will also allow police to gather greater intelligence about repeat perpetrators, which can be used as evidence.

Record levels of retail crime

The move comes as instances of retail crime continue to rise; data from the ONS showed shoplifting offences in England and Wales rose +20% last year to over half a million instances – the highest number of record. Bakery chain, Greggs, said earlier in May that its stores were being repeatedly targeted by shoplifters, with some stores experiencing theft attempts every 20 minutes.

However, the rising levels of retail crime aren’t isolated incidents; data from Auror, the platform powering the national retail crime database, showed that 10% of offenders reported by UK retailers account for 72% of all shoplifting offences.

And, while instances of retail theft surpassed the highest levels on record, Auror warns that there is still a “significant under-reporting issue” when it comes to shoplifting. It figures suggest that just 5% of all retail theft incidents are reported to police.

Increased security in-store

The shared intelligence will also help bolster retailers’ own efforts to increase security protocols to protect staff and customers.

H&M, for example, has become the latest retailer to arm store colleagues with body cameras (body cams), announcing this week it is piloting the technology in a bid to counter rising levels of shoplifting. The body cam trial will take place in three UK stores – Edinburgh, Wood Green and Beckton – as the Swedish fashion retail assesses their impact on “de-escalating and reducing incidents.”

Meanwhile tech retailer, Currys, has rolled out VoCoVo headsets to all its UK&I stores as part of its largest ever annual investment in store safety and security. The headsets allow store staff to stay connected and feel safer on the shop floor following rising levels of retail crime and abuse incidents aimed at retail workers across the industry.