I have trained over 400,000 security guards - this is what it really takes to stop high street crime
The missing component in addressing repeat retail crime is coordinated intelligence sharing, writes security expert Shahzad Ali
The revelation that nearly 30,000 shoplifting offences are committed by only 270 repeat offenders is a shocking statistic that clearly lays out the public safety, security and operational challenges retailers face.
Listen to this article
More broadly, the British Retail Consortium reported that there were around 1,600 incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers every day last year.
Having worked in frontline security and trained 400,000 security guards over the last two decades, I recognise this reality. And the guards I train, who are employed to protect supermarkets and high street stores, know the scale of the problem because they live it on every shift, day in, day out.
Being a guard is a lonely existence. You work for a company whose headquarters you’re unlikely to ever visit. You may mix with store colleagues, but you’re unlikely to wear the same uniform and share that bond of belonging.
On any shift, the responsibilities are clear - spot suspicious activity, monitor behaviour and calmly intervene when required. But licensed security guards aren’t trained to apprehend a suspect, and businesses’ premises insurance policies often mean shops instruct guards not to intervene, as many products are covered.
In the current climate, guards fear, and in some cases expect, that a shoplifter will wield a violent weapon. They’ve experienced swarming that makes it impossible to detect perpetrators. And they see the same faces who repeatedly commit the crimes that are blighting high streets and communities across the country.
In busier environments, guards are often overwhelmed. Many retailers have subsequently invested heavily in response. Billions have been spent on crime prevention and deterrence technology, ranging from facial recognition to AI-enabled cameras and wireless product tagging. But investment in equipment and infrastructure, however significant, can only go so far.
The missing component in addressing repeat retail crime is co-ordinated intelligence sharing.
Walk down any busy high street, and you will find security guards working in isolation. Each one is responsible for their own building, venue or estate. The guard outside the supermarket has no knowledge of what the guard outside the pharmacy just witnessed. If something happens, they handle it alone. There is no shared picture of what is developing on the street, no way to notify those nearby that a repeat offender is operating in the town centre, and no mechanism – other than placing a 999 call - to alert the police to their presence.
Private security professionals outnumber the police by three to one. They could be the eyes and ears that provide law enforcement with on-the-ground, real-time intelligence, so dangerous individuals can be taken off the streets and the public made safer. But even with AI-enabled in-store technology, a guard’s ability to share what they see remains limited.
M&S’ retail director Thinus Keeve has correctly described retail crime as systemic, and warned that if it continues unchecked, it will have damaging personal and economic consequences. The demoralising effect on security officers who increasingly feel isolated and at risk of verbal and physical assault has led to many experienced officers leaving the industry. The British Chamber of Commerce described the extent of business crime as a “serious barrier to growth and investment.”
No single technology, or even one person, can prevent these problems alone. It depends on plugging the communication gap between private security, the police, venues and retailers working as one, sharing information to better understand and address emerging threats.
Security guards are a central component in our public safety infrastructure. It’s time to recognise that by giving them the tools to share what they see.
____________________
Shahzad Ali is the founder and CEO of Get Licensed, a leading security staffing and training platform.
LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.
To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk