CIVIL RECOVERY IN THE UK >>

The National Programme

The National Programme consists of a group of major retailers under the umbrella of the British Retail Consortium, who have been working in partnership to develop a successful British civil recovery programme. A pilot scheme was run for 6 months in the West Midlands in 1998/9 and since then, the programme has been extended to include all majpr towns and cities in England and Wales. Court successes such as Tesco v Kular and HMV v Plummer have given a fresh impetus to the development of the programme.
There are 75 major retailers in the National Programme including ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury, HMV, Bhs, Debenhams, B&Q and Boots the Chemist. Any company can join the programme as long as they can meet its quality requirements.
The most likely amount demanded from a customer thief is between £60 and £150. Wrongdoers are also reported to the police for criminal action. Civil recovery is also used against staff offenders.
A set of procedures or standards has been agreed with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Scotland
The National Programme is now running under Scots law across the whole of Scotland.

Northern Ireland
The scheme was rolled at into Northern Ireland at the end of 2002 by the National Programme, initially mainly against staff thieves.

Eire
The use of civil recovery in the Republic of Ireland is expected in start in 2003 with the support of the National Programme.

Future Prospects
A number of major companies in logistics, catering, and telecommunications have joined the National Civil Recovery Programme to make use of civil recovery and this area is expected to grow further.

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