Video evidence can speed up police investigation into retail crime
Law enforcement needs a lot of catching up to make a significant dent on the growing retail crime. Running into billions of dollars across the US and UK, the number of incidents that are taken up for investigation pale in contrast considering the number of cases that are not followed up by the police.
Even in cases that are taken up, police are resorting to publishing photographs in local newspapers, requesting citizens to help identify the people in the photographs (see news).
The police need clear evidence
The police need clear evidence and a trail of events to consider intervening to stop habitual shoplifters. Collecting such evidence in the absence of efficient automation and technology can be a challenging task.
Providing evidence to the police becomes an arduous task as the store staff needs to do several activities such as:
- Reviewing hours of CCTV footage to locate and identify the specific repeat instances.
- Extracting the relevant footage on to a portable storage device like a pen drive.
- Submitting such evidence to the police.
Evidence collection an additional burden on store staff
As most retail stores are short-staffed, collecting evidence and reporting to the police becomes a huge burden on staff, who have their hands full trying to meet the various needs of genuine customers. The pressure is thus passed on to the security staff deployed at the store to identify and prevent such crimes.
Comprehensive monitoring for the store
SAI Group’s visual AI platform, which can be easily integrated with existing CCTV hardware, provides automated monitoring of the key areas of the store, including:
- Aisle
- Counter
- Self-Checkout Counter
Auto-detect events and collect evidence
Using a combination of machine learning algorithms and analytics applied over CCTV footage, SAI Group’s visual AI platform:
- Detects suspicious customer behaviour across key areas of the stores.
- Creates a short video footage of the event.
- Displays the recorded footage and details about the event including details such as location, time, and the nature of the event (such as concealment, missed scan, item switching).
SAI Group provides Visual AI, data analytics, intuitive dashboards, and robust reporting capabilities to three of the top retail companies in the UK. Contact us today, if you are on the lookout for a Visual AI solution that provides almost immediate return on investment.
About SAI
As a leader in computer vision technology, SAI Group delivers cutting-edge, multi-modal AI solutions into retail environments. Using a unique platform approach, its technology uses existing camera systems to target losses, increase store safety, and underpin operational efficiencies.
All solutions are built from the ground up to ensure the highest levels of security and data protection, respecting the privacy expectations of the public and operating to stringent ethical standards while delivering substantial value to our clients. Globally, SAI monitors millions of transactions per day, protecting the revenues from tens of millions of product sales and hundreds of millions of customer interactions. Its models also accurately identify anti-social behaviour, aggression and violence, helping to de-escalate situations with real-time interfaces to security officers and operations centres.