The Co-op is rolling out a forensic deterrent in its food stores in towns, cities and villages, using products from SmartWater and security fog company PROTECT.
This follows the launch of the retailer’s “Safer Colleagues, Safer Communities” campaign. The Co-op points to a backdrop of rising retail crime; ram-raid attacks on cashpoint machines – which can particularly affect rural areas where a Co-op convenience store’s ATM might be the only one for miles around – were featured in the December 2017 print issue of Professional Security magazine.
The fog cannons are of particular use the retailer says in the kiosk area – a target for crime due to the sale of age restricted products. Once activated, the fog obscures an intruder’s vision, and covers the criminal in a spray containing SmartWater’s forensic signature. Invisible to the naked eye, an amount of SmartWater spray equivalent in size to a speck of dust can help police with identification. It is guaranteed to last at least five years, the developers add.
Florian Mattinson, Managing Director of SmartWater Technology Limited, said: “With hundreds of criminal convictions to date and a 100 per cent conviction rate in court, criminals are aware of SmartWater’s ability to place them at the scene of a crime. This crime-beating innovation is the result of a joint venture between the market leaders in forensic and fogging technology. Following the successful roll-out of SmartWater to Co-op’s ATM estate, this fog represents a further significant step in retail security in communities, one which combines deterrence, vision-obscuring fog and traceability. Simply put, this technology represents an even greater deterrent to criminals.”
And Andrew Needham, Co-op Head of Retail Loss and Costs, said: “Safety and security is our number one priority. We know that violence and crime is about much more than statistics, it is about its impact on people’s lives and the communities in which they live and work. As a community-based organisation we see the impact of social issues in our stores, and we’re committed to playing our part and working together to do all we can to protect colleagues and make our communities safer.”
Visit https://www.co-operative.coop/campaigning/crime-campaign.
