Leading refurbished tech and entertainment retailer CeX has partnered with global retail crime intelligence company Auror to roll out the crime reporting platform to its 390 UK stores, which is already having a significant impact on the safety of frontline colleagues.
The Auror platform allows colleagues to record instances of crime in a consistent and secure way - giving CeX the intelligence needed to identify top offenders, make more informed decisions to protect their people and manage risk across their estates, and collaborate with police to investigate the most serious offenders.
CeX Head of Loss Prevention Derrick Gough said the second-hand retail sector faces a different set of risks that can often be misunderstood or overlooked.
"Because much of our stock isn't sitting out on the shop floor, the crime we see is rarely ordinary shoplifting," he said.
"It's a phone snatched when someone asks to see a device, it's robberies, and unfortunately it's threats to our colleagues in escalated situations. Those moments are frightening for our teams. Their wellbeing is our top priority.
"Auror has given us a consistent way to record what's happened and surface the repeat offenders behind it - in fact, a prolific cross-country offender linked to £48,000 of stolen products at CeX was arrested following their last theft attempt in Edmonton.”
Auror GM UK & Europe Mark Gleeson said it’s fantastic to partner with a retailer like CeX, made up of passionate people who are extremely motivated to keep their people safe, and address violent and organised retail crime across the UK.
“While the nature of risk is different from retailer to retailer, the consistent trend across the whole sector is that 70 per cent of crime in retail settings is driven by the top 10 per cent of repeat offenders, and those same offenders are up to four times more likely to be violent,” he said.
“The sector cannot get on top of this problem alone. When committed retailers, like CeX, appreciate the value of working together then every store in that network becomes safer and they can understand who the top high-harm offenders are because offenders are not brand-loyal and do not respect jurisdictional boundaries.”
Earlier this year, retailers connected the dots using Auror to link a prolific organised offender to more than £144,000 of stolen products across 73 crime events in 38 stores, and reported this information to police.
ENDS
About Auror
Auror is a global software company that provides a retail crime intelligence platform to the world’s leading retailers to record potential crime in their stores after it occurs, better collaborate with law enforcement on crime, and create safer stores for all.
Auror allows retailers to record events in a secure and structured way, helping them connect the dots to identify prolific and organised offenders. This information empowers retailers to make informed decisions to protect their people, customers, and property, and address the large scale of retail crime impacting our communities.
Globally, Auror is used by more than 85,000 retail stores and in more than 3,500 law enforcement agencies across North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
