Tesco has launched a new 24-hour, 365 day-manned security hub, marking the latest step in its crackdown on rising shoplifting and retail crime.

The UK’s leading supermarket has opened the new facility at its recently refurbished security centre in Daventry, Northamptonshire, with an aim to track down criminals targeting its stores.

Staff employed at the facility will be in charge of analysing thousands of hours of CCTV footage, with the centre also employing a dedicated team of experts to operate 24 hours a day, all year round.

It added that the new hub will share its intelligence and collaborate with police forces across the country.

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Tesco has also started the search for its specialist Daventry team, posting job adverts for the role of ‘HUB Operator’. It cited the “fast paced role” needing staff to “review CCTV and data to identify suspicious activity for a set number of stores and collate your findings into comprehensive case files”, The Grocer reported.

Among other responsibilities included in the description, the supermarket giant said candidates will ideally hold experience of data manipulation or CCTV review.

Tesco said the multimillion-pound site is designed to keep staff and customers safe, and comes as part of its major investment into tackling retail crime. Other initiatives in the past have included body worn cameras, security robots placed at entrances, 4ft smoke machines and security tags on products including milk cartoons and chicken.

A Tesco spokesperson told Grocery Gazette: “Our colleagues work hard to serve our customers every day, and every member of our team deserves to feel safe at work.

“We continue to invest in the latest technology, resources and training for our expert team in our Security Hub. This team is dedicated to joining up evidence and supporting the police to tackle crime, helping to keep our colleagues and customers safe.”

It follows fellow supermarkets employing a raft of measures in their own attempt to suppress the rise of retail crime. Last year, Morrisons deployed portable ‘RoboCop’ style security cameras along its alcohol aisle in a trial that sparked backlash among some shoppers, who claimed the new devices left them feeling “like a criminal”.

In November, the crime and policing minister unveiled the government’s much awaited plan to reverse the current £200 threshold in its shoplifting charter, to better tackle the rise in retail crime.