Putting a stop to South Australia’s most wanted shoplifter

Two of Australia’s largest retailers are breathing a sigh of relief as one of their most prolific and aggressive shoplifters has been arrested, this time without bail. For more than 20 years, this person, who was dubbed “South Australia’s most wanted shoplifter”, regularly stole from these retailers, causing a huge amount of loss. On top of that, this person was often threatening towards store staff on countless occasions. 

Despite law enforcement arresting this person multiple times in the past, the charges only reflected a fraction of their activity and they were always “picked up and back on the street the next day”.

But that all changed once the retailers switched to Auror’s Crime Intelligence Platform. Together they recorded more than 160 events totalling over AUD$125,600 that this person was involved with. Most of the events were for shoplifting, with values ranging mostly from $200 to $1500+.

Utilising intelligent case management, in July 2021, they were arrested by South Australia Police and charged with more than 40 offences, worth about $35,000. This is the first time this person has been able to be charged with so many offences and with this much evidence attached thanks to the intelligence the retailers were able to gather.

From “incident reporting that went nowhere” to adopting a comprehensive crime intelligence tool 

Before starting to use Auror’s platform, both retailers already had internal systems for recording in-store events. But, there were no images or video footage and no way to easily link people together. As one Loss Prevention (LP) manager described it, they had an “ internal incident reporting system that went nowhere”. 

This changed completely once Auror’s Crime Intelligence Platform was brought onboard. Instead of recording information about events and subjects in a spreadsheet, teams could add it straight onto the platform along with images and video. This immediately notifies other stores of when events occur and staff can be on alert to help prevent further events from happening. 

When it came to “South Australia’s most wanted shoplifter”, this system made it much easier to link together all the events that this person was responsible for. The two retailers were better able to work together with law enforcement and share intel in ways they never could before, resulting in more evidence. The impact of all of this is visible through the outcome.

“40 charges in one go would never have been possible previously and you can see the difference with the person being refused bail,” one LP team leader says. 

Helping frontline staff safely prevent incidents

The positive impact is felt strongly by store staff, who are on the frontlines facing these challenges and putting their safety at risk every day. It’s frustrating for them when someone threatens staff and repeatedly takes things from their stores with little to no repercussions. 

With proper intelligence, store staff are able to help prevent further loss and harm. Out of the more than 160 events that this particular person was involved with, they were prevented 82% of the time. This saved more than $100,000 worth of stock from being lost.

So the fact that this person has been refused bail and will be out of sight for at least two to three months is a significant outcome.

“We’ve got to be able to deal with people like this and keep our teams safe. We need to be the masters of our own destiny. Auror is a good way for our team to harness their passion for loss prevention by giving them the right tools and keeping them out of harm’s way.”

Working together to stop more crime 

For both retailers, an intelligence-focused approach to retail crime has led to greater collaboration between them and law enforcement. With all the evidence and data easily accessible in one place, it’s been easier getting law enforcement to support the retailers’ efforts in preventing loss and harm at scale. This case was a great example where the officer-in-charge could securely access all required evidence straight from Auror’s platform.

There’s no question about whether either retailer will be continuing this approach in the future. Using Auror has not only helped with better crime intelligence, but it has helped them prove the importance of LP. It’s also allowed them to celebrate their successes, which they weren’t able to do previously. 

“Everything in our business has hours attached to it. Auror is the most efficient reporting platform I have ever seen and with real-time visibility, the information is there when we need it to both prevent loss and celebrate the wins. I can’t see a day where we don’t use Auror.”