Budget 2024

Labour’s bold new budget: A crackdown on organised crime and retail theft

In a landmark decision, Chancellor Rachel Reeves today unveiled Labour’s first budget since 2010, with a focus on tackling a surging wave of organised retail crime and low-value shoplifting that has plagued businesses and put frontline workers at risk.

The announcement signals Labour’s resolve to confront what Reeves described as the “sharp rise in shoplifting,” an issue costing businesses an estimated £1.8 billion annually in the UK alone.

Abolishing immunity for low-value shoplifting

The budget’s most notable measure is the elimination of the effective immunity for low-value shoplifting, a controversial policy introduced under Section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Instituted by the Conservative government, this law decriminalised certain minor thefts, allowing shoplifters who stole items valued at under £200 to avoid serious legal repercussions. Reeves highlighted Labour’s commitment to reversing this trend, explaining, “We will scrap the effective immunity for low-value shoplifting introduced by the Conservative party.”

Boosting funding to combat organised crime

Listening to concerns from key groups, including the British Retail Consortium and the trade union USDAW, the Labour government has pledged increased funding to tackle organised crime groups that target retailers. These funds will be directed towards training police officers and retailers to curb shoplifting and provide essential resources to counteract criminal networks that orchestrate shoplifting on a larger scale.

Reeves emphasised that this decision was made after consulting closely with affected organisations, adding, “I am providing additional funding to crack down on the organised gangs that target retailers and to provide more training for our police officers and retailers, to stop shoplifting in its tracks.”

Strengthening successes of Operation OPAL and Pegasus Project

Labour’s initiatives will also likely build on existing successful efforts, such as Operation OPAL, the National Intelligence Unit for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, and the Pegasus Project, both of which have significantly enhanced information-sharing between police and retailers. 

These programs are key components in identifying organised crime patterns, helping police target and dismantle networks that exploit retail vulnerabilities.

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and APCC National Lead for Business and Retail Crime, Katy Bourne, hailed the Pegasus Project as “a game changer in the fight against retail crime.” She explained that Pegasus enables retailers to capture and share critical information, which police can use to compile intelligence packages aimed at tracking and arresting perpetrators. 

The collaboration already includes major retailers such as Aldi, B&Q, Boots, Coop, John Lewis Partnership, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, NBCS (National Business Crime Solution), Next, Primark, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and TJX. Many of which are customers of Zinc.

NEXT started this journey with Zinc several years ago with a vision of bringing all aspects of our operational company risk under one reporting and management model, applicable anywhere in our business from Store to DC to Corporate Office. Having accurate and timely data, with sufficient context, allows myself and other senior leadership to make sound judgements and risk led decisions to protect our people, our consumers, and our profit.

Steve Tetum, NEXT Head of Group Loss Prevention

Zinc: The experts in retail risk.

Zinc is a unique award-winning software organisation whose leadership encompasses a wide range of disciplines, including technology, data science, security, intelligence, and risk management. This expertise enables the company to implement cutting-edge technology that is precisely aligned with security needs while adapting to the unique environments of its clients.

The flagship product of Zinc is SYNAPSE, an Incident Management platform that has gained significant traction in the retail sector, trusted by leading retailers such as B&Q, NEXT, and high-end Jewellery salons , as well as non-profit organisations like National Business Crime Solutions. Over the years, long-standing partnerships with these clients have driven the evolution and refinement of the platform, ensuring it continues to meet the dynamic needs of the retail industry.

Zinc supports a unified and collaborative approach in safeguarding retail spaces and deterring crime. A framework designed to deliver a dynamic, responsive service that tackles immediate threats while implementing long-term prevention and enforcement measures. The strategy focuses on four key areas underpinned by technology & innovation:

  • Reporting & triage
  • Investigation & enforcement
  • Data & analysis
  • Engagement & partnerships

Focused triage for efficient investigations.

Collaborative triage to uncover patterns.

Accurate incident data collection is central to a retailer’s mission against crime. The engagement pillar ensures staff are educated and motivated for quality reporting, supported by user-friendly technology designed for precise data capture.  Triage is vital, quickly assessing and prioritising incidents to address critical issues promptly. Involving all investigators in triage provides insights into criminal patterns, helps identify repeat offenders, and strengthens case connections. This collective approach enhances the efficiency and thoroughness of investigations.

Targeting crime with strategic investigation & enforcement.

Leading the fight against OCGs.

Investigations and enforcement leads the charge in addressing priority cases. This function focuses on identifying organised crime groups, collecting evidence, and applying enforcement measures. Their collaborative approach aims to resolve individual incidents and formulate long-term crime prevention strategies. By leveraging this function, retailers can adopt a strategic, informed approach to combat crime, reducing financial losses and safeguarding their business, personnel, and assets.

Data-driven insights for smarter crime prevention.

Unlocking crime patterns to drive strategic action.

Data and analysis play a pivotal role in this collaboration by continuously collecting, processing, and interpreting data related to retail crime trends. By identifying patterns, trends and anomalies, this function provides valuable insights that inform decision-making. The data-driven approach enhances the effectiveness of investigations and enforcement efforts and contributes to the development of proactive strategies.

Engagement & partnerships to streamline crime prevention.

Uniting through sharing best practices.

Engagement framework strategies promote collaboration among staff, retail partners, managers, security teams and law enforcement to tackle retail crime through joint problem-solving and best practice sharing. Good engagement ensures smooth incident reporting, operational efficiency, and implementation of best practices and It facilitates timely communication of alerts, updates, and successes. This framework outlines how they build relationships, streamline communication, and develop tools for community outreach and internal functions.

Zinc is an essential component to B&Q’s overall security strategy. It leads on how we accurately gather information on crime and security issues impacting our retail operations across the UK. The Zinc team is an excellent group of professionals, who have shaped the strategy described here; they understand their roles and importantly how they support B&Q, our security partners and law enforcement to keep our stores safe.

Simon Moss, B&Q Head of Security

Transform your crime & intelligence strategy with our integrated solution.

Zinc, a technology-driven business, will deliver unparalleled advantages through the ability to directly access our cutting-edge software, data science methodologies, and leverage our fast-paced innovation roadmap. 

At the heart of it all are our people – continuously developed and empowered to collaborate with industry-leading partners, all focused on one goal: effectively combating retail crime.

We all recognise the immediate need to address rising retail crime, and we welcome Chancellor Reeves’ commitment to curbing this issue that has directly impacted retailers and the safety of their staff.  That said, the proof is in the pudding, and we await the outcomes of the government’s action against organised crime.

From a British business perspective, this budget is disappointing. We hope future budgets will more equitably distribute the tax burden and adopt a balanced approach that supports businesses like Zinc, which continuously invest and innovate to combat security threats in an increasingly complex world, creating jobs and protecting communities along the way.”

Joe Zielinski, CEO, Zinc Systems

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