Auror rolls out retail crime platform across London

Auror has rolled out its retail crime reporting platform across London, where retailers and police are using it to target repeat offenders and organised retail crime.

Law enforcement in central London and Lewisham has been piloting the platform since January. Auror said outcomes leading to an arrest, charge or conviction have risen by more than 50% compared with other reporting methods, with 482 charges laid.

Retailers use the system to record crime in a structured format and send reports and evidence securely to police. This is intended to help both sides identify repeat offenders across store networks and focus resources on those causing the most harm.

Company data suggests the top 10% of offenders account for almost 70% of retail crime across the UK, while one in seven incidents involves violence or weapons.

The London rollout comes amid growing concern among retailers and police over theft, violence and organised offending on high streets. Some of the country's largest store networks are already using the platform, according to Auror.

Auror cited cases in London and elsewhere in the UK as examples of how linked reporting can support investigations. In one recent London case, an organised crime suspect was arrested after offending was linked to 80 events across 17 jurisdictions at a single retailer.

Elsewhere in the UK, investigations have dismantled one organised crime ring linked to GBP £600,000 and another linked to GBP £270,000, the company said.

Police use

Police forces in other parts of the UK are also using the platform in retail crime work. Devon & Cornwall Police reported processing retail crime reports about 47 hours faster on average, while the Opal policing unit is using the system to work with major retailers and target high-harm offenders.

Founded in New Zealand, Auror said the platform is now used in more than 85,000 retail stores and by more than 3,500 law enforcement agencies across North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Retailers are also using information gathered through the system to shape store safety measures. Marks & Spencer reported a 40% reduction in violence and aggression, while another national retailer reduced violent behaviour in stores by 26%.

Broader pattern

The figures reflect a wider shift in how retail crime is documented and investigated, with greater emphasis on digital reporting and cross-border intelligence sharing between store groups and police. The approach is designed to reduce time spent handling physical evidence and reviewing CCTV footage while improving the quality of case files.

Outside the UK, Auror said Australian law enforcement agencies have used the system in dedicated retail crime operations, including investigations that dismantled two organised crime rings linked to AUD $10 million of stolen baby formula and health and beauty products.

In New Zealand, Auror cited a report that found use of the platform over 12 months helped deliver NZD $92 million in workforce efficiency gains for police. It said that was equivalent to adding 450 officers to the force each year.

Nick McDonnell, Vice President of Trust & Safety and Global Law Enforcement Partnerships at Auror, commented on the London rollout and the broader use of the system by police and retailers.

"We all have a responsibility for public safety and we need to support police to be as effective as possible by providing timely, actionable and secure information when it counts most," McDonnell said.

"Retail crime is not just shoplifting - it's violent, brazen and organised - and it's great to see the UK's largest retailers and police use Auror to surface the prolific repeat offenders causing the most harm to our high streets.

"Digital collaboration makes police more efficient and helps them get back on the beat sooner, cutting down time spent collecting physical evidence and trawling through hours of CCTV, and increasing positive outcome rates without increasing workload," he said.