Poundland is launching a major initiative to tackle retail crime, including equipping stores with new technology and giving contracted security teams the backing to detain suspects.
The retailer said it was making its “biggest ever investment” in tackling shop theft and abuse and harassment of staff.
It will include equipping staff in its 800-plus UK stores with headsets to allow rapid communication of incidents and swifter action.
It also includes the rollout of Motorola Solutions VT100 body cameras to “scores of stores with the most significant crime issues” following a successful trial across its estate.
The cameras, which provide a visual deterrent for offenders as well as recording incidents, have driven an 11% decrease in violence against staff, along with a marked reduction in shoplifting and theft, according to Poundland.
The new technology has already been made available to 300 stores.
The clampdown also includes employing “significantly more undercover guards in its stores”.
Poundland said it was working in close collaboration with local enforcement agencies and police forces, including receiving support from undercover officers and sharing CCTV to aid prosecution.
It added it hoped to send a “send a clear message to thieves targeting its stores – they will be caught, they will be reported and they will be prosecuted”.
Before Christmas, a prolific shoplifter who targeted Poundland as well as other retailers in Gloucestershire was charged with trespassing and burglary and received an 18-month custodial sentence, according to Poundland.
“The rate of store theft and colleague abuse has accelerated significantly across our stores in the last 18 months, and this has been very challenging for our people,” said Poundland head of loss prevention Christina Jesty.
“Whether it’s store theft undermining all our colleagues’ hard work, or incidents of violence and abuse making our colleagues feel unsafe at work, something must change.
“At Poundland we pride ourselves on being a value-led high street retailer, where protecting our colleagues goes hand in hand with protecting our prices.
“That is why we’re saying enough is enough and beginning a campaign to support our frontline teams and crack down on retail crime across our stores.”
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