Retailers face the future with a major security threat as the country faces a rising prices squeeze, says one service provider.
Security specialists Total Secuity Services (TSS) responded to the British Retail Consortium Crime Survery 2022 which claimed crime cost the sector £1.5bn and a concerning 1,301 violent or abusive incidents each day.
There are reports of an increase in violence and abuse towards staff, thefts and petty thefts within the sector.
TSS Managing Director Brendan Musgrove claims the skills of the traditional retail security officer need to evolve in a proactive, smarter way.
This should mean collaborative technologies and body-worn surveillance and a move towards de-escalation of “aggravtaed” situations. These should be married with an intelligence function reviewing crime trends and the ability to identify repeat offenders.
Mr Musgrove added: “Today’s retail security is about much more than the high street.
“As the explosion of e-commerce continued through the pandemic, security in the supply chain has risen in importance, with distribution centres and theft of goods in transit a focus.
“Consequently, any security provision should make equal consideration to both the supply chain and the high street.”
TSS was recently acquired by G4S Secure Solutions UK, an Allied Universal company.
Mr Musgrove said: “We can now support retail outlets with the provision of canine security in particularly high-risk areas, provide nationwide mobile incident response for callouts at unsocial times, and even supply AI drive surveillance technology – our offering to the retail store has expanded greatly.
“What’s more, we are now able to provide fully integrated security into the supply chain – from surveillance and monitoring of the distribution centre to the tracking and monitoring of goods in transit.
“TSS customers will have access to the G4S Academy, which provides best in class networking, information sharing and thought leadership to those with security responsibility.”
For more, go to www.totalsecurity.co.uk