Poundland launches new initiative to tackle shop theft and retail crime

Discount chain Poundland has announced a new initiative to tackle theft from their stores and protect their staff.

The ‘Against Retail Crime’ initiative, launched across its 800 UK stores, is part of the retailer’s ongoing efforts to address increasing shop theft, along with abuse and harassment of staff.

Store staff will soon wear communication headsets to communicate quickly when incidents occur. Following a successful trial across its estate, Poundland is also now rolling out body cameras to the stores with the most significant crime issues, providing a visual deterrent for offenders and record of incidents.

Preliminary results from the trials are promising, with the retailer reporting an 11 per cent decrease in violence against staff and a noticeable reduction in theft.

Poundland, which revealed that it lost more than £40 million worth of stock last year due to crime, added that it is working closely with local enforcement agencies and police forces to aid prosecution.

“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,” Christina Jesty, Head of Loss Prevention at Poundland, said.

“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.”

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), police in England and Wales recorded 443,995 shoplifting offences in the 12 months leading up to March 2024, marking a 30 per cent increase from the previous year's 342,428 incidents. This figure represents the highest level of shoplifting offences since records began in 2003.

Retailers have expressed concerns that many incidents go unreported, suggesting the actual number of offences may be higher.

Retail trade union Usdaw has welcomed the new investment by Poundland.

“It is shocking that over two-thirds of our members working in retail are suffering abuse from customers, with far too many subjected to threats and violence. Seven in ten of these incidents were triggered by theft from shops and it has become increasingly common for retail stores to be targeted by organised crime gangs stealing to order amid a retail crime epidemic. So, we welcome initiatives taken by employers like Poundland in tackling retail crime and helping to protect staff and we share their view that ‘enough is enough’,” Bally Auluk, Usdaw national officer, said.