‘Dalek’ CCTV pods rolled out to stop shoplifting

New CCTV devices reminiscent of Daleks in Doctor Who will be rolled out on English high streets this summer in a bid to deter shoplifting.

The security systems, named Safer Pods, were piloted in December at the Vintage Guru shop in Northamptonshire, where they are said to have helped to reduce shoplifting within a matter of weeks.

The standalone pods, which capture a 24/7 video stream monitored constantly at an external location, are intended to also act as a visual deterrent to shoplifters, and are equipped with sensors which immediately raise the alarm if the pod is moved or tampered with, according to its manufacturers.

Likening them to Doctor Who Daleks, Vintage Guru’s owner Julie Teckman reported within just a few weeks of installing one of the pods that it had been successful in deterring crime in her shop.

“They are quite big and noticeable, which you need so people know they are being watched,” Ms Teckman told the BBC. “It's more about feeling like there is something helping you prevent crime as a lot of our time is taken up watching out for shoplifters and stopping people from thieving.

“We have had to employ more staff and install cameras due to crime, so it is nice having the support of the pods.”

Following the new devices initial success, Northamptonshire’s police, fire and crime commissioner Daniella Stone has now agreed to fund a summer rollout of the pods.

The announcement comes after new official figures showed the number of shoplifting offences recorded in a single year by police in England and Wales exceeded half a million for the first time on record.

Police recorded 516,971 shoplifting offences in 2024 – a 20 per cent increase on the previous year, and the highest number recorded since modern record-keeping practices began in 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The British Retail Consortium also warned last month that retail crime was continuing to “spiral out of control”, with shop theft costing retailers more than £2.2bn a year.

The industry group cited a recent survey of major retailers suggesting that there are more than 20 million shoplifting incidents per year, most of which allegedly go unreported as shopkeepers “simply don’t have faith” that the police will take action.

In Northamptonshire, however, a new specialist police unit has reported a significant rise in the number of shoplifting offences “filed with a positive outcome” over the past year.

Corby’s town centre manager Dan Pickard said that the town had seen a 75 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour following a “massive peak” last year in which serious incidents rose from around 30 a month to 220 over a sustained four-month period.