Tesco has launched a 10-week trial of a new crime reporting platform in 40 stores across Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, aiming to reduce retail crime and enhance staff and customer safety. The Auror platform, already used by several retailers and UK police forces, consolidates incident data into a single source, enabling faster case resolution and collaboration with law enforcement.
During the trial, specially trained staff at Tesco’s security hub in Daventry will review CCTV footage of serious incidents and theft. Non-live facial recognition may be used retrospectively for investigations, but live CCTV images will not be reviewed, and no live facial recognition technology will be used on staff or customers.
Rachel Bennett, Tesco’s Security Director, stated: “This trial will help us improve colleague safety and tackle abuse and violent behaviour by identifying repeat and dangerous offenders, and assisting police with their investigations.” She emphasised Tesco’s commitment to leading efforts against retail crime through collaboration across the sector.
Tesco has invested tens of millions of pounds over the past four years in security measures, including increased security officers, body-worn cameras, protective screens, and door entry systems. Mark Gleeson, VP UK and Europe at Auror, noted that the platform helps connect data on prolific offenders across multiple locations, noting that “the top 10% of offenders are causing 70% of the crime, and one in every 10 retail crime events are violent or involve weapons.”
