darkfieldby Linox Vision Lab
Storefronts and parking at a British retail park.

Retail crime

One incident inside.
A bigger picture outside.

Get alerts for possible repeat visits and connect store incidents to the car park. Darkfield gathers the evidence without adding another screen to watch.

See how Darkfield helps

Let’s talk about your site.

We’ll help you plan the cameras, coverage and response.

Your contact details

Linox Ltd uses your details to reply to your enquiry. Read our Privacy Policy. Please don’t include footage or sensitive incident details. Your enquiry is delivered through Web3Forms.

Retail crime doesn’t end at the till.

507,086

shoplifting offences recorded in a year.

ONS · Police-recorded crimeEngland & Wales · year ending March 2026
29,669

robberies of business property recorded in a year.

ONS · Police-recorded crimeEngland & Wales · year ending March 2026

Business-property robbery covers businesses generally, not only retailers. Changes to police recording guidance from April 2025 affect comparisons with earlier years.

Spot the event.
Start the response.

Follow the incident beyond the shop floor.

Connect a store report to exit footage and vehicle sightings. Your team gets the relevant visit in one record.

SCENARIO 05/Organised retail crime
High-mounted CCTV-style night view of a hooded adult leaving a convenience store with a holdall while another is at a hatchback's open boot in marked forecourt parking bays.
Moorfield retail parade · Customer parking14 SEP 2026 · 22:32:16 BST

Hover to explore, or drag for precision. On touchscreens swipe sideways. Focus the scene and use arrow keys to adjust, Home to centre, Space to pause pointer movement. Hover a point to preview its observation; move away to dismiss. Click, tap or focus a point to keep its card open without stopping the scene. From a focused point, arrow keys select another point and Tab enters its card. Escape closes it.

One stationary scene. Only the viewpoint changes.Human review required

Find patterns across reports.

Compare descriptions, times and earlier reports across authorised sites. Review possible repeat visits or linked vehicles alongside the source clips.

Incident timeline
  1. Vehicle arrives outside the store

    A white hatchback parks near the exit. A person in a white hoodie and white trousers walks into the shop.

  2. Staff report a theft

    A staff member reports a person matching that description leaving with unpaid goods.

  3. Person returns to the waiting car

    The person gets into the white hatchback carrying two bags. The car leaves the site.

Clips and timings gathered automatically.

Support staff when a problem returns.

Set the response: log the event, alert your team or dispatch an optional mobile patrol. Require a check before dispatch if needed; Darkfield keeps the clips, timeline and outcome together.

For covered sites, the target is arrival within 10 minutes of dispatch, not a guarantee. Agree coverage and response arrangements for your location.

Private security officer beside a patrol car at the entrance to a British residential development at dusk.
Flagged return or high-risk incident
Your rules set the response
  • Save the event

    Log the event without an alert.

  • Notify your team

    Send the clip, location and context.

  • Dispatch mobile security

    Send an optional patrol under your agreed rules.

Patrols are optional, subject to coverage and charged separately; your rules decide when to dispatch.

More ways to put cameras to work.

Elevated view across the parking spaces of a British apartment development.

Parking lot security

Get alerts on vehicle interference and unusual access.

Night-time view of a person beside a parked car on a British residential site.

Vehicle theft

Flag vehicle interference and link sightings for review.

A person marking a wall on a managed property at night.

Anti-social behaviour & vandalism

Flag damage, nuisance and persistent loitering for review.

Elevated view of two adults entering a British accommodation building.

Trespassing & burglary

Get entry alerts and link the approach, entry and exit.

FAQs

Quick answers to help you plan.

Browse all FAQs

Retail crime

Will staff know when a known suspect returns to our store?

Yes. Add a person from reviewed incident footage, or a vehicle, to your alert list; a possible return match alerts security with the earlier report so staff can check it and follow the agreed response.

What happens when an incident is detected?

Darkfield gathers the clips and timeline into one report, then saves it, alerts your team or sends it to mobile security under your agreed rules. Share the report with police or community protection teams when appropriate.

Can Darkfield send security to a site without a guard?

Yes. Add mobile security response to Darkfield AI monitoring. A patrol can be dispatched automatically or after a check, depending on your agreed workflow. Coverage spans 99.8% of UK postcodes. We confirm local cover and response arrangements for your address before activation. For covered sites, the target is arrival within 10 minutes of dispatch; arrival is not guaranteed. Traffic, weather and incident conditions can affect it.

Technology

What do Darkfield cameras actually capture?

Cameras capture people, vehicles and readable plates; Darkfield searches visible details and activity, such as standing by a wall or spraying graffiti. Clothing, vehicle features and colours depend on the view and lighting, and a visual match is not proof of identity.

Can I use Darkfield with existing IP cameras?

It depends on the camera model: reliable plate capture needs specialised cameras, and some models have limited integration options. Send the make and model so we can confirm supported features.

How does Darkfield get better?

Your feedback helps Darkfield recognise routine arrivals, deliveries and other site activity. Confirm an event or correct a decision to help reduce repeated unnecessary alerts.

Value

What is included in the subscription?

The supplied-camera service covers survey, installation, cameras, software, maintenance and faulty-camera replacement. Your proposal sets hosting, integrations and storage charges; mobile security is an optional add-on, charged per genuine-incident call-out, and keyholding is separate.

Why a subscription rather than a one-off camera purchase?

The camera subscription keeps the network working after installation, covering connection, software, maintenance and camera replacement. Your proposal sets out hosting, integration, storage and optional response costs.

How should we compare the cost with traditional CCTV?

Compare equipment, installation, monitoring, servicing, repairs and replacement, without counting staff time already covered by monitoring twice. Our calculator compares camera-service costs; hosting, integrations, storage and optional response are scoped separately in your proposal.

Can we start with one problem and expand later?

Yes. Start with one entrance, car park or recurring problem, then add coverage as your needs grow. We assess each location without asking you to replace everything.

Implementation

What happens when we sign up?

One point of contact helps you agree cameras, hosting, recording, access and permitted actions. We install and test any supplied cameras, then your team reviews the rules and approval steps before activation.

Who installs the cameras and chooses the positions?

We handle survey, installation and sign-off. We agree the views and mounting points with you, starting with entrances, exits and the areas that need attention.

Do you need mains power or access to our IT network?

Our solar site cameras use LTE, without new power cables or access to your IT network; we check daylight, mobile coverage and mounting first. Doorbells, drone docks and other equipment have separate requirements confirmed in your site plan.

Do I need to be there for installation?

No. We agree access and camera positions beforehand and tell you when the installers will arrive; you are welcome to meet them.

What happens after the cameras are installed?

We check views, image quality, charging and connection, and adjust camera positions where needed. Billing and user access begin after validation; maintenance and replacement cover starts at installation.

Operations

What happens if a camera breaks, is damaged or is stolen?

We monitor camera health and send a team member when an on-site fix is needed. Maintenance and replacement of faulty, damaged or stolen cameras are included in the service.

Who gets notified when something happens?

You choose the contacts and response rules during setup. Darkfield can save the event, alert your team or dispatch mobile security under the agreed workflow, with clips, times and location attached.

How do we learn to use Darkfield?

Ask the Darkfield assistant for everyday tasks. Videos, guides and training through your point of contact help your team use more advanced features.

Who do we contact for help?

Contact your Darkfield point of contact for help with cameras, software or the service. They know your site and can bring in the wider team.

Security

Who can see our footage and incident records?

Only authorised users can see footage, with access limited by site and role and supported by audit logs. You set permissions for your team, support and integrations; sharing one incident does not give access to the rest of your cameras.

How long does Darkfield keep data?

Events and short evidence clips stay for 30 days by default. Keep recordings, events and evidence for years where needed, with an agreed purpose and enough storage. Continuous recording, capacity, retention and costs are set per deployment. Search covers retained footage and observations; years of storage are not included in every plan.

Where is the data stored, and is it secure?

Run Darkfield on your premises or in your private cloud. Or choose managed hosting on a dedicated, isolated UK instance. We agree storage locations and outbound connections; data is encrypted in transit and at rest, with access for authorised users only. See the Security Whitepaper for details.

How does Darkfield approach data protection?

Darkfield supports UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018; Linox Ltd is ICO-registered under ZC175057, which is not certification of your installation. The DPA sets out our responsibilities and yours, including camera purpose, notices, access and retention.

Can we share an incident with police or community protection teams?

Yes. Share a report with relevant clips, times and an incident summary with authorised recipients, including police, without opening access to every camera; supported sharing links have access controls and expiry.

Put your cameras
to work.

What should your cameras do? We’ll help plan the alerts, actions and records your team needs.

Discuss your deployment