Morrisons to clamp down on repeat shoplifters with new crime fighting tech

Morrisons is clamping down on repeat shoplifters in their stores with new crime fighting technology. The supermarket will roll out a new crime reporting system designed by Auror across all their 500 locations by early 2026.

It comes as the company has announced the closure of 145 of its locations. Meanwhile, Morrisons is experiencing record levels of crime and abuse, which prompted the introduction of the new crime reporting tech, The Grocer reported. Auror's systems are already used in UK shops like Holland & Barrett, M7S, Home Bargains and Boots. It works on the basis of collective intelligencve, digitising the way staff record and report crimes and allowing them to enter extra information in a consisten format. This could be CCTV images, a record of the goods stolen and threatening or violent behaviour.

The technology then pools all this information into a single consistent source which helps retailers identify trends in criminal activity in their shops. It also helps provide better evidence in police reports.

50 of Morrisons Midlands stores already have been trialing the tech and found that 60% of repeat offenders targeted more than one store. This intel made it easier for shops involved in the trial to plan and protect against criminals and barring their entry.

It was not reported whether crime fell during this trtial but store managers felt "better informed and safer". Morrisons also "tripled the value" of information that was sent to police, resulting in 11 prosecutions for 35 crimes during the 12 week trial.

Beforehand, the collection of crime data was thoroughly local and inconsistent, making it nearly impossible for data analyses to provide deeper insight into abuse in Morrisons shops. The tech is part of the supermarket's three year technology transformation, part of Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh turnaround. "This new partnership will give our stores the right technology to work together with the police to tackle in-store crime more effectively," said Baitiéh.

"Our top priority is the safety of our teams and joining Auror's network of retailers and law enforcement agencies will create a safer environment for colleagues, customers and local communities," he said.

"Repeat and violent offenders must understand that abuse towards our colleagues will not be tolerated. We applaud the efforts of the police and government to make high streets safer and we intend to be part of the solution," Baitiéh added.

Auror's systems do not collect sensitive information like race, sexual identity or political affiliation and Morrisons assured that it did not use facial recognition.

Labour has pledged £7 million for a 'blitz' on retail abuse, shoplifting and antisocial behaviour as part of a three year plan for tackling crime unveiled in July. Despite this, shoplifting is at record highs, up 13% to 530,000 incidents during the year up to June 2025, according to ONS figures.

Mark Gleeson, Auror VP for UK and Europe said he and his company are "proud to be part of the solution" for retailers against shoplifting and a "growing challenge of crime and violence in their stores".

He added:"We know one in 10 retail crime events are violent or involve weapons, and repeat offenders are four times more likely to be violent. This behaviour hurts frontline workers and the communities they serve.

"We're on a mission, alongside our partners, to reduce violence retail crime by 50% over the next five years, and our partnership with Morrisons will be crucial to improving colleague safety and making their stores and communities safer across the UK."