Together With Morrisons retailer Fresh & Proper has seen a “significant drop” in crime since it began offering police officers free hot drinks in store to discourage theft.
Speaking at the ACS Conference in Birmingham last week, MD Joshua James said: “We’ve been offering police free tea and coffee on duty to increase their presence on site for almost 12 months now.
“We didn’t realise the impact it would have, but having blue lights in the car park makes a big difference.”
As an extension of the initiative, Fresh & Proper, which operates one store in Fordham, Cambridgeshire, has also launched ‘Coffee with a Cop’. It invites customers to talk to officers in the store’s staffroom to report crime, express concerns, or learn about their work in the local area.
“Our customers love it because it’s a far less formal environment,” added James. “And from that, we’ve had more interaction with the police than we’ve ever had before, which, again, increases that police presence and deters thieves. If individuals know police could arrive any minute, then they tend to leave it.”
Fresh & Proper has implemented a raft of other security measures to prevent crime in its store, including Facewatch, which uses facial recognition technology to alert retailers when a repeat offender enters the premises.
It also uses electronic tagging system Chirp-protect on high-value products and headsets, supplied by Quail, to help boost staff communication levels.
Fresh & Proper became the third Together With Morrisons retailer in 2023, following the dual-branded fascia’s debut with Warner’s Supermarkets in 2022, then Jempson’s in March 2023. Filco Supermarkets also switched to Together With Morrisons from Nisa last year.
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