The Singapore Police Force (SPF) held the Retailers Safety and Security Symposium at Mapletree Business City Auditorium on Tuesday, 13 December 2022 to facilitate the sharing of best practices in the prevention of shop theft and also to strengthen retailers’ preparedness and response to security threats. A total of 187 distinguished guests, including representatives from various retailers and officers from the SPF, attended the symposium.
At the symposium, the Police announced the expansion of the Shop Theft Awareness for Retailers (STAR) Programme. The STAR Programme was first launched in 2018 and had since been adopted by retailers such as TANGS, Watsons, Puma, and Japan Home at VivoCity and Harbourfront Centre.
Under the STAR Programme, which will be rolled out across all Neighbourhood Police Centres (NPCs), the Police work closely with retailers to analyse stores’ risk factors and vulnerabilities to shop theft using a data-driven approach. The Police and retailers will jointly identify effective crime prevention measures to be implemented. Such initiatives against shop theft that are based on best practices in the industry and Police’s expertise in safety and security. The Police will also conduct training for retail staff to support them in preventing and deterring shop theft through their daily work. To sustain the effectiveness of the implemented crime prevention measures, the Police and retailers will continue to work closely together to monitor the crime situation, conduct regular checks on the stores to deter shop theft, reinforce good practices and to plug any gaps.
1 Deputy Director Operations, AC Devrajan S/O Bala said, “Police have seen an uptick in shop theft cases this year, compared to last year. The roll out of the STAR Programme islandwide will see Police and retailers working closely together in a more data-driven, structured, and sustained manner to prevent shop theft. We have made good progress with over 50 retailers on board this programme, and we hope more retailers will join us in this collaboration.”
The Facilities and Security Manager of TANGS, Mr. Ishak Othman said, “TANGS is a family-friendly retailer and Singapore’s iconic, world-class shopping destination. We seek to provide a pleasant shopping experience for our shoppers, and we have been working closely with the Police to enhance safety and security at our stores. In 2019, we onboarded the STAR Programme pilot at VivoCity. Through the STAR Programme, we collaborated with the Police to develop and adopt solutions to effectively deter shop theft, resulting in a 50% decrease in shop theft cases in TANGS at VivoCity.”
Deputy Commissioner (Operations), Lian Ghim Hua, with the speakers and Mapletree representative at the Retailers Safety and Security Symposium (from left to right): Mr Ishak Othman (Security Manager at TANGS), Mr Li Lit Siew (Mapletree representative), Mr Muhammad Jailani Bin Abu Talib (Training PNSmen for SGSecure)
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
13 December 2022 @ 5:35 PM