Retailers Against Crime (RAC), the Stirling-based retail information sharing body, has gone live with NBIS (National Business Intelligence System) in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north west of England. The software is from the IT and services supplier, Hicom. The aim, to to better inform RAC members of crimes in their area. The system is set to realise predicted savings of £4,500 a year for RAC through better efficiency and reporting, freeing funds for the organisation to invest elsewhere.
NBIS is a web-based data-sharing technology developed by crime reduction software firm Hicom. The technology will allow RAC to collate information from its retailer members enabling the identification of types of crimes, where and when crimes are, and the origin of the criminals. This data will provide trends to help retailers better prepare for when crime is likely to occur and allow them to identify criminals who they may not know of.
Maxine Fraser, National Director for Retailers Against Crime, says: “Incidences of all thefts, acts of violence and volumes of shrinkage are inputted into the system. Incidents that were deterred and sightings of targets or active individuals who travel through regions locally or nationally are also entered into the system allowing us to track criminal activity and identify trends in the location and movement of criminals.”
RAC hopes that through using the collaborative data, their members will be able to use the annual reports produced on trends from this data to decrease incidents. Fraser adds: “The database produces background information and images on each criminal allowing retailers to recognise individuals and deter them in future.” She adds, “NBIS also allows a retailer head office to portion its staff accordingly, for example, moving security personnel to a store that has a larger number of incidents to ensure a prevention strategy is in place.”
This form of trend analysis and crime prevention also acts to keep retail staff safe. Fraser says: “NBIS allows us to highlight individuals that have been identified as potentially or historically violent so we can warn our members not to approach them.”
RAC anticipates the NBIS software will deliver potent savings in the region of £4,500 a year. The savings will be re-deployed. Fraser says: “As a not-for-profit organisation, £4,500 per annum is a considerable saving and helps us to continue our work and keep costs down for our members.”
In summarising the process of implementation to date, Fraser adds: “We work very closely with Hicom to improve our services and develop the system collaboratively. Hicom is a provider who listens to our requirements and then tailors the solution accordingly for us; there is no ‘off the shelf’ set system they stick to, it is more about everyone coming together and enhancing the system to benefit all involved.”
