Jiten Lad, Business Development Director at DeterTech tells SJUK how forensic marking and intelligence-led strategies are helping retailers tackle rising crime and protect shopworkers.
Retail crime has reached a breaking point. For retailers across the country, it is no longer just about loss prevention or balancing the books; it is about protecting people, rebuilding their confidence and importantly, holding criminals to account.
What was once viewed as an operational challenge has become a serious threat to staff safety, community wellbeing and the sustainability of high streets across the UK.
The industry is also currently navigating a rapidly evolving security landscape. In response to rising crime, some retailers across the UK – including Sainsburys, ASDA and Tesco among others – have begun rolling out biometric technologies, including facial recognition systems.
Facial recognition has been introduced to identify repeat offenders and prevent them from re-entering stores and whilst many see this as a proactive response to persistent criminal activity, it has also sparked significant debate around privacy and the storage of personal data.
Therefore, the conversation around retail security is no longer only about stopping theft; it is about analysing crimes being committed and by whom, as well as what tools are available to help retailers fight this crime and bring back customer and employee safety.
The scale of the problem is stark. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that police recorded shoplifting offences in England and Wales rose to over 530,000 in the year to March 2025, the highest level since current recording methods began, marking a significant year-on-year increase.
Furthermore, industry data indicates there were more than 20 million incidents of retail theft last year, costing UK retailers an estimated £2.2 billion and contributing to a daily average of 55,000 thefts, many linked to organised crime.
These figures represent more than financial losses; they reflect an escalating crisis affecting real people every day.
Shoplifting methods have evolved and criminals have become less opportunistic and more organised. Theft is now coordinated, carried out at scale and often accompanied by violence. The BRC Crime Survey Report 2025 found the total cost of retail crime, including prevention measures, now stands at a worrisome £4.2 billion.
Organised gangs often steal to order and resell through platforms such as TikTok Shop and Facebook Marketplace. These are not isolated acts of desperation; they are orchestrated attacks on high-value goods being targeted for profit.
Retailers must move beyond reactive reporting and must implement proven preventative measures, without which, even known offenders can continue operating with limited consequences.
It’s important to remember that behind every statistic is a shopworker who has experienced intimidation or violence.
Retail workers should not be expected to tolerate aggression as part of their job, so tackling retail crime requires a fundamental shift. Shockingly, the BRC Crime Survey Report 2025 reveals that there are over 2,000 incidents of violence or abuse reported daily in retail settings and more likely go unreported.
Due to stretched resources and high demand on local forces, only 10% of incidents result in police attendance and just 2% lead to a conviction.
Additionally, the challenge isn’t only to identify who is committing these crimes; retail managers and local police are often aware of repeat offenders. The real issue lies in securing evidence that stands up in court, making technology, intelligence and forensic innovation imperative in building stronger cases.
DeterTech’s team of crime analysts and intelligence specialists helps retailers interpret patterns, predict trends and guide proactive prevention.
Biometric systems such as facial recognition are designed to deter repeat offenders at the point of entry.
While some retailers see this as a necessary response to persistent crime, concerns around consent, proportionality and data retention mean any deployment must be carefully governed and legally robust.
Alongside these systems, many retailers are turning to targeted, evidence-led technologies that activate only when a crime takes place. Forensic solutions, including sprays such as DeterTech’s SmartSpray, mark offenders as they attempt to flee, creating traceable evidence without collecting or storing data on the wider public.
Forensic marking can also be applied directly to high-theft products. Invisible, store-specific identifiers glow under UV light and are extremely difficult to remove, allowing police to verify the origin of stolen goods quickly and reliably.
Major retailers including Boots and BT have adopted this approach to strengthen prosecutions and deter organised theft.
Crucially, technology alone is not enough. The integration of crime intelligence and analytical expertise enables retailers to connect incidents, identify repeat patterns and build coherent evidence packages for police. By combining proportionate technology with specialist analysis, retailers can move from reactive reporting to structured, prevention-led enforcement.
Prevention begins before a crime is committed. Visible signage highlighting forensic marking and CCTV acts as a deterrent. Retailers should also:
These steps embed prevention into everyday operations, guided by intelligence-led insights.
Preventing retail crime requires a collaborative approach. One group cannot turn the tide on this escalating problem alone; it needs retailers, police forces, policymakers and technology providers to work together.
As conviction rates remain low and incidents of violence towards retail workers continue to rise, it’s clear that a new approach is needed. We need to work together, using better tools, stronger evidence and a coordinated, intelligence-led approach to prevention.
Every group must play their role. Retailers must implement effective security measures and ensure that staff are appropriately trained, as well as collaborate with technology partners that can enhance their retail security with solutions such as forensic marking and remote monitoring.
At the same time, the police must improve their response rates and follow-up actions and policymakers should consider legislation that protects retail workers and retail environments more effectively.
At DeterTech, we embed crime prevention into every retail space.
We help retailers and police forces to stay one step ahead of crime by providing the intelligence, tools and technology needed to predict, deter and detect threats. Our tagging, forensic marking and remote monitoring solutions, combined with data-led insights, work together to prevent incidents.
Whether you are responsible for one location or many, we partner with retailers to take proactive steps to protect their people, stock and stores. Our work is grounded in prevention, collaboration and the belief that no one should feel unsafe at work.
By supporting faster responses and more intelligent decisions, we help create safer retail environments and stronger communities.
DeterTech is a UK and European security and crime intelligence specialist dedicated to providing solutions to prevent and detect crime across a variety of sectors including renewables, construction, utilities, critical infrastructure and retail.
The company combines a suite of deterrent-based solutions, including forensic marking, 24/7 remote monitoring and crime intelligence to protect infrastructure, assets and communities nationwide.
A key component in DeterTech’s portfolio is SmartWater, the original forensic marking solution that, to this day retains a 100% conviction rate in contested court cases. SmartWater’s uniquely coded traceable liquid links offenders to crime scenes and has supported thousands of convictions making it a powerful deterrent and widely feared by criminals.
What differentiates DeterTech is its intelligence-led model. Unlike traditional security providers that focus solely on guarding or monitoring, DeterTech operates a dedicated in-house crime intelligence unit.
By analysing national and local crime data, organised networks and emerging threat patterns, the team develops targeted strategies that disrupt criminal activity before losses occur.
DeterTech doesn’t just respond to crime – it predicts, deters and detects to keep communities safer.
