Morrisons is pleased to announce a partnership with Auror, a leading crime intelligence company, to roll out Auror’s retail crime reporting platform across its nearly 500 supermarkets nationwide.
As retail crime continues to rise, the need to protect colleagues from abuse and violence has never been greater. The partnership is integral to Morrisons’ strategy to make its stores a safer place to work and shop, and forms part of a three-year technology transformation plan, with colleague safety at the forefront.
The Auror platform allows colleagues to quickly and securely record crime and anti-social behaviour, helping to identify prolific and organised offenders, and provide a quality evidence pack to support police action. The platform also generates valuable insights, supporting investigative teams to connect offenders and build a nationwide picture of criminality.
The rollout follows a successful 12-week initial phase across 50 Morrisons supermarkets in the Midlands earlier this year. During this phase, Morrisons found that 60% of repeat offenders targeted more than one store, and that the platform empowered colleagues with live intelligence to deter those individuals from entering their stores. One store manager reported that his colleagues felt “better informed and safer”.
By making it easier for colleagues to report incidents, and by packaging up the intelligence in Auror, Morrisons was able to triple the value of organised crime it evidenced to police forces across the Midlands, compared to its previous system.
One of the many successes from the initial rollout included an operation which saw the successful police prosecution of 11 offenders for 35 crimes. West Midlands police have stated that the investigation outcomes would not have been possible without the evidence provided by Morrisons, who in turn credited the Auror platform for maximising the effectiveness of its investigative teams.
Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh said: “This new partnership will give our stores the right technology to work together with the police to tackle in-store crime more effectively.
“Our top priority is the safety of our teams and joining Auror’s network of retailers and law enforcement agencies will create a safer environment for colleagues, customers and local communities,” he said.
“Repeat and violent offenders must understand that abuse towards our colleagues will not be tolerated.
“We applaud the efforts of the police and government to make high streets safer and we intend to be part of the solution.”
Auror VP UK and Europe, Mark Gleeson, said the partnership with Morrisons is a great step towards addressing the organised and brazen nature of retail crime across the UK.
“Retailers are facing a growing challenge of crime and violence in their stores, and we’re proud to be part of the solution by helping them better manage the risk to their people and stores, and collaborate with police to deliver positive outcomes for the community.
“We know one in ten retail crime events are violent or involve weapons, and repeat offenders are four times more likely to be violent. This behaviour hurts frontline workers and the communities they serve.
“We’re on a mission, alongside our partners, to reduce violence retail crime by 50% over the next five years, and our partnership with Morrisons will be crucial to improving colleague safety and making their stores and communities safer across the UK.”
