The National Retail Association (NRA) has partnered with global retail crime intelligence platform, Auror, to address the growing scale and severity of violent and organised retail crime in Australia.
The move comes ahead of the NRA’s planned merger with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), which will see the two bodies form the Australian Retail Council.
The partnership with Auror is part of the NRA’s broader strategy to deliver safer retail environments for the country’s 1.6 million frontline workers.
NRA Interim CEO Lindsay Carroll said the partnership will strengthen efforts to deliver on key policy objectives and community safety outcomes.
“We both share a goal in supporting retailers to stop crime in their stores and create safer environments for the 1.6 million Australian frontline retail workers,” said Carroll.
“Retailers and police are collaborating through Auror technology to surface the full scale of this problem, and dedicated police operations across the country can now address retail crime head-on.”
“Police resources are stretched across the country; high volume crime like retail crime adds to the load, but there are ways to increase efficiency and capability through tech-based solutions.”
Data from retailers using Auror last year revealed a 66 per cent increase in the use of weapons and a 30 per cent rise in violence during retail incidents.
Auror Senior Director of Trust and Safety Nick McDonnell said the partnership will amplify the voice of retailers in raising awareness around the intensifying threat of retail crime.
“Retail crime is not victimless – it hurts everyday people and weakens our communities; it’s a city killer,” said McDonnell.
“We know 10 per cent of offenders are responsible for more than 60 per cent of the total crime in retail – these are repeat offenders that are putting retail workers in harm’s way. Meanwhile, violence, threats, aggression, abuse and even weapons are involved in every one in four events.”
“Our renewed mission – to reduce violent retail crime by 50 per cent in the next five years – is a call to action for our retailer and law enforcement communities. This partnership with the NRA is crucial in advancing that mission, helping drive the conversation around stronger and effective collaboration across the sector.”
“There’s no substitute for the hands-on, incredible work police do to keep us safe. Through technology-enabled collaboration, we can help police be more efficient, getting more officers back on the beat and focused on repeat and high-harm offenders.”
Auror provides cloud-based crime reporting tools that allow retailers to log incidents minutes after they occur and securely share data with law enforcement.
The platform is currently used by more than 45,000 stores and 3,000 law enforcement agencies across Australia, New Zealand, North America, and the UK.