08 February 2024 , 00:01
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Co-op is using AI to tackle shoplifting and protect staff after a 44% hike in retail crime last year.
The firm recorded 336,270 cases of theft, abuse and anti-social behaviour across its 2,400 stores in 2023. There were more than 1,325 assaults, up 34% on 2022, the equivalent of four staff being attacked each day.
Undercover guards detained 3,361 criminals last year. Matt Hood, Co-op managing director of food, said thieves jump till counters three times a week in some stores to steal booze and cigarettes.
The firm said it is now using AI to monitor self-checkouts and installing more than 200 secure till kiosks. It has already spent £200million in recent years, including body cameras for staff and dummy packaging.
The Mirror is also running a Clamp Down on Shoplifting campaign. Last month the Office for National Statistics said police recorded 402,482 shoplifting cases in the 12 months to September in England and Wales, up by almost a third.
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In October, the Government unveiled its Retail Crime Action plan. Co-op said police non-attendance rates over the detention of criminals in stores had fallen from 79% to 38%. It wants shop staff assaults to be a standalone offence like in Scotland. Labour said it will amend the Criminal Justice Bill to protect staff.
Mr Hood said: “People who are really organised can only be stopped by custodial sentences and police.” Paddy Lillis, general secretary of shop workers’ union Usdaw, added: “Retail crime has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse.”