Retailers in the DIY and building trade are putting their heads together to fight crime done against their businesses.
The DIY and Building Trade Loss Prevention Forum has members including B&Q, Homebase, Travis Perkins, SELCO and Ridgeons, sharing best practice and data to help thwart thieves and reduce losses in their stores and yards.
The sector has a number of unique loss prevention issues, namely the size and location of the yards and ‘sheds’ and the threat of burglaries for large and high value items. Copper piping has become a source of concern because of its global scrap price – the global price of which is likely to reach £7000 a ton by the end of 2011. British Transport Police say brazen thieves have stolen copper piping from rail sidings – at risk to passengers and themselves. One method of thieves visiting DIY stores and builder’s merchants has been to hide the copper tubing inside plastic drain pipes and asking till staff to scan the plastic while it is still in their trolley to avoid detection.
Other types of crime on the increase include drive-offs; when thieves masquerading as tradesmen take advantage of the yards by loading up flat-bed lorries and leaving the premises without paying.
Jim McKenna, head of Group Security at Travis Perkins is the newly-elected chair of the DIY and Building Trade Forum. He said: “We have come together to fight criminal practices and share intelligence from our businesses. From plants that go in the ground to hire plant, much of the equipment and the materials we have on offer are high in value which is why we find ourselves a target from external thieves. However, we will also be working together to drive the issue of internal compliance to ensure all staff follow best practice procedures. The building trade works a lot on generous credit terms with small to medium sized businesses and some of the procedures have, in some instances, been subject to abuse over the years and require attention. This is not necessarily theft, but simply bad practice that has developed unchecked. Putting this right is like picking low-hanging fruit in that it is not on the surface hard to do, but does require a behaviour change and winning over the hearts and minds in our sector which is what collaboration as a sector is all about.”
The forum aims to work collaboratively and to influence relevant organisations at a local and national level. The new forum is facilitated by Anne Davies of the loss prevention specialists ORIS who used to work in the DIY sector. A similar forum runs for high street clothing retailers, who similarly have the same professional thieves, using the same methods, targeting the rival stores.
Davies said of the DIY sector: “The industry is interesting because it is both very traditional but also very contemporary because it caters for both skilled trades people and the amateur DIY practitioner who want the latest domestic technologies and the best in lifestyle accessories, both inside and outside of the home. The size of the premises and the staff required to offer customer service, present a number of challenges in terms of security and compliance and, like with the other sector-specific Loss Prevention forums that we facilitate regularly, it is encouraging to see the sector working on those issues in a collaborative fashion.”
