Security guards for shops and retail

Visible or discreet A deterrent presence at the entrance, or plain-clothes surveillance in high-risk aisles. Alternating between the two often works best.

Reinforcements for peak periods Sales, the festive season, clearance events: the busiest periods are also when shrinkage spikes.

Support for your staff Your sales staff are not there to confront a thief. The officer takes on that role and protects them legally as much as physically.

A strict legal framework What an officer can and cannot do is precisely defined. We train our officers never to expose you to risk.

01 · Duties

What an officer does in store

Deterrence makes up most of the job. Apprehension is the exception, and it follows strict rules.

Checkout surveillance

A post at the checkout exit, visually monitoring customers as they pass, spotting unscanned items and concealed goods. The most cost-effective post in a supermarket.

Deterrent presence on the shop floor

Patrols through the aisles, a visible presence in high-value zones: spirits, perfumery, power tools, small electronics, meat.

Supporting your staff

Backing up staff when a customer becomes aggressive, presence during opening and closing, escorting staff to the car park at unsociable hours.

Managing queues and footfall

Regulating entry during peak periods, opening and closing the shop, directing customers during exceptionally busy periods.

Securing internal transfers

Presence during cash collections, stocktaking and deliveries to the stockroom — the moments when the shop is most exposed.

Incident record-keeping

A written report for every incident, usable internally, with your insurer, or in any legal proceedings.

02 · Sizing

How we plan a retail security setup

The right question is not "how many hours of security cover" but "at what times and in which areas".

Your shrinkage figures

If you have a shrinkage rate by department, it immediately shapes the plan. If not, a few weeks of observation gives us the same information.

Your shop layout

Number of exits, visibility from the tills, blind spots, fitting rooms, stockrooms accessible from the shop floor. These blind spots are where theft concentrates.

Your actual time slots

Late afternoons, Saturdays and promotional periods are not alike. Concentrating staff presence in the right slots works better than spreading it thin.

How this fits with CCTV

CCTV alone doesn't deter much, but it provides evidence. The officer witnesses, the camera documents: the two complement each other.

03 · Real-world examples

Three retail formats

Large supermarket

Permanent checkout post

A fixed post at the checkout exit during busy periods, supplemented by patrols through high-value aisles. Return on investment is measured against the shrinkage rate.

City-centre boutique

Presence during targeted slots

A few hours on Saturdays and during the sales are often enough. A visible officer at the entrance of a shop radically changes the behaviour of opportunistic thieves.

Shopping centre

Footfall and anti-social behaviour

The issue goes beyond theft: groups gathering, anti-social behaviour, staff safety at closing time. The arrangement is shared between retailers where possible.

04 · Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about retail security.

The questions that come up most before booking this service. If yours isn't here, ask us: reply within 24 working hours.

Can a security guard search a customer's bag?

No, not a search as such. The officer may offer a visual inspection of the bag, which the customer is free to refuse: the customer shows the contents and the officer looks without touching. Any handling of the bag without consent is illegal.

If the customer refuses and there are clear grounds for suspicion, the only option is to call the police. An officer who oversteps these limits puts you at risk as much as themselves.

Can your officers apprehend a thief?

Only within the strict framework of a citizen's arrest for an offence caught in the act, which French law allows any person to carry out, and solely in order to hand the offender over to a police officer. This requires the offence to be caught in the act, and to be a serious crime or offence — not a mere suspicion.

Our officers are trained in this framework. When in doubt, the instruction is not to apprehend and to let the person go: a dispute over wrongful apprehension costs far more than a stolen item.

Should an officer be in uniform or plain clothes?

A visible uniform deters: it cuts opportunistic theft, which accounts for most cases. Plain clothes detect: they help identify organised offenders, who spot a uniformed officer instantly.

The most effective combination alternates unpredictably between the two, rather than sticking to one mode.

Do you only work during sales periods?

Yes, without any difficulty. Seasonal reinforcements — sales, the festive season, clearance events, new shop openings — make up a significant share of our retail work. One-off quotes, no obligation.

05 · Where we operate