Facial recognition should be used more to catch thieves and thugs, says Yvette Cooper

Facial recognition tech should be used more widely to tackle shoplifting and anti-social behaviour, the Home Secretary says.

Yvette Cooper has urged firms to think about tracking prolific shoplifters using a national database. Hundreds of big-name stores, including Boots, Morrisons, M&S and Greggs, capture criminals' images and details, including their vehicle registrations, on a database named Auror.

The information can be shared with other retailers and police, and used to ban and prosecute thieves. It is estimated that 10% of shoplifters carry out 74% of UK thefts.

Ms Cooper said: "We do want more retailers working together on schemes like this so that we can have partnerships tackling that crime." She also said the Home Office is investigating ways to get more facial recognition cameras onto high streets.

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And the Home Secretary continued: "Too often people have been working separately in silos, and this sort of crime has been treated as low level.

"It's not. It has a huge impact on local economies and on that sense of safety at the heart of communities." At the moment experts believe that just five per cent of shop thefts are reported to police.

Ben McDonald of Morrisons said the Auror software, used by 98% of retailers in New Zealand where it was developed, was a "game-changer". The database captures images and details about offenders, including vehicle registrations, and allows them to be shared directly between stores and police. This wealth of information can be used to prosecute thieves and ban them from stores after retail crime hit a record level last year.

It is estimated that a prolific 10% of shoplifters are responsible for 74% of thefts in the UK - making identifying them especially important. The company claims that streamlining investigations meant forces in New Zealand have been able to hire more than 450 officers in the past seven years.

Earlier this year Devon and Cornwall became the first force to partner with the software firm. Superintendent Emma Butler-Jones said the network had "revolutionised" the way retail crime is tackled in the area.

Asked whether forces across England and Wales should follow the lead of Croydon in South London and install permanent facial recognition cameras, Ms Cooper this kit is "really important for policing".

She said: "There's more scope for using facial recognition more widely, and we're going to set out more ways in which that can be done in a proper framework. We want more retailers working together on schemes like this."

Ms Cooper said shoplifting "has a huge impact on local economies and communities". She has also told police chiefs she wants patrols ramped up in 500 English and Welsh town and city centre trouble spots.

She challenged police commissioners to draw up plans to tackle rising anti-social behaviour over the summer holidays. The blitz will see more targeted work to ban frequent offenders from hotspots.

Ms Cooper has vowed that by August, every neighbourhood will have a named officer who residents will know to contact, and problem areas must be patrolled. Labour has vowed to recruit an additional 13,000 neighbourhood officers by 2029.

Ms Cooper said: “It’s time to turn this round, that’s why I have called on police forces and councils alike to work together to deliver a summer blitz on town centre crime to send a clear message to those people who bring misery to our towns that their crimes will no longer go unpunished.

“The fact that 500 towns have signed up shows the strength of feeling on this issue."

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