Southern Co-operatives’ Head of Loss Prevention, Gareth Lewis, has jetted to America with Hampshire Police officers, following the shortlisting of a joint project for an international crime-fighting award.
Their project, named ‘Operation Kensington’, reached the final five in the 15th annual Herman Goldstein Awards for Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing. The awards panel considered hundreds of submissions from around the world in terms of their measurable success in resolving recurring specific crime, disorder or public safety problems. Kensington was nominated for helping to revolutionise the way incidents of shoplifting are investigated in Portsmouth.
Developed with both Portsmouth Police and security company Storewatch, the project has resulted in a training programme and new ‘evidence packs’, which allow Southern Co-operatives’ staff to write their own statements and ensures they are well placed to preserve any evidence following incidents in store. The scheme is recognised as ‘good practice’ by the Crown Prosecution Service.
So far Kensington has resulted in a 270 per cent increase in the number of crimes solved in some stores. Following its initial launch, the project has now been rolled out to all 22 Southern Co-operative stores in Portsmouth.
Portsmouth Chief Supt John Campbell, said: “This is quite a simple idea, but already it seems to have achieved some great results. We’re delighted that yet again we’ve been recognised for our innovative problem-solving approach to tackling crime. I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate the officers and our partners for their hard work. Whether they win the award or not their work has still had a huge impact on shoplifting in the city and that in itself is a great achievement.”
The representatives From Hampshire Police and Southern Co-operatives gave a presentation on ‘Operation Kensington’ to the International Problem Oriented Policing Conference in Madison, Wisconsin this autumn.
Kensington was shortlisted in the UK annual problem-oriented policing Tilley awards.
