Every retailer is a victim of crime, and My Local stores are no exception. Their store in Doncaster recently tweeted that they had caught another shoplifter and were going to prosecute.

When Ramesh Shingadia and I visited the My Local store in Windsor we had a conversation about crime with store manager Geoff Steere about his experience.

He said that his first job in retail was with McColls, and he recalled regularly being the only employee on duty both early in the morning and when doing the late shift. He did not become a victim of crime while working for McColls, but he was aware that other colleagues were not so fortunate.

He explained that while his and the other My Local stores operate with efficient rostering, the company policy is for a minimum of two people to be on duty at any time. The processes and policies that My Local practice are designed around the safety of the employees.

Geoff explained that every store is fitted with panic buttons and when one is pressed the monitoring service that My Local employs will start to manage the incident. The store team knows when the in-store radio goes off that the monitoring centre is on the case. They will be able to see what is happening in the store from CCTV pictures, and will phone the relevant emergency services. The centre continues to monitor the incident and records the evidence in case it is needed to support a prosecution.

Compared with his early career experiences, Geoff knows that My Local’s systematic approach to crime and employee safety means that the risks that he and his colleagues face by working in retail are reduced as much as they can be.

When did you last review your crime prevention strategy? The NFRN Security Matters video is a good place to start. Read Part One and Part Two to get the ball rolling.