Retailers Against Crime’s (RAC) adoption of the SentrySIS platform has delivered significant results in the fight against shoplifting, with 274 offenders identified between the beginning of May and mid-June. Of these, 187 were detected in May and another 87 in just the first two weeks of June.
SentrySIS, a secure, cloud-based intelligence and digital evidence management platform, is designed to strengthen collaboration between retailers, police forces and crime partnerships. The system allows users to share real-time information about retail crime and offender activity, helping detect and apprehend individuals who often travel between regions committing similar offences.
The figures were shared during an intelligence briefing in Aberdeen, where CID officers from Police Scotland discussed how SentrySIS has helped them identify crime patterns and apprehend prolific shoplifters. Retailers from across Aberdeen attended the session to gain insight into how the platform operates and to receive up-to-date crime prevention advice.
Real-Time Intelligence with Proven Results
The Aberdeen event demonstrated how real-time intelligence from SentrySIS supports fast, informed decision-making on the ground in a fully GDPR compliant way. The system’s secure platform allows for instant upload and distribution of incident reports, CCTV footage, and suspect descriptions. This allows both retailers and law enforcement to respond more quickly and effectively to retail crime.
Notable successes attributed to the system include the ability to link 34 separate retail crime reports across Scotland to a single offender. In another case, a man involved in the theft of high-value toiletries was identified as responsible for 18 different crimes. A third male suspect was connected to seven shoplifting incidents across the North East of Scotland.
RAC Intelligence Co-ordinator, Natasa Wilson, said: “The successes speak for themselves and demonstrate what we can achieve by working together, sharing information and experiences and using SentrySIS to report retail crime when it happens.”
Detective Inspector Andrew Machray of Police Scotland added: “We are dealing with more and more travelling criminals and organised crime groups and by working alongside RAC and using SentrySIS, we have been able to liaise with retailers and identify patterns of crime which have led to the successful apprehension of several individuals involved in high value crimes. The intelligence from SentrySIS and the direct links with retailers is invaluable when it comes to detecting crime trends and patterns which can be recognised across various police divisions.”
How SentrySIS Strengthens the Fight Against Retail Crime
SentrySIS enhances public and private sector coordination by providing a unified digital platform where crime data can be shared securely and proactively.
For Crime Partnerships & BIDS:
- Enables seamless collaboration across regions and sectors
- Provides a centralised database of known offenders
- Helps spot repeat offenders and share intelligence quickly
For Police Constabularies:
- Accelerates investigations by providing real-time access to incident reports, suspect profiles and offender patterns
- Supports cross-border intelligence sharing between divisions
- Reduces time spent chasing disparate evidence and statements
For National Retailers:
- Offers mobile access to submit and track crime reports instantly
- Sends alerts on offenders active in specific areas
- Allows secure upload of CCTV footage and incident details
- Supports building intelligence on repeat offenders and evolving theft tactics
Retailers benefit from mobile access to a secure portal where they can submit and track crime incidents, review known offender profiles, and share evidence instantly with the police and local crime groups. The intelligence is automatically organised and searchable, reducing administrative burden and ensuring the information reaches the right teams quickly.
During the Aberdeen briefing, retailers were encouraged to use SentrySIS to check which offenders are currently active in their area, receive alerts about recent incidents, report shoplifting offences directly through the app, and access a shared intelligence hub that contains details of more than 16,000 known offenders.
Wilson added: “We know how much of an impact rising retail crime and acts of violence are having on you, and we want to help detect and prevent these crimes. We can provide you with the tools you need as a retailer or security officer to tackle retail crime and I want to really emphasise how important it is that we all work together to deal with this issue.”
Wilson also shared footage showing how organised criminal teams often operate in groups. One member might distract staff, another carries out the theft, and a third shields the act from view. These planned and practiced thefts are designed to go unnoticed and are frequently repeated in different stores and regions.
She outlined current methods used by criminals, including how they conceal stolen goods using specialist props and manipulate store layouts or surveillance blind spots. She said: “We can provide added intelligence which you may not have come across about the different MOs offenders use – the extreme lengths they go to and the effort they put in to steal valuable stock from your stores. We are seeing a lot of theft by distraction from teams who know exactly what they are doing. They scope out the shop in advance, get their bearings and work together to remove a substantial number of items extremely quickly and they are exceptionally good at what they do.”
The briefing in Aberdeen is set to be followed by the city’s inaugural Day of Action later this year. This targeted operation will focus on identifying and apprehending prolific shoplifters and disrupting organised retail crime.
These initiatives, jointly delivered by RAC and Police Scotland, have already proven successful in other locations. Last month’s Day of Action in Glasgow resulted in five arrests and charges laid against an additional 12 individuals for shoplifting and drug offences.
Stephanie Karté, National Operations Manager at RAC, said the Aberdeen briefing was a great success and reflected the commitment of both retailers and police to work more closely together using tools like SentrySIS. “We had an excellent turnout and some positive feedback and it’s really all about trying to pull everybody together, listen to what’s happening and do what we can to support each other. Everyone is having the same problems with retail crime and it’s such a boost to hear about the successes and positive outcomes the police have had thanks to retailers reporting crimes via SentrySIS.”
She added: “We wanted to gauge interest among Aberdeen retail businesses for the idea of holding the city’s very first Day of Action later this year and that was something everyone was keen to see. So, we will go ahead with that, and it will help us to up the ante when it comes to tackling the persistent offenders who are causing so much distress to retailers. Day in and day out, we must continue sharing intelligence and operating as a unified retail crime partnership to combat retail crime and the devastating impact it has on all of us.”
One retail security manager who attended the briefing described it as “fantastic” and praised the SentrySIS platform for its practical tools and relevance to current crime challenges.
“It was really helpful. I didn’t know much about the partnership at all before attending and found all the information useful. It was good to see the police recognise the need for a higher focus on retail crime and great to see the amount of interest and desire to do more about shoplifting in our area and how this can be done. The use of the app and the talk about ‘Days of Action’ are inspiring.”
For more information about joining RAC please visit www.retailersagainstcrime.org and to find out more about how SentrySIS can assist your organisation in tackling crime click on www.sentrysis.com