Gateshead was the appropriate venue for the launch of a partnership covering the north east, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Retailers Against Crime (RAC) last year ran a conference in Belfast to mark the spreading of Stirling-based RAC to Northern Ireland (Maxine Fraser is pictured, speaking at that event). That also reflected the travelling shoplifting gangs do between regions. Now the North East Retail Crime Partnership and Carlisle Retailers Against Crime have come under the RAC umbrella, as unveiled at a conference near the MetroCentre shopping mall at Gateshead. Briefly, RAC (www.retailersagainstcrime.org) is a grouping of retailers and shopping centres, crime partnerships and police forces, funded solely by members. Whereas Action Against Business Crime runs the safer shopping and an equivalent night-time awards scheme for town and city centres, RAC is more about identifying the prolific and professional shop thieves, who, as RAC say, ‘impact on store profitability’. They can scoop thousands of pounds of stock from a store in minutes – and that is a lot of stock a retailer has to sell, to make good the loss. RAC circulates photographs on offenders and their methods, as highlighted at the conference. <br><br>RAC point out that offenders will attack premises where they feel there is a reasonable chance of remaining undetected, and where the goods stocked are of a type that they can readily sell. The name above the shop front will seldom influence an offender’s choice of target, unless they are aware of stringent security measures applied there and unless adequate security measures are in force thei8r job is made easy. Offenders are regularly recognised from RAC files, therefore deterring the target. Consistent identification and crime prevention techniques by staff will force criminals to reconsider their targets. In some cases target criminals are displaced, and tend to travel further to offend. <br><br>RAC chairman is Annesley Wilson, national fraud investigator at B&Q. He’s worked in profit protection at the DIY chain for a dozen years. He closed the event by describing RAC as ‘a tool in our joint fight against retail criminals’. “It’s also very important for staff to see retail criminals are not getting away with it.” If thieves are seen to be arrested, staff see something is done (about wrong-doing) and feel more like reporting offences. He made the case for retailers to pool their information, across regions: “Retail criminals are not concerned about the Irish Sea and nor should we be.” On that score, RAC is also looking to work with a similar body, Dublin Crime Watch. He thanked the audience for their work against what he called the ‘menace’ of retail criminals. “These retail criminals are not just involved in retail crime; they don’t want to pay for anything. They will take what they want; and they aren’t bothered in the slightest what effect they have on you and I. They will use and threaten violence and traumatise staff.” <br><br>The RAC man in Carlisle is Ray Howie. He spoke during the conference lunch break to Retail Security Magazine. <br><br>His office in Carlisle Civic Centre is funded by the city’s crime reduction partnership. “I’m very excited with the whole thing,” he said, stressing, like others up and down the country, that he is delivering a service for retailer and other members. Ray has a loss prevention background, being a former TK Max and Bhs man. Although Carlisle is 80 or 90 miles from the nearest cities, such as Newcastle and Glasgow, as it’s just off a junction of the M6, it has travelling criminals like other places on the motorway network. He spoke of known cases of shoplifting ‘teams’ taking £4500 of goods and driving away, whether they come from Liverpool or Scotland. <br><br>Maxine Fraser of RAC stressed that more than half of loss in Scotland and Northern Ireland – that is, reported to the organisation – is due to ‘organised, travelling teams of offenders, whether they travel in a team or on their own. In other words, she denied that drug addicts are the main offenders. “We knew that the travellers were going across the border [Scotland-England] and across the water [to Ireland]. Hence the launch of RAC in Belfast, featured in Retail Security Magazine last year. Some 900 stores in Scotland and Northern Ireland are RAC members. <br><br>Who was at the show? Colin Culleton, head of loss prevention at HMV; Paul Burlace, Scotland and North East regional loss prevention manager at Republic; contract security people whether in the blue shirts of Advance Security, the white shirts of Reliance Security or MITIE; blue sweaters of Chubb Security; or VSG jackets; besides retail loss men and women in civvies and young police community support officers; and partnership organisers such as Gary Calder of North East Lincolnshire Businesses Against Crime; and Wendy Caulfield of the new National Fraud Strategic Authority. <br><br>One speaker who did not have far to travel was PC Jeff Hedley, of the Northumbria Police retail crime unit, based at MetroCentre. He talked the audience through some of the shop thieves’ tricks of the trade; with props. <br><br>Foil-lined bags can carry up to £1000 of stolen goods, he warned. The police unit with its own police station at the shopping mall offer to do a survey for retail outlets suffering disproportionate stock loss. He spoke of how offenders do not like to be caught in possession of certain items: such as magnets, used to de-tag security tags from clothing. A thief might try to keep a magnet on the underside of his car. If a suspected thief were caught with pliers and cutters, police could make an arrest for ‘going equipped’, even if the suspect did not have anything stolen, Jeff Hedley said. As for foil-lined bags, he described them as one of the most convenient ways for an offender to commit bulk thefts; in changing rooms, for example. One method might be to take two items into a changing room, but only come out carrying one. He warned that thieves might carry some of the discs as handed out to shoppers, to signify they were taking three or four items into a changing room. Or: a thief might switch old clothes for new inside the changing rooms. Jeff Hedley unwrapped some sweets – a packet of fruit pastilles – to show the foil wrapper that, he said, was starting to be used, to prevent the activation of security devices. A user might be a single offender who did not want to steal a lot of goods; it was harder for police to prove that someone carrying pastilles was ‘equipped’ to steal. So; if a retailer is finding foil wrappers on a shopfloor, it could be a concern. <br><br>Exhibits shown by Jeff Hedley included a fast-food chain’s brown bag, with an added foil lining inside, used to steal cosmetics for example. Or; a packet of crisps might be foil-lined; or a takeaway plastic coffee cup. Though smaller than a shopping bag, it could still hold a child’s shirt, or a t-shirt. Jeff Hedley stressed that the point of sale – staffed perhaps by teenagers on Saturdays – were a retailer’s eyes and ears; they needed to know what they were looking for. As an example, a foil lining in a plastic carrier bag will make the empty bag suspiciously rigid. Jeff Hedley showed a foil bag with the foil stitched inside. Once clothing is inside, it’s more difficult to detect. However; if you are working in a shopping centre that does not have, say, a Lidl in the area, you can be suspicious if someone is carrying a Lidl bag. “Also, don’t be fooled by the shape of the bag,” Jeff Hedley said, because a foil-lined bag could be used to steal shoes. Or; a box could be foil-lined. As for training in loss prevention at a retailer, which might have high turnover of staff, Northumbria Police and Capital Shopping Centres has brought out a DVD, available in the north east, on the basics of loss prevention and seeking to show how some simple work by staff can deter theft. He suggested using the 30-minute DVD as part of general staff induction. He showed a clip, of a young man and woman (played by actors) with a baby buggy in a store, looking around to be sure they were not under surveillance, and putting a box inside the pram (without a baby inside). As Jeff Hedley said, you might not want to search the buggy, but you could ask to see the baby. The DVD also showed actors in the parts of a gang of shop thieves; one member stuffed a bag with a rack of clothes, while other members were on counter-surveillance. <br><br>The next speaker was Chief Insp Bob Ryan, head of the harm reduction unit at Northumbria Police. A 22-year officer, for the last three years he has worked on partnerships, for example with Safe Newcastle. <br><br>The unit seeks to prevent crime, and deter it. He asked what is the aim of stores when looking to address retail crime on their premises. Do they want to reduce incidence of theft? Reduce the cost of theft? Detect offenders? Increase profit? Increase the number of arrests of offenders? Few hands in the audience went up for that last one, because Chief Insp Ryan’s point was that arresting people does not always achieve what you hope it to. If an unemployed 50-year-old is caught stealing two lipsticks worth £13 and is given a caution by police, and does not commit another crime, Ryan questioned the use of the criminal justice system. More complicated, as Ryan said, would be the case of a known offender, constantly shoplifting. Of no fixed address, he had drug and alcohol problems. He was caught stealing groceries and admitted TICs (offences taken into consideration). A court gave him a suspended sentence. It was better, Ryan suggested, for a retailer to make a store unattractive to that offender, or to deter him altogether. Declining to let in known offenders, or if they do enter a store, politely ask them to leave, is effective, and cost-effective, Ryan said. “My argument is, deter rather than detect. I know that’s strange from someone in the police service, but we would rather see less offences and particularly in retail crime that means less arrests.” <br><br>How to do that? Increase visibility, for one thing. What do your staff wear? Some retailers have staff in uniform, some wear sashes so customers can identify staff. [A retail head of security did tell Retail Security Magazine that his company had put in-store security officers into a brighter uniform, which did get customers coming up to them asking for directions, as if the security staff were general staff; but it was felt that the more colourful uniform did work to reduce losses, because would-be offenders walking through the door saw the guard]. Chief Insp Ryan also recommended that general staff be encouraged to interact with customers who appear suspicious. Simply by asking, ‘can I help you?’. “That’s the most beneficial way to avoid shoplifting. It’s going to put someone on their guard, because they will feel under surveillance.” <br><br>Ryan also suggested warning signs, for instance telling people of CCTV in store. He gave the case of a store that had seen an increase in crime. Its response was to put in CCTV, which merely caught more cases of people doing offences; but those criminals were not aware that they were under surveillance. He added that a retailer should give thought to the look and location of signage so that they don’t blend in. He admitted that it’s difficult for national retailers to change the look of a store. He suggested that a retailer promote its CCTV, for example by a tannoy message that there is a system in action; to let people know that they are under surveillance. “I wouldn’t say there is any problem putting up dummy CCTV in problem areas; or overt cameras. It’s about putting people off, and reducing offences.” As for security guards, which are quite costly, Chief Insp Ryan raised the choice of covert detectives, or overt uniformed security officers, especially on a Saturday. “A uniformed guard is going to do more for your business than a covert store detective,” he said. <br><br>Lastly, Chief Insp Ryan recommended that a retailer map incidents, so as to problem-solve. By mapping thefts to a store layout, you can then put in measures, whether CCTV, warning notices, or a guard in a hot-spot area, whether it’s a chilled food freezer in a corner and soft drinks, being stolen by young people or opportunists; or alcohol taken by alcoholics; or high-value goods taken by gangs. Quoting a Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science study, he called on retailers to increase the effort required by a criminal to commit a crime; increase the risk of being caught; and reduce the rewards of crime. Summing up: Chief Insp Ryan called on retailers to deter, rather than detain an offender which took up the time (and money) of shop staff besides police officers and the criminal justice system. <br><br>The conference exhibitors included MITIE, the Bank of England to raise awareness about counterfeit banknotes and the anti-counterfeiting marks to look out for on genuine notes, Apex Radio Systems, Reliance Security, and cr:iisp reporting software. After lunch the audience on April 8 heard more about named gangs and their members, and of methods. As RAC operations manager Gemma Fraser summed up: “These guys will go into your store and won’t leave with anything less than £3000 to £5000 worth and that’s a lot to recover.” Thieves will sell their stolen goods to people; who may then commit refund fraud, getting credit vouchers or gift cards (maybe sold at a discount, typically £20 for £50, on websites such as ebay), or cash, in return for the returned (originally stolen) items, taken back with or without a receipt. The fraudsters commonly claim that they have lost their receipt; or claim the goods are faulty, and seek a cash refund. Receipts may be cloned, after fraudsters buy an original item with a receipt and use stolen till rolls, a scanner and printer, again to gain a full cash refund. As RAC say (and confirmed to Retail Security Magazine by a loss prevention man in the audience) this shows the need for a retailer to report losses promptly, so that other stores in the chain can know of dodgy refunds tried elsewhere in the country, perhaps only the day after the original theft. How do you become a ‘hard target’ for refunders? For one thing, make staff more aware that it goes on. Gangs may go to some trouble to avoid detection and you cannot be fooled by age or looks. A gang may travel by cars bought at auction; and leave the names of the previous owners on the paperwork, so the travelling criminals are harder to track (though in at least one case RAC has been able to get a photo of a gang member from his Bebo website. RAC spoke incidentally of some evidence that teams to have links with each other; at least, they do not seem to ever be in the same city at the same time.
