Retail crime

This was a piece examining the growing problem retailers faced with things like petty theft etc. Written September 2008.

Whilst Credit Crunch stories make headlines daily, there’s a bigger threat to your business. At the same time, you might not realise it. Worse still, many businesses passively ignore it.

Yet when it comes to security, to do so is foolish. Whatprice.co.uk claims “pet theft has overtaken mobile phone robberies as the most rapidly-growing crime in the UK”.

A rising problem

It’s not difficult to see pet theft has risen to such levels. High-value pedigree and exotic animals are increasingly popular. Thieves are recognising this. Consider this stark tale.

In 2004, a Crufts Champion bitch worth £50,000 was stolen from its owner. A high ransom was demanded by the gang.

Even if money does not change hands, many dogs are either bred on the market or used in illegal coursing and fighting.

Think theft’s confined to high-value animals? Think again. The emotional bond between owner and pet is just as attractive to a thief.Graham Abbott, owner of Scales and Tails in Hampshire suffered a heart attack in 2006 after 13 tortoises were stolen from his shop.

The mounting cost of business crime

The government has recognised the upset and financial loss thefts are causing. A more integrated approach to business crime’s mounting costs is being developed as a result.

The National Retail Crime Steering Group, established last year, will meet bi-annually to discuss how it can reduce the mounting cost of retail crime- more than £19 billion a year.

At the same time, you can do more to protect your store. As the Steering Group says, it’s vital that firms “include crime prevention at the heart of all its business policies and practices”.

Don’t fret. Help is at hand from industry experts. Criminals are more sophisticated- but providers are frequently proving smarter.

Smartwater

Proof that the police and businesses are fighting back comes from Smartwater. Its forensic coding kits and anti-intruder spray system are used by clients including Woolworths, Norwich Union and British Airways.

The products produce a unique code that directly links an intruder to a crime. Dave Reynolds says that before Smartwater’s invention, the lack of conclusive proof to a crime scene meant pet thieves knew they had a strong chance of being undetected, and so often reoffended.

Once an intruder triggers the system, they’re covered with a water-based solution. Invisible to the eye, the water shows clearly under police ultra-violet lights months after the event.

“The water stays on clothing and skin for months”, Dave says. “Even if the police don’t catch the criminal at the time of the theft, they’ll have suspects. Criminals know this and are scared rigid of the system. It’s like using psychological warfare. Our aim is to stop incidents occurring in the first place”.

The success is there to see. The system has a 100% conviction rate and has helped to significantly reduce violent burglaries.

CCTV

Some though are increasingly determined to get what they want, even if systems are in place. Not only are they determined, they’re increasingly efficient. A robbery can take literally minutes, even seconds.

Statistics show that pet thefts are more common at night when thieves know premises are usually unattended. For this reason, video evidence provides your store and the police with vital evidence.

Jeremy Davies, of B2B links, says outdoor cameras “are excellent for deterring burglary and theft from premises. The latest night vision infra-red cameras can see in darkness for around 20 to 30 metres where flood lighting’s not chosen”.

It’s thanks to such innovations that CCTV has grown in popularity. “High-Definition CCTV opens up tremendous opportunities in terms of image quality”, says Pauline Norstrom of the British Security Industry Association. “”It looks set to revolutionise how CCTV is used to secure industry sites and identify offenders”.

The technological revolution has produced increasingly smaller and more compatible units. Bulky units requiring monitors, recorders and computers are now replaced by dedicated hard drive systems and Internet-based CCTV.

Videotec-Zoom has made use of both smaller units and the internet and offers a range of packages to suit business needs. These include internet monitored systems, allowing your staff to monitor suspicious activity from a safe distance.

A four-camera package, including a monitor, hard drive and Internet monitoring, starts at around £14.50 a week.

Micro-chipping

A small cost to pay for peace of mind. Yet the National Register for Exotic Pet Thefts report that pet theft is at its worst level for ten years.

The group claims that private collectors are driving the market for exotic pets, with macaws identified as a key target.

Already a legal requirement with any dog or cat and some species of tortoise, both the register and the RSPCA recommend store owners microchip their pets.

Microchipping reptiles and occasionally birds however, is a more difficult proposition than dogs and cats. The RSPCA comment that the process “requires the insertion of a chip via a surgical operation”. Because of the complexity, Andy Robbins advises, “a vet should be consulted first”.

Stock theft prevention

It’s not just the illegal trade that threatens your business, though. Opportunistic internal theft is also on the rise.

The latest figures from the British Retail Consortium’s Retail Crime Survey show that in 2006, detected internal thefts and fraud cost businesses £30 million.

Stephen Burnett, Managing Director of the Retail Data Partnership, says that in some cases, the losses have been staggering. “A convenience store owner contacted us about a year ago”, he says. “The shop was running well, but making no profit. Three months after installing our software, it emerged that his daughter had taken £12,000 out of the business”.

The firm have produced an electronic point-of-sale software solution, ‘ShopMate’.

Designed to “take the work out of the process”, the system processes transactions, adjusts prices and records all transactions. When linked to CCTV, price-switching and fraudulent till-ringing is identifiable, as images of scanned items are imposed.

‘Your first concern’

Whatever aspect of security you look at, “protecting your business at the most basic level should definitely be your first concern”, the British Security Industry Association says.

Combining the technology and broadness of the options available is highly advisable. The Home Office advises businesses “do a few things, don’t just rely on one solution”.

Security’s about identifying your needs and ensuring that these are fully met. “By ensuring that core security functions are in place”, the Association says, “businesses can rest assured that they have a comprehensive first layer of security protecting both their premises and people”.