Specialist police unit makes 93 arrests in crackdown on organised retail crime

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said the Organised Retail Crime team has impacted 28 organised crime groups and high harm individuals collectively responsible for more than £4 million in losses to retail businesses.

The team, which sits within Opal (policing’s national intelligence unit for serious organised acquisitive crime) has been operational since May 1 and is funded by the Pegasus Partnership, a joint initiative between the Home Office, policing and retailers and spearheaded by police and crime commissioner (PCC) Katy Bourne.

It facilitates the sharing of intelligence to gain a clearer picture of those who are behind the increase in retail crime.

Opal’s team receives referrals from police forces and retailers and builds intelligence packages, mapping out offending across the country and providing investigative support to bring the highest harm offenders to justice. A package will then be collated and shared with the most appropriate police force to progress the investigation and take action against offenders.

Ninety-two referrals from retailers and organisations have been accepted and taken on by the team, impacting on more than 62 businesses. Positive identification has been made of 228 previously unknown offenders, supporting the re-opening of previously closed investigations and new lines of enquiry.

The team has also identified 70 vehicles being used in organised retail crime and affected 28 property seizures, including 14 vehicles. Thirty-two court outcomes have resulted from the 93 arrests made, with prison sentences totalling over 19 years. Five individuals have been deported, the NPCC said.

Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, NPCC lead for acquisitive crime, said: “We know that organised criminality has a significant impact on retail crime with offenders targeting multiple force areas and multiple retailers in the hope of going under the radar. Our centralised unit means we can build a detailed picture of offending across borders so there is quite literally nowhere for these individuals and groups to hide.

“Our work can be as light touch as putting CCTV images through the Police National Database to identify an individual or as extensive as building a detailed intelligence package of offending across multiple areas and retailers but either way, it’s proving extremely effective.

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle and we bring together all the pieces to be able to take down those causing the greatest damage to businesses and communities.

“By working closely with retailers and organisations, like Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, we’re able to support them in gathering intelligence and submitting referrals so we can be even more effective in identifying offenders. Our colleagues in local police forces then do a fantastic job in progressing the investigation, making arrests and bringing charges. It’s a real team effort and we look forward to seeing it progress even further over the next few months.”

Sussex PCC Ms Bourne, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners joint lead on business and retail crime, said: “After speaking with national retailers who were suffering aggressive assaults on their staff, extensive loss of stock and damage to property, it was clear that we needed a stronger relationship between businesses and police if we stood any chance of tackling the organised crime gangs responsible for blighting our high streets.

“With the support of the country’s top retailers, I spearheaded the Pegasus Partnership to work with Opal, the national policing unit responsible for tackling serious acquisitive crime. I’m delighted to see the disruptive impact this intelligence-sharing partnership is already having on those organised crime gangs.

“We must now maintain the momentum in order to keep the public safe, which is why I welcome the £5 million funding boost from the Government for the Pegasus Partnership, allowing us to drive forward our urgent work.”

Minister for Crime and Policing, Dame Diana Johnson, said these were “promising initial results”.

“Smart, data-led policing working with business will be vital to turn the tide on current unacceptable record levels of shop theft,” she said.

“But we know we need to go much further. This is why we’ve committed £5 million over the next three years to continue this specialist work and last week I hosted the first Retail Crime Forum to further drive collaboration between the police and retailers.

“Retail crime blights our communities and high streets. We are determined to crackdown on this crime through stronger laws and more neighbourhood policing on our streets.”

The NPCC says upcoming publication of Opal’s Organised Retail Crime Threat Assessment will provide a detailed insight to the “scale of offending and the increasingly sophisticated nature of the groups involved in shop thefts”. The assessment aims to further support policing and retailers in understanding the situation and the most effective ways to tackle this crime wave.

Results from the Opal Organised Retail Crime team since May 1 include:

• 93 arrests from 28 different organised crime groups responsible/linked to £4,060,942.87 of loss;
• 228 offenders have been identified – ie, Opal was able to link offender/s to an incident where a suspect had previously not been known. Whether through the facial recognition database on the Police National Database or other routes;
• 70 vehicles have been identified linked to shop theft offending;
• 90 pieces of intelligence either developed by Opal around ORC or intelligence received from retailers – then submitted into policing;
• 194 collaborations and coordinations – where Opal has brought together police forces and/or retailers in a joint approach to disrupt an organised crime group;
• 32 court outcomes related to shop theft offenders;
• A total of 19 years in prison sentences so far for those who have already been through the courts;
• Five offenders deported; and
• 28 items of property seized including 14 vehicles.