- Boots combats larceny epidemic.
- Enhanced security measures ineffective.
- Co-op faces rising crime.
An alarm is abruptly sounded by a store associate in regards to a possible shoplifter. A hundred miles away, an operator monitoring the situation live from behind a bank of displays at a control centre issues a stern warning via loudspeaker within seconds.
“This is Boots CCTV,” he announces with an emphatic Northern drawl. The store is under surveillance and recording. Any larceny evidence will be turned over to the police.
The previously unobservant suspect raises an eye towards the camera, removes the items from a bag, and then returns them to the shelf with composure before leaving.
Greetings and welcome to the epicentre of Boots’ endeavours to combat an annual larceny epidemic that costs retailers nearly £1 billion.
Loss Prevention Strategies
Head of loss prevention Iona Blake, my guide for the day, regales me with statistics and information regarding Boots’ dedication to preventing larceny and safeguarding employees against the epidemic of verbal and physical abuse.
The majority of Boots’ 2,100 stores are equipped with CCTV, and among the largest and busiest, 1,200 are linked to the 24/7 monitoring centre. Also installed in each of these establishments are distress buttons that are directly connected to the nerve centre.
“Every day, we receive 650 alarms,” says Blake.
Although other retailers implement CCTV, Boots is the most dependent on emergency buttons. Blake continues, “I like to think we have the best CCTV system.”
“Invest in your future with Webull UK – get started with free shares.”
In 380 of its higher-risk locations, security personnel don bodycams and conduct perimeter patrols of the store. Each of these measures instills confidence in frontline employees that they are not operating in isolation in their efforts to combat the pervasive issue of theft.
Retail Crime Landscape
Boots is not the only retailer fighting a crime boom in which organised gangs are stealing to order more often.
Graham Wynn, British Retail Consortium assistant director of business regulation, says retail crooks are growing more brazen. He asserts that the situation is deteriorating.
He adds, “Not only do we need police to place a higher priority on retail crime, but we also need a separate offence for assaulting or abusing a shop employee that sends a clear message that this conduct will not be tolerated.”
The retail sector organisation BRC estimates that retail larceny cost £953 million in the year before April. This is despite retailers spending over £700 million on crime prevention.
Enhanced security measures have been ineffective thus far in containing the retail crime pandemic. However, many in the industry, including Blake, contend that larceny and mistreatment of shopfloor employees would occur even more frequently in their absence.
The Co-op’s 2,400 stores have seen a 43% spike in crime, theft, and bad conduct compared to previous year. Nearly 300,000 incidents have occurred thus far in 2023, or nearly 1,000 on average per day.
Challenges of Police Coordination
According to the Co-op, police fail to respond to approximately four out of every five incidents. This is the case despite assurances from ministers and forces to give more significant attention to shop thefts.
One of the challenges in addressing the offences is the fragmented nature of police forces. The number of criminals in England and Wales is 43, whereas they are borderless. Blake asserts that their National Business Crime Centre is facilitating “cross-border” coordination with law enforcement agencies and cites several successful prosecutions as evidence.
James Gilroy was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this month for stealing £28,000 worth of perfume during a two-week assault of Boots stores in and around Leeds. Finally apprehended after a police car pursuit, he was apprehended.
Positive Impact of Security Measures
Working with West Yorkshire police to construct the case, Boots’ CCTV monitoring team in Beeston compiled evidence to prove it was the same offender, including information about his getaway vehicle.
Judge Ray Singh, characterising Gilroy’s conduct as “irrational” and “wanton,” remarked to him, “The public is sick to its teeth with individuals like you who believe they can take things that are not yours.”
Blake notes that Boots shops with body cameras have seen a 25% reduction in verbal and physical abuse. This positive trend is in addition to the increased monitoring efforts.
Additional encouraging indicators suggest that the initiatives implemented by Boots are yielding favourable results.
And safeguarding personnel is not the only objective.
Blake further states, “I do not want customers to believe that our retail locations lack security.”
