Get your free copy of the new Retail Risk Supply Chain Risk Management Survey – sponsored by ASEL… For years retailers have needed more up-to-date information on supply chain loss. Even quantifying it has proven difficult, let alone identifying the key areas of...

Join your fellow retailers and show you care... Retail has incredible heroes, who sit silently among us. June 18th is where we thank them. The security guard who bravely saves the day. The cashier who recognises a victim of abuse and intervenes. The team of fund...

Figures suggest £235M price tag could be tip of the iceberg… Verbal and physical abuse against retail workers is costing UK retailers at least £235 Million annually in workforce-related expenses, according to new figures published by body-worn video provider Reveal...

Joachim Ritter lifts the lid on Interr’s incredible journey in this week’s podcast… This week on the Retail Risk – Podcast, Paul is joined by the Founder of Interr, Joachim Ritter. Looking back to where it all began, Joachim shares how he left Denmark aged 18 and...

Long-serving leader Terry Dennison set to retire... Security barrier manufacturer Trellidor has announced the appointment of Damian Judge as its new CEO, effective July 2026. The leadership change follows the retirement of current CEO Terry Dennison, who will step...

Theft from petrol forecourts has surged by 62% following start of Iran conflict… Petrol theft across the UK has risen sharply, with incidents increasing by 62% year-on-year, according to newly compiled data. The figures, provided by fuel theft recovery specialist...

More than just names on a page I’ll have you know... Last week I gave Courtney and Danna a bit of a shout out for the work they’ve been doing in South Africa. Then I realised, like any parent worth their weight in pride, that I couldn’t possibly leave it at that......

I've never been one for standing still – and retailers shouldn't be either... You’re only as old as you feel. Or so we’re told. I have generally subscribed to that view... even if my body has other ideas! Having recently suffered a knee injury (which I still...

Pilot suggests faster evidence sharing is driving positive outcomes… The Metropolitan Police has reported early success from a new digital crime reporting system designed to accelerate investigations into shoplifting and improve outcomes across London. The...

Sometimes the gamble is worth taking… I escaped the idyllic calm of Yorkshire this weekend. Not permanently, don’t worry, I’m not that reckless. But every now and again, even a Dales man needs noise, crowds, and a questionable number of negronis. The destination:...

Asda reportedly weighing up option following recent trial… Asda is reportedly exploring the use of in-store vending machines to curb shoplifting, as UK retailers continue to face rising theft levels. According to recent press reports, the supermarket is in talks to...

Not your average Easter weekend… I thought my days of family road trips were over. Turns out I was wrong. Over the Easter bank holiday weekend, my family and I escaped to the coast for a short break. And when I say “my family”, I mean Mandy, Riley, and Pia, plus a...

And that's not the only good news... There’s positive news coming from Australia this week after Victoria Police revealed it has made over 1,000 arrests during a major operation across Melbourne’s biggest shopping centres. Operation Pulse has seen teams of police...

A few digital bits... and shout out to South Africa! Ok who gets excited about websites? I mean, it makes sense if you’re into branding or design. Or if you’re in the marketing game (hi, Scott). Or if UX is your jam, so to speak. But I’ve been part of a few website...

Public safety concerns mount as bargain-hunting shoppers drawn to dangerous fakes online… A surge in counterfeit products sold through online marketplaces is putting consumers at risk and raising fresh questions about accountability across the retail supply chain,...

An exciting development in the fight against supply chain crime… Opal, the UK National Intelligence Unit for Serious and Organised Acquisitive Crime, has officially launched its new Supply Chain Crime (SCC) Intelligence Desk. The desk, which went live on 7th April...

And not everything has to land! April Fool’s Day came and went last week... And with it – a short film courtesy of myself and Jack. Based on viewership stats I'm going to assume you haven’t seen it, so let me tell you: this video sits somewhere between a product...

There’s a reason that some classics stand the test of time… It’s April in the Yorkshire Dales. The clocks have gone forward, and apparently it’s spring. Lambs are out in the fields, bouncing around like they’ve got no care in the world. Meanwhile I’m scraping ice...

An employee was sacked after reportedly tackling a thief in store… A long-serving supermarket employee has been dismissed after reportedly tackling a shoplifter, sparking widespread debate about how retail staff should respond to theft and in-store crime. Waitrose...

From eighties policing to HMV’s golden era, this episode hits all the right notes… In this week’s Retail Risk – Podcast episode Paul is joined by Andy Martin, Business Development Director at Dual-Stream. Paul and Andy explore his early days as a Police Detective...

Across more than 2,000 installations in retail environments, we’ve never recorded a successful angle grinder breach of a Trellidor shutter... They did it! NASA’s Artemis II crew have successfully completed their historic fly-by of the far side of the Moon. The four...

What could possibly go wrong..? I assess risk for a living. It’s what I do, every day. And if I’m honest, it doesn’t switch off. It seeps into how I see the world. Spend long enough in risk, and it becomes part of your wiring. The professional lens doesn’t stay in...

All that energy... but where’s it going? It’s been a little while now since I got back from my holiday in Portimão.   I’ve had ample time to reflect. Which basically means: my body and brain have had ample time to completely forget they’ve been on holiday at all.  ...

From Sinatra to shoplifters… we all end up singing the same tune eventually… It’s not that often that the news makes me smile, particularly right now. But this week I read an article that bucked the trend, and I thought it was worth sharing. It was about a shop...

Newly-crowned Hall of Fame winner Matthew Murray talks policing, retail crime, and life on the Gold Coast… On this week’s Retail Risk – Podcast, Paul catches up with Matthew Murray, National Retail Security Manager at Allied Security. Having clocked up an...

It’s been a week of progress in every direction... It’s been a really good week.  The kind where things click into place, and you can feel momentum building again. One of the standout moments was a live drone demonstration and panel at Retail Risk – On The Move. ...

Nestlé the latest company to fall victim to freight crime crisis…   More than twelve tonnes of KitKat’s new chocolate range have been stolen in transit, raising fears of shortages in the run-up to Easter. The truck, which was carrying 413,793 units from KitKat’s...

But retailers' concerns over Iran conflict loom large… Retailers are gearing up for a more buoyant Easter in 2026, with new data pointing to a notable rebound in seasonal spending. According to the latest findings from retail and marketing agency Savvy, 70% of UK...

We could all do with remembering that... Each week when I sit down to write these articles I think... alright then, what’s new? And then I think... oh god. ‘New stuff’ is ‘news’, isn’t it? News has a pretty bad rep right now, which is totally fair. Five minutes of...

Crime doesn’t repeat itself by accident, it repeats because the same people keep causing it... Early in my career, I remember standing in a store looking at footage of yet another theft. It was all very familiar. You reviewed the CCTV, logged the incident,...

HEROES OF RETAIL RISK AWARDS Don’t miss the most feel-good night in the loss prevention calendar! Tables for the HORRAs are going quickly, so act now to avoid disappointment!

An embarrassment of sporting riches awaits… The Six Nations may be over, but let us not mourn it too deeply. I prefer to think of it as the warm-up act. Because if you’re a sports enthusiast like me, I have good news: 2026 is shaping up to be a bumper year for...

A MESSAGE FROM PAUL BESSANT It's extradordinary what happens when you get the right mix of people in a room… Every now and then I get a chance to reflect on what we’ve built here. Not in a self-congratulatory way, but in a ‘oh, that’s really cool’ kind of way......

From crisp crunchers to carriage colonisers, I’ve seen the full spectrum of behaviours… There was an old British Rail advert that said “let the train take the strain.” I’ve taken that quite literally. I take at least one two-hour-plus rail journey most weeks. Not...

From frontline risk to award night success, Joanne reveals all… On this week’s episode of the Retail Risk – Podcast, Paul catches up with Joanne Callaghan – Regional Risk & Compliance Manager at David Jones. Fresh from a successful night at the Australian Fraud...

Study claims 90% of organisations pressuring security teams to relax identity controls… Mounting pressure on businesses to accelerate the deployment of AI is creating significant security blind spots, according to a global survey of more than 2,000 IT...

Because all good things must come to an end… Coming to the end of anything meaningful has a way of sharpening the senses. It makes you reflective in a way that the day-to-day rarely allows. It encourages you to look back over your time in post and contemplate not...

The Leader of the Opposition is hoping for victory. Don’t let her win! Make sure you put your entry in for the HORRAs TODAY! Starting her campaign for May’s local elections, the Tory leader told Times Radio that she would personally confront a thief if she thought...

Fears talent pipeline “at risk” as key training routes set to be withdrawn… Removing security apprenticeships is a step backwards in the fight against retail crime, a leading security company has warned. From September 2026, key apprenticeship pathways into the...

One in five shoppers say they've witnessed retail violence or abuse in store... Millions of people across the UK are still being exposed to incidents of violence and abuse in shops, according to newly published research from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The...

Retail crime may be evolving, but some security principles never go out of fashion… I had my first experience of “scan-as-you-shop” this week. I know what you must be thinking… yes, I am late to the party! But in my defence, this is a relatively new phenomenon for...

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things." – Robert Brault It’s funny, isn’t it?   You can do the same thing every week and barely notice it. You walk into the same meeting rooms, read the same reports, respond to...

From dolphins and diving in Zanzibar to a spectacular rib-crunching return home… I’ve been in holiday mode. Basking in sunshine with absolutely no responsibilities. Then I got home… and promptly broke two ribs. The timing could have been worse, I suppose. Zanzibar...

Join Phil Smith as he explores how to design security architecture that scales as fast as your business... As your supply chain grows, so does risk – at an exponential rate. So how do you stay ahead without losing control of your risk landscape? Phil Smith, Risk...

Theft down on last year as shop owners plough millions into protecting stores… Local convenience stores have reported a drop in theft incidents after investing heavily in crime prevention measures, new data from the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) reveals....

Peter Evans talks confidence, back-to-basics loss prevention, and THAT Rising Star Award… This week on the Retail Risk – Podcast, Paul is joined by Peter Evans, Loss Prevention Business Partner at Foodstuffs South Island (New Zealand). With an eclectic career...

A product long in the pipeline, people! If I’m being totally frank, last week’s piece about inconvenience was 73% about actual inconvenience (broken laptops, AI’s tech-hogging tendencies) and 27% about the heartbreak of a lost Guinness.   Well, this week I’ve been...

As organised criminal networks continue to target UK logistics, ASG explains how intelligence-led security can fight back.... Assist Security Group (ASG) will showcase its intelligence-led, risk-based approach to tackling organised logistics crime at the Retail...

The Guinness, the laptop, and the great AI memory grab... Oh I do wonder what I could write about this week? Anything going on in the world? No? Nothing of note? Ok that’s grand. Keep it that way please. More of the same calm, soothing global atmosphere we all know...

Amid a steady diet of gloomy headlines, International Women’s Day sparks a moment of reflection for our writer... I like routine. It keeps the day honest and it keeps me moving forward. Travelling commitments permitting, I’m an early riser. On a good morning –...