Retail Crime Fusion Cell: vendor information session
2pm – 5pm10 July 2026
London and online
techUK, 10 St Bride Street, London, EC4A 4AD
The session aims to provide an open forum to discuss the proposed Retail Crime Fusion Cell.
The project sits under the Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy held by Merseyside Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss who is the National Police Chiefs Council lead for Retail Crime. The strategy delivery is being managed by the National Business Crime Centre with the Fusion Cell functionality sitting in Opal, the National Intelligence Unit for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime.
The session will be run jointly by NBCC and Opal aiming to:
Discuss the aims for the Fusion Cell
Provide an overview of our current position within the process
Discuss the system requirements providing any wider contextual information helpful to interested vendors
Provide an open form for questions and discussion
Although the session is an open form, it is intended for those who are genuinely considering involvement in the tender process for the Fusion Cell. This is NOT a general information session for interested parties.If you would like to attend the session, in no more than 100 words please explain your interest in the session and reason for attendance. Please submit this by COP 30 June.
Following confirmation of your attendance you will receive our system requirements with time to review in advance of the meeting.
Disclaimer: Please note although the session is being hosted by TechUK, they are acting impartially to support this exploratory session. There is no requirement to be a TechUK member to attend nor is there any benefit to any participating parties of being a TechUK member.
Background:
Retail crime has a significant impact on society; however, knowledge of the threat picture remains limited. Opal holds the largest national repository of retail crime incident data which evidences that only 19% of retail crime is reported to Police.
The Fusion Cell will act the central pillar of the TRCT strategy feeding into and dynamically developing from the surrounding strategy pillars ensuring the approach remains driven by intelligence and data. It will build upon the data held by Opal to become the richest single source of retail crime data and intelligence bringing together data from police forces and industry partners to demonstrate the true nature and scale of retail crime enabling an improved response to crime prioritising safeguarding of individuals.
The Fusion Cell will provide a self-service interactive portal accessible to police and industry partners supplying strategic, tactical, and operational insights in a range of areas including crime levels, methodologies, trends, high-harm locations, and the identification of linked offending. The range of insights will continue to expand as the Fusion Cell grows and connects with more partners strengthening information sources to offer predictive insights empowering partners in their creation of proactive strategies to combat retail crime.
In addition, the Fusion Cell will have the capability to facilitate links between other systems used across industry partners with strict information security controls to maximise collaboration opportunities to detect and prevent offending supporting both offender management strategies for prolific offenders and disruption strategies for organised crime groups. It is important to note that the Fusion Cells aims to maximise and enhance current functionalities and capabilities across retail and policing partners and is not intended to replicate or replace any existing capabilities.
Core features of the model include:
Ingestion of a wide range of data from multiple sources
Connectivity to other systems to push and pull data between sources.
Ability to cleanse, sort and categorise the data.
Use of customisable analytical tools creating automation where possible with a focus on predictive analysis
Accessible and easy to use stakeholder portal for use by police and industry partners.
Incorporation of a facial matching tool to support improved identification and linking of offenders
Case management tool for use by the Opal team with the capability to interact with the stakeholder portal.
Ability to incorporate adaptations in existing functionality and the development of new functionality as technology, threats and demand evolve.
Dave Evans
Head of Programme - Justice and Emergency Services and Economic Crime Lead, techUK
Dave Evans
Head of Programme - Justice and Emergency Services and Economic Crime Lead, techUK
Dave is a former senior police officer with the City of London Police, bringing extensive experience as a Detective and senior leader across frontline operations and multi-agency partnerships at regional and national levels.
He has led and supported responses to major national incidents, including mass casualty events, counter-terrorism operations and large-scale public disorder, working closely with partners across the criminal justice sector.
Alongside his public service, Dave has also held leadership roles in the private sector, managing projects focused on intellectual property and licensing. His combined experience across both sectors gives him a deep understanding of how collaboration between service providers and end users can strengthen resilience and trust.
Cinzia joined techUK in August 2023 as the Justice and Emergency Services (JES) Programme Manager.
The JES programme represents suppliers, championing their interests in the blue light and criminal justice markets, whether they are established entities or newcomers seeking to establish their presence.
Prior to joining techUK, Cinzia worked in the third and public sectors, managing projects related to international trade and social inclusion.
Junior Programme Manager - Justice and Emergency Services, techUK
Fran Richiusa
Junior Programme Manager - Justice and Emergency Services, techUK
Fran is the Junior Programme Manager for the Justice and Emergency Services (JES) Programme.
In this role she supports project delivery, stakeholder engagement, and policy development across portfolios including law enforcement, justice, and the fire sector.
Fran joined techUK in May 2025 as a Programme Team Assistant for the Public Sector Markets Programmes before progressing to her current role.
Prior to joining techUK, she gained experience working across local government and VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) charities, where she developed a deep understanding of public service and advocacy.
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Head of Programme - Justice and Emergency Services and Economic Crime Lead, techUK
Dave Evans
Head of Programme - Justice and Emergency Services and Economic Crime Lead, techUK
Dave is a former senior police officer with the City of London Police, bringing extensive experience as a Detective and senior leader across frontline operations and multi-agency partnerships at regional and national levels.
He has led and supported responses to major national incidents, including mass casualty events, counter-terrorism operations and large-scale public disorder, working closely with partners across the criminal justice sector.
Alongside his public service, Dave has also held leadership roles in the private sector, managing projects focused on intellectual property and licensing. His combined experience across both sectors gives him a deep understanding of how collaboration between service providers and end users can strengthen resilience and trust.
Cinzia joined techUK in August 2023 as the Justice and Emergency Services (JES) Programme Manager.
The JES programme represents suppliers, championing their interests in the blue light and criminal justice markets, whether they are established entities or newcomers seeking to establish their presence.
Prior to joining techUK, Cinzia worked in the third and public sectors, managing projects related to international trade and social inclusion.
Junior Programme Manager - Justice and Emergency Services, techUK
Fran Richiusa
Junior Programme Manager - Justice and Emergency Services, techUK
Fran is the Junior Programme Manager for the Justice and Emergency Services (JES) Programme.
In this role she supports project delivery, stakeholder engagement, and policy development across portfolios including law enforcement, justice, and the fire sector.
Fran joined techUK in May 2025 as a Programme Team Assistant for the Public Sector Markets Programmes before progressing to her current role.
Prior to joining techUK, she gained experience working across local government and VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) charities, where she developed a deep understanding of public service and advocacy.
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