Retailers including John Lewis, Sainsbury’s and Tesco have agreed to fund a new police operation, Project Pegasus, to crack down on shoplifting in stores.
As part of government efforts to ensure “all forces show zero tolerance”, Project Pegasus has been called a “game changer” by police chiefs.
The project will allow them to run CCTV images of shoplifting offences provided by retailers through the Police National Database.
This will include the use of facial recognition technology and will provide police with a “national picture of where shoplifting gangs are operating and the shops they are targeting”, as reported by The Times.
Shoplifting offences have increased by a quarter this year, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The project is expected to receive £600,000 from the group of 10 retailers, which also includes the Co-op, Waitrose and Next.
Ministers are said to have sat down with police chiefs as well as retail representatives at the end of last week to “hammer out plans to target shoplifters”.
Policing minister Chris Philp is also understood to have “tasked police leaders with drawing up a target list of prolific shoplifters” as part of a national shoplifting database to be used by both retailers and police forces nationwide.
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