Auror Global Law Enforcement Partnerships vice president Nick McDonnell says the company’s software is helping police connect the dots within the community as more retailers upload incident reports, images and CCTV footage to the platform after witnessing retail crime events.
As information gets uploaded, Auror begins to make links and see patterns, identifying repeat offenders and their behaviours.
Mr McDonnell said the intelligence’s accuracy centred around real human interaction.
While the software makes suggestions, it requires a retailer to review, approve and correct information.
“Many of these incidents were previously viewed as one-off offences,” Mr McDonnell said.
“Statistics in Shepparton show there are 1.5 violent or threatening events in retail stores every day.
“Repeat offenders are four times more likely to be violent or threatening when offending and 10 per cent of offenders are responsible for 70 per cent of retail crime.”
Auror was introduced 14 years ago in New Zealand, and Mr McDonnell said it had been gaining momentum in Australia in recent years.
“All police across Australia, in every state, are now using it; 30,000 police have access to it,” he said.
“It’s used by New Zealand police, London metro police and some forces across the United States.”
While it works well for chain retailers with multiple sites, Mr McDonnell said it was also effective for smaller, independent stores.
“What we know about offenders is that they’re not loyal to brands, they are being violent across a range of stores,” he said.
He pointed to a recent case where the software assisted police to bust a crime syndicate, where they made 19 arrests and uncovered around $10 million of product, including electric toothbrushes, skin care products and baby formula.
The platform removes the need for police to visit affected stores to collect evidence and fill out manual reports each time there is an incident.
They are connected with real-time information from large retailers, allowing officers to link what were once thought to be isolated incidents, to repeat and organised offenders.
Mr McDonnell said Auror was on a mission to reduce retail violence by 50 per cent in the next five years.
“We’re doing this around the world — in London, across Australia — and to have a smaller centre like Shepparton having technology where retailers and police are collaborating is actually pretty leading,” he said.
He said co-operation between the two entities hadn’t been all that common in the past, but the Goulburn Valley was paving the way by adopting the modern method and working together to tackle local issues.
“Shepparton should be proud of its police and proud of its retailers for investing in this type of platform,” Mr McDonnell said.
“The highest volume crime types aren’t confined to the big cities.”
