Poundland has introduced new technology and undercover operatives in an effort to combat shoplifting and staff abuse. The budget chain has initiated a campaign named ‘Against Retail Crime’, incorporating anti-theft technology to discourage shoplifting and communication headsets for swift interaction between staff and undercover agents.
It is also instructing its security teams to detain suspected offenders in stores, and ensuring local police pursue prosecution for every incident of retail crime. The retailer is collaborating with local enforcement agencies and police forces, including support from undercover officers and sharing CCTV to aid prosecution.
It is employing more undercover guards in its stores and aims to send a clear message to thieves targeting its stores – they will be caught, they will be reported and they will be prosecuted. This stricter approach is already being implemented in partnership with local police forces.
Prior to Christmas, a habitual shoplifter who targeted Poundland as well as other retailers in Gloucestershire was charged with trespassing and burglary rather than any lesser charges and received an 18-month custodial sentence. The retailer is also now rolling out body cameras to scores of stores with the most significant crime issues, following a successful trial across its estate.
Poundland has reported a significant 11% drop in violence against its staff and a notable reduction in shoplifting and theft, attributing this positive trend to the deployment of body cameras for store colleagues. According to the British Retail Consortium’s latest crime survey, UK shop workers are now experiencing an alarming average of 1,300 incidents of violence and abuse daily, marking a 50% increase compared to the year before, reports Gloucestershire Live.
The budget retail giant has felt these issues keenly, with Poundland being a specific target for theft and abuse. Christina Jesty, Poundland’s head of loss prevention, said: “The rate of store theft and colleague abuse has accelerated significantly across our stores in the last 18 months, and this has been very challenging for our people. Whether it’s store theft undermining all our colleagues’ hard work, or incidents of violence and abuse making our colleagues feel unsafe at work, something must change.”
She further stated, “At Poundland we pride ourselves on being a value-led high street retailer, where protecting our colleagues goes hand in hand with protecting our prices. That is why we’re saying enough is enough and beginning a campaign to support our front-line teams and crack down on retail crime across our stores.”