DEVON and Cornwall has recently entered into a new partnership with Auror, a software development company, to strengthen its response to organised retail crime.

The Auror platform provides critical intelligence to enable police to better fulfil their policing priorities and help identify prolific offenders who can the be removed from the streets protecting businesses against shoplifting.

The Force will be the first in the country to go live with the ability to report directly to the police through Auror and a Forcewide roll out of the platform to officers and staff.

Superintendent Emma Butler Jones, Head of Prevention and Local Policing, said: ‘Direct reporting to the police through the Auror platform has revolutionised how we tackle business crime in Devon and Cornwall.

‘Auror not only allows us to investigate more efficiently, but also provides unprecedented access to intelligence across a vast area, enabling us to detect more crimes and reduce harm to our victims.

‘This strengthens our response to organised retail crime, fostering collaboration with forces across the country.

‘As a result, we are not just addressing one aspect of criminality, but preventing wider serious acquisitive crime and boosting public confidence in our ability to protect communities.’

The Force’s charge and offender outcome rates for crimes reported through the platform are between six and seven percent higher than crimes reported through more traditional means.

This is potentially due to a more efficient reporting process.

Crime reports are provided to police an average of 8.5 times quicker, which means we can accelerate our investigations.

Evidence and intelligence from the Auror platform has assisted officers in achieving more positive outcomes for our victims, and has also directly contributed towards applications of court orders which help to reduce offending and generally carry higher sentences at court.