PCC funded app helps secure shoplifting sentences

Shoplifters in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have received a total of 414 months (34 years & 6 months) in custodial sentences, thanks to evidence from a crime-reporting app backed by Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones.

The UK Partners Against Crime (UKPAC) app was launched in the two counties by the PCC in June and has contributed towards four criminals being convicted and given a year or more of jail time.

One Hampshire offender was given 21 months in prison after UKPAC evidence helped convict them of 93 shoplifting crimes, 30 breaches of a Community Behaviour Order, two assaults on security guards and three failures to appear in court.

Lymington is one of the emerging areas enjoying the UKPAC impact, with retailers successfully tackling shoplifting in the town thanks to the crime fighting app. Retail offences in the New Forest town, where 31 shops have now signed up to UKPAC, have dropped from 16 in January and 15 in February, to just four in September and seven in October.

The PCC is providing £177,548 of funding to ensure that businesses across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight can access the app free of charge for their first year.

UKPAC has taken 54 reports from its members in Lymington so far, with a 100% investigation success rate. The app has also helped to charge and convict one offender of 29 offences, as well as identifying five known offenders travelling into the Lymington area.

Donna Jones visited Lymington to hear from store owners and local police officers about how the crime fighting tool has helped both in their battle against thefts from shops, while also engaging with other outlets who are yet to sign up.

PCC, Donna Jones, said: “I am delighted to see the positive impact that UKPAC has had in Lymington. The improved relationship and strong bond between traders and police is testament to how this initiative can help us to combat business crime.

“Since launching UKPAC in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight just over five months ago, we have had hundreds of businesses sign up and there are now well over a thousand business users of this app. More importantly, we are seeing the result of long custodial sentences for some of the worst offenders in our region, thanks to this initiative.

“I’m really impressed with the uptake that we have seen throughout Lymington, I think almost every other shop along the High Street has now signed up, but the most important thing for me is the feedback from the retailers themselves.

“Meeting with the owners of shops like Between the Lines and Perfumery & Co, where this app is working well, has been a useful insight to see how UKPAC helps staff to report crimes and be aware of other criminal activity in the town.

“They are telling me that they feel so much safer, because of having the app on their phone. They feel that they have a closer relationship with police officers, the Local Bobby and the PCSO’s.

“It feels to me, that policing in the town of Lymington has become stronger and better as a direct result of the UKPAC rollout here.

“Our message to shoplifters across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight is clear: with help from retailers, the police are coming after you!”

UKPAC gives retailers and their staff a quick and easy to use app, where they can log crimes and upload CCTV or pictures, without needing to call 101 each time. Using AI, it also links prolific offenders to other offences in other stores and other towns, giving police the evidence they need to catch offenders and put them before a court.

Gareth Lewis, Chairman of UKPAC, said: “The UKPAC membership in Lymington is a proactive and engaged community. Members have embraced the direct-to-police reporting model, which makes it easier for them to report crimes to the police and enables Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary to efficiently handle, process, and deliver effective outcomes based on the high-quality evidence provided.

“The successes in Lymington have seen us help to identify travelling offenders from neighbouring towns and cities who might otherwise have gone unnoticed. The police and the membership community have demonstrated their commitment to tackling business crime — working stronger together.”

The British Retail Consortium Crime Survey 2025 found that Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary provide the most effective police response to retail crime in the country.

It discovered that across the UK there were 20.4 million shoplifting incidents, accounting for £2.2 billion in business losses, but with only 10% of retail crime being reported to police, the actual figure would be much higher.

How does UKPAC work?

The platform provides businesses with a secure, online crime-reporting tool that is simple to use and fully compliant with data protection laws. The system uses smart technology and AI to track patterns of criminal behaviour, helping police identify repeat offenders, gather evidence, and take faster action against repeat offenders of shop theft and crimes against businesses.

UKPAC’s independent crime intelligence hub tracks repeat offenders across the two counties and beyond, linking crime reports and sending information back to police with supporting evidence for them to submit to court. It is saving thousands of police deployments and also means retailers don’t need to call 101 to report a crime.

UKPAC provides support for retailers, including advice on crime prevention and help with civil prosecutions as well as Dedicated Business Crime Liaison Officers (BCLOs) to improve communication between businesses and police.

To find out more about UKPAC, full details are available www.uk-pac.com