Retailers link one million repeat offenders in Auror network

Retailers using Auror connected more than one million links between repeat and organised offenders last year. U.S. retailers accounted for more than 730,000 of those connections.

The figures point to a concentrated pattern of offending in retail crime data gathered through Auror's network. In the United States, the top 10% of offenders were responsible for more than 65% of retail crime, while repeat offenders were up to three times more likely to be violent or use a weapon.

Retailers use the platform to record suspected crimes after incidents occur and identify whether the same individuals are linked to events across stores, cities and jurisdictions. Auror says this gives retailers and police a broader view of offending patterns than store-by-store reporting systems.

The milestone reflects a wider shift in how some retailers handle intelligence on repeat offending. Instead of keeping records in separate formats at store level, participants in the Auror network submit structured reports that can be matched against other incidents involving the same people.

Phil Thomson, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Auror, said retailers had long held crime information but often recorded it in fragmented ways.

"Retailers have always captured this information about crime, but the way they did it was different from store to store - some would use sticky notes, USB sticks or CDs, and others might use 'walls of shame'," Thomson said.

He said those methods limited visibility beyond individual stores.

"These processes were not only time-consuming, but also offered no visibility around whether the individuals abusing frontline workers or stealing products were doing the same thing at another store. Repeat offenders have always thrived in that anonymity.

"Using technology to work together through sharing information about crime and collaborating directly with law enforcement is the key to making stores safer at scale," Thomson said.

Repeat offenders

Retailers have now connected more than two million such links globally to date. Auror says intelligence generated through those connections has contributed to reductions in violent retail crime at some large chains.

According to the figures provided, one of the largest supermarket chains in the United States cut violent retail crime across its store network by 12% last year. A national retailer in the UK reported a 26% drop in violent behaviour towards staff.

The data also underlines how retailers and law enforcement are focusing on a relatively small group of high-frequency offenders. That approach mirrors long-standing criminology research showing that a minority of offenders are responsible for a large share of incidents and harm.

Dr. Cory Lowe, Director of Research at the Loss Prevention Research Council, said controlling organised retail crime requires retailers and law enforcement to be more coordinated than the offenders themselves.

"Decades of research shows a minority of offenders drives the majority of harm," Lowe said.

"When retailers can link incidents across locations, investigators can identify patterns, prioritize high-impact offenders, and build stronger cases, ultimately improving outcomes and holding serious, repeat offenders accountable," he added.

Broader use

Auror says its system is 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. The company describes its role as helping retailers document incidents in a structured format and share intelligence with police.

Retail crime has become a growing concern for major chains in several markets, particularly where repeat offending and assaults on shop workers have increased. The latest figures from the Auror network suggest retailers are placing more emphasis on cross-store visibility and coordinated case building, rather than treating incidents as isolated losses at individual locations.

This matters most where organised groups or repeat offenders operate across different branches and jurisdictions. In those cases, linking events can help investigators establish patterns of behaviour that may not be apparent from a single incident report.

The latest milestone was reached through crime reports shared across Auror's network, allowing users to verify links between multiple events involving the same individuals. More than two million such links have now been made globally through the platform.