Pre-owned tech retailer CeX rolls out Auror in UK stores to put colleague safety first. July 23, 2026 Leading refurbished tech and entertainment retailer CeX has partnered with global retail crime intelligence company Auror to roll out the crime reporting platform to its 390 UK stores, which is already having a significant impact on the safety of frontline colleagues. The Auror platform allows colleagues to record instances of crime in a consistent and secure way - giving CeX the intelligence needed to identify top offenders, make more informed decisions to protect their people and manage risk across their estates, and collaborate with police to investigate the most serious offenders. CeX Head of Loss Prevention Derrick Gough said the second-hand retail sector faces a different set of risks that can often be misunderstood or overlooked. "Because much of our stock isn't sitting out on the shop floor, the crime we see is rarely ordinary shoplifting," he said. "It's a phone snatched when someone asks to see a device, it's robberies, and unfortunately it's threats to its colleagues in escalated situations. Those moments are frightening for its teams. Their wellbeing is its top priority. "Auror has given us a consistent way to record what's happened and surface the repeat offenders behind it - in fact, a prolific cross-country offender linked to £48,000 of stolen products at CeX was arrested following their last theft attempt in Edmonton." Auror GM UK & Europe Mark Gleeson said it's fantastic to partner with a retailer like CeX, made up of passionate people who are extremely motivated to keep their people safe, and address violent and organised retail crime across the UK. "While the nature of risk is different from retailer to retailer, the consistent trend across the whole sector is that 70 per cent of crime in retail settings is driven by the top 10 per cent of repeat offenders, and those same offenders are up to four times more likely to be violent," he said. "The sector cannot get on top of this problem alone. When committed retailers, like CeX, appreciate the value of working together then every store in that network becomes safer and they can understand who the top high-harm offenders are because offenders are not brand-loyal and do not respect jurisdictional boundaries." Earlier this year, retailers connected the dots using Auror to link a prolific organised offender to more than £144,000 of stolen products across 73 crime events in 38 stores, and reported this information to police. About Auror Auror is a global software company that provides a retail crime intelligence platform to the world's leading retailers to record potential crime in their stores after it occurs, better collaborate with law enforcement on crime, and create safer stores for all. Auror allows retailers to record events in a secure and structured way, helping them connect the dots to identify prolific and organised offenders. This information empowers retailers to make informed decisions to protect their people, customers, and property, and address the large scale of retail crime impacting its communities. Globally, Auror is used by more than 85,000 retail stores and in more than 3,500 law enforcement agencies across North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Get the latest retail industry news straight to your inbox each month. Media contacts. Auror Media Relations Get in touch. For all media inquiries, or to connect with a thought leader, please contact Auror Limited.

Auror expands UK facial recognition rollout for violent retail offenders. Auror has rolled out a new facial recognition system in UK stores that aims to reduce violent retail crime by giving staff real-time alerts about known high-harm offenders. Auror Subject Recognition uses retailers' existing crime data and applies facial recognition solely for crime prevention and store safety, with retailer-controlled watchlists, human oversight and governance controls designed to limit how biometric data is used. The New Zealand company introduced Subject Recognition in November 2005, with the system designed to avoid creating broad surveillance databases. Nick McDonnell, Auror's global VP of trust and safety, says the technology gives staff crucial context about individuals who have previously been violent or used weapons, helping them respond safely. "It's great to partner with leading UK retailers to help keep their stores safe using this technology," he says. "Retailers know how important it is to retain responsibility and control of their own information, and to know where the data they collect about crime ends up." Watchlists are built only from a retailer's own records of serious offending, cannot be merged with other organizations, and exclude sensitive attributes such as race or religion. Auror says the system cannot be used for profiling, tracking or marketing, and police cannot access retailers' lists. Retailers can audit alerts and outcomes through built-in transparency tools. Non-matches are deleted instantly, biometric templates are not stored in the cloud, and humans verify key decisions. McDonnell stresses that strong governance is essential to ensure the technology is used only for crime prevention and does not undermine public trust. Pilot deployments overseas have shown sharp reductions in serious incidents, with most verified alerts preventing further harm. Auror's UK data indicates a small group of repeat offenders drives the majority of retail crime, while violence in stores has risen 13 percent this year. Earlier this year, Tesco announced a trial of Auror's platform. The UK supermarket chain used Auror's crime reporting platform across 40 of its stores to collect CCTV footage of serious incidents and theft for review by trained professionals at the Tesco Security Hub where biometric suspect identification could be applied. Auror enters an increasingly competitive UK retail security market. Rival Facewatch is trialing live facial recognition with Sainsbury's and other retailers, sending an average of 1,415 alerts a day. In the U.S., Auror competes with SAFR Guard, whose facial recognition technology has been deployed by retailers to identify suspected shoplifters. Award and child safety partnership. Auror and its Subject Recognition solution has been recognized for its approach to responsible facial recognition in retail, winning the Loss Prevention Research Council's New Conceptual Solutions Award at NRF PROTECT 2026. CTO James Corbett said the award reflects growing confidence that facial recognition can be deployed responsibly to protect frontline workers. The LPRC said this year's winners highlight how collaboration and innovation are helping retailers respond to rising levels of organized and violent crime. "Our awards are voted on by retailers, providing a meaningful opportunity for organizations to receive recognition for their innovative approach to loss prevention and keeping stores safe," said Dr. Justin Smith, senior research scientist, Loss Prevention Research Council. "Congratulations to Auror for being honored in the New Conceptual Solutions category by our retail members." Auror also announced a partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to support AMBER Alerts through real-time licence plate recognition. Retailers using Auror's platform can opt in to receive instant notifications when vehicles linked to active child abduction cases appear on their sites, replacing the manual distribution of licence plate lists. Article topics. Latest biometrics news. Jul 22, 2026, 5:32 pm EDT Speaking at a recent Cybersecurity Connections event hosted by NIST and the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE), Ryan Galluzzo,... Jul 22, 2026, 5:07 pm EDT Regula's newest global study suggests biometrics may be the most trusted form of identity verification, but trust is far from... Jul 22, 2026, 4:44 pm EDT European road safety rules are being tightened and the changes could give biometric driver-monitoring technologies a significant boost. From 7... Jul 22, 2026, 3:58 pm EDT U.S. Rep. 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Auror joins forces with child protection organization to enable real-time AMBER Alerts for retailers. Opt-in feature for U.S. retailers uses license plate recognition (LPR) to detect vehicles associated with serious child abduction cases. July 17, 2026 05:59 PM Sponsored by DENVER - Global retail crime intelligence platform Auror announced today that it has partnered with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to enable real-time license plate recognition (LPR) notifications to surface vehicles associated with the most serious child abduction cases nationwide. U.S. retailers on the Auror platform are now empowered to opt in for detection notifications to assist law enforcement during active AMBER Alerts. Auror is used by many of the largest retailers in the U.S. to securely record crimes and to identify repeat, violent and organized offenders. "Nothing is more important than the safety of children," Auror Head of Law Enforcement for the Americas and former Deputy Assistant Director of Homeland Security Investigations Raul Aguilar said. "It's a privilege to work with the Auror retailer community to connect them with the incredible work done by NCMEC. While retail connects us all and is the heart of our communities, the unfortunate reality is that serious crime can also find its way through retail settings, so our network has a unique opportunity to support the community to protect children. We know that immediate action is critical when AMBER Alerts are issued, and technology has an important role to play in helping retailers make that connection and notify law enforcement even faster." License plate numbers associated with AMBER Alerts are sent from police to NCMEC and then immediately linked into the Auror platform, allowing retailers with LPR capabilities at their sites to detect those vehicles of interest instantly. Once a vehicle is surfaced, the retailer can then contact police. Historically, retailers would manually print out the lists of license plate numbers or posters associated with AMBER Alerts. In a recent case, a Texas retailer used the Auror platform to support a police investigation into a case involving a male attempting to coerce a minor into his vehicle. The associated vehicle had been circling the parking lot throughout the day prior to the incident. "Every minute matters when a child has been abducted," said John Bischoff, vice president of NCMEC's Missing Children Division. "Our partnership with Auror allows critical information to reach retail locations where an abductor may stop, creating valuable opportunities to identify a missing child's location so they can be safely recovered. By connecting technology, businesses and communities in new ways, we're strengthening our collective ability to respond quickly when a child's life may be at risk. We're incredibly grateful for innovative partners like Auror who share our commitment to protecting children." Get your 2-minute public safety briefing, every week. The SitRep delivers the latest industry news, growth signals and policy updates - all in one quick read. No spam. Just one weekly briefing.