BBC News Article:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czxdr29lyggo
It’s evident that the UK is facing a significant rise in retail crime, with shoplifting and related offenses reaching unprecedented levels. Despite increased spending by retailers on security measures—totalling £339 million in 2024 – many argue that more needs to be done at the governmental and policing levels to curb this growing crisis. The alarming statistics underline the pressing need for enhanced protections for retail workers and more robust crime-prevention strategies.
In a recent investigation into retail crime, and the increasing professionalism in shopping lifting tactics presented by the National Business Crime Solution (NBCS), it is clear to see the sophistication of crime and its effect on our communities and the retailer, whom we all rely on… it’s also evident how multiple agencies such as the NBCS and policing such as Project Pegasus in the National Police Chief Council (NPCC) are working with retailers to tackle this massive issue. It’s not a quick fix, and will take a collaborative approach from retailers, policing, government and organisations.
As the tech partner of the NBCS and retail giants like NEXT and B&Q, Zinc witnesses daily the challenge that lies ahead. Zinc’s role in supporting this mission, is to provide incident and case software to enable the reporting of incidents and the effective management of cases.
Within NBCS the Zinc platform, branded IntelONE, enables their national retail members to report incidents to a central database that can then be mapped, tracked and investigated, all with the aim of tackling crime and bringing organised criminal gangs to justice.
The Zinc platform has been instrumental in helping NBCS deal with this challenge. The platform’s ability to record incidents of theft, link similar incidents, and identify patterns of behaviour among offenders has significantly enhanced NBCS’s capacity to investigate and disrupt organised retail crime. As explained by Zinc;
The Zinc platform helps NBCS to record incidents of these types of thefts, link similar incidents, identify and connect members of the group to plot their patterns of offending. It enables them to produce high-quality evidence to help police bring criminal gangs to justice.
Paul Coverdale, Zinc’s COO
Through our partnership with NBCS, we have facilitated the collection and analysis of incident data from member retailers, transforming it into actionable intelligence. By connecting seemingly isolated incidents, the platform uncovers larger patterns of organised crime. This type of intelligence is critical not only for apprehending individual offenders but for dismantling the larger networks behind these crimes.
By gathering incident reports from multiple sources and centralising them in one place, it enables NBCS to focus on analysing trends and building strong cases against the perpetrators. This integration of data across retailers allows law enforcement to better understand and map the operations of organised gangs, making it easier to address the root causes of retail crime.
The BBC recently featured this investigation, bringing much-needed attention to the issue of retail crime. In response to the article, Zinc shared;
Excellent article by the BBC and @Sarah Bird and NBCS. Retail crime and shoplifting are having a serious impact on retail and society and doesn’t get enough public attention.
Stephen Shackell, Zinc’s Director of Risk & Intelligence
The collaboration between NBCS and Zinc goes beyond simply recording incidents—it drives real change. It enables NBCS to present high-quality, comprehensive evidence to the police, which helps in prosecuting those involved in large-scale theft rings. With this capability, the NBCS and its partners in law enforcement are better positioned to mitigate the damage caused by retail crime. As Zinc put it;
We are very proud to be working with NBCS, our retail clients, and Project Pegasus to enable the effective identification of prolific offender groups. At the end of the day, everyone deserves to feel safe, and businesses and communities deserve to thrive.
Read the full BBC News article:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czxdr29lyggo