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Holland and Barrett has made further investments in loss and theft prevention by adopting Auror’s latest crime prevention technology across its store network.
It comes as increasing levels of crime have been affecting the retail industry, with data from Auror confirming there has been a 178% increase in repeat offenders since 2021 in the UK.
The ONS has also reported that shoplifting is at its highest level in 20 years, meaning that retailers are increasingly seeing the need to collaborate on new solutions to monitor and report incidents in their stores.
Alongside its investment in Auror’s technology, H&B has continued to roll out body cameras for colleagues in 80 stores, which the retailer said has proven to be effective at de-escalating and deterring shoplifting.
H&B also benefits from live, remote CCTV monitoring in its busiest stores, and local security/guarding in around 200 stores.
Since launching the Auror platform earlier this year, over 7,000 incidents have been reported in H&B stores, including theft, and concerningly, acts of aggression or violence against colleagues.
With a focus on repeat offenders, H&B has effectively been able to identify over 500 repeat offenders with a bank of evidence to report to police.
Mark Williams, head of loss prevention at H&B, said: “This investment in loss prevention reflects our steadfast commitment to making our stores safer for our customers and colleagues. We recognise that retail crime is a community problem and working collaboratively to adopt the latest new technology can help us to create better impact – faster.”
Mark Gleeson, VP UK&I at Auror, added: “The technology allows H&B colleagues to report crime, and better understand their repeat offenders causing the most violence and loss in their stores.
“By focussing on identifying the top 10% of offenders causing the most violence and loss, H&B’s security teams can respond more swiftly and effectively to report incidents in its stores, as well as encourage collaboration with UK Policing.”
