Organised Retail Crime: Collaboration in its truest form disrupting serious and organised crime
As the Head of Intelligence for Opal, the National Intelligence Unit for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, I was given the unique opportunity to act as the tactical lead for Organised Retail Crime (ORC) working in collaboration with our partners to shape the way we understand and deal with ORC.
The Pegasus Partnership was driven by retailers with an appetite for change and an impetus to make it happen, with Opal providing the operational setting to bring the idea to life. With subsequent funding from the Home Office, Opal’s activities within the ORC setting have now been solidified until 2028. Since the team launched, we have supported over 200 referrals from our partners resulting in 87 tactical operations. We have collectively achieved over 3000 positive outcomes resulting in a 73% reduction in offending across ORC groups referred to Opal.
The work in the ORC space has been truly transformative, owing to the passion, dedication and commitment shown by our industry, retail, and wider private and public sector partners. For me personally, it has been a genuine career highlight to work with so many exceptional individuals across sectors to create new ways of working, support innovation and creativity and ultimately disrupt organised crime whilst keeping people safe.
In 2025 for the first time in a number of years, we not only saw the threat from ORC reduce but also the reporting of ORC increase, demonstrating a strengthened policing response alongside improved public confidence which marks a significant milestone. Although we have seen considerable success, the threat from ORC continues to evolve and cause harm across our communities. In line with this, we too, must ensure our response, tactics and strategy evolve at pace with innovation at its core. Examples of this include:
- Introduction of the Retail Crime Fusion Cell:
Opal are working alongside the NBCC to support the creation of a digital system. The system housed within Opal, will support increased knowledge and understanding across retail crime, allowing police and industry partners to maximise use of intelligence-led insights to dynamically and proactively tackle threats.
- Creating New Partnership Initiatives:
Opal has worked in collaboration with industry partners sharing skills and knowledge with Tesco and Boots seconding members of staff into Opal. Opal are now working closely with the Safer Business Network to create a joint analytical capability maximising local intelligence and knowledge with national capabilities to create the greatest impact.
- Supporting Intensification Activity:
Opal routinely supports police forces and industry partners in operational intensification activities including North Yorkshire’s Tornado and Super Tornado activity. Alongside this, Opal drive intelligence-led initiatives including the National Intelligence Drive aiming to capture local intelligence which often never makes it into national policing capabilities missing opportunities further development.
- Tactical Co-ordination Groups:
Opal run a 6 weekly Tactical Co-ordination Group supporting improved intelligence sharing, awareness raising, and co-ordination of enhanced collaborative responses
Stephanie Coombes – Head of Intelligence for Opal, the National Intelligence Unit for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime
