Anthony is a Store Detective Supervisor and SIA licensed security guard from Staffordshire. He won the Service to the Customer award at the British Security Awards 2021. He speaks about his experiences of helping to identify and respond to serious and organised crime affecting the retail industry.
I got into private security after I was medically discharged from the army. I have had an SIA licence since 2006. I joined my company having done an interview on the Friday and then on the Monday was in the offices getting SIA training!
Before SIA licensing came in, conditions were much worse for people working in private security. Now, the industry is watched more, and it is better governed. The company that I work for is a good company that looks after its staff. We started out as a smaller company, and then were taken over by a bigger security brand. Initially I was in the distribution side. Then I wanted a change due to family commitments. I moved into the retail side about 8 years ago.
Currently I work on a contract for a major nationwide retailer. We aim to reduce loss through theft, refund fraud, counterfeit notes and organised crime. I cover a wide area including the Midlands, South West and South Coast. We have over 100 stores in this area, and I oversee a team of about 10 people.
Organised crime gangs are a massive threat for this industry. Shop theft and shoplifting are not victimless crimes. Some people have a misconception and think that there is no victim, but that is not the case. Businesses and staff are affected, and so are customers. Criminal activity means that prices can increase, and staff may get laid off.
The current financial situation means we’re seeing people more active when it comes to theft. The level of aggression also seems to have increased. Sadly, security staff on the shop floor need to be aware of threats, needles and even knives. We have issued discreet body worn cameras which seems to be helping staff. When a person sees you have a camera, their behaviour often changes dramatically.
I like the wide variety of things you can do in a store detective role. I’m also proud to have been involved in several cases which resulted in long term prison sentences. For example, there was one person targeting a store for 10 years who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for committing fraud. Getting these results involves relaying information to the police through statements and reports.
It was challenging when I first moved from being a colleague to being a supervisor. I had been with the team for about 5 or 6 years at the time. We cover such a wide geographical area, so the important thing for me is listening to my team. They know the stores in their area. I have put structures and processes in place. Things like collating data to find which sites are being targeted, the days and times, and using that information to deploy people. Yet as much as the data helps us to identify issues, local knowledge is a lot more helpful than people think. So, I will do a rota for example, and say to my team “do you agree or disagree?”
I am proud of my team. They do their jobs really well and prevent a lot of loss for our client.