Loss pattern review
Your losses mapped against footage, access records and till data to establish when and how theft is happening.
Theft Investigation
Advanced Overwatch investigates theft for businesses across Northern Ireland.
Stock shrinking, cash not balancing, tools disappearing: you know something is wrong but not who or how. We investigate theft using your existing footage, targeted covert deployment where justified, and evidence handling that lets you act on what we find. Available at any location.
Start with the records
you already hold.
Targeted evidence gathering
Existing CCTV reviewed forensically, supplemented by lawful covert deployment where the case justifies it.
Evidence package & support
A clear evidential package with continuity preserved, supporting HR action, insurance claims or police reports.
Who needs a theft investigation
Investigations start from a pattern rather than from a hunch. Stock counts that do not reconcile month after month. A till that is short on the same shifts. Fuel use that does not match the mileage. Tools that leave a van or a container with no forced lock. Waste that goes out heavier than it should. Refunds and voids clustered around one operator.
The organisations that come to us are usually the ones who have already looked at their own footage and cannot make sense of it, or who hold footage but have no way of tying it to a till record or a door event.
The work suits any setting where value moves and is recorded: retail, hospitality, wholesale, workshops, construction compounds, farms and haulage yards. It is also the right route where an allegation has been made against a named person and the organisation needs a fair, documented process rather than a rumour circulating around the site.
How an investigation runs
Scope, records, deployment where justified, evidence, handover and closure.
Scoping. A theft investigation begins by taking the history, agreeing what a good outcome looks like and recording in writing who inside the organisation knows the investigation is happening at all.
Data first. Existing footage, access control events, till and stock records and delivery paperwork are reviewed together, because the overlap between them is usually where the answer sits. This stage is often enough on its own.
Targeted deployment. Where the records narrow the question but cannot answer it, we deploy covert cameras under a written authorisation, limited to the area and the period the case justifies.
Evidence handling. Exports are taken with continuity preserved, other people are obscured where they appear, and every step is logged.
Handover. You get an evidence package and a written summary of what was done and found, in a form that supports an HR process, an insurance claim or a report to the police.
Close. Equipment is removed, retention is applied and the file is closed.
The law, questions to ask and what happens next
Investigations that use cameras or access records process personal data, so UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply throughout. The Information Commissioner’s Office guidance on CCTV and video surveillance sets out the transparency, necessity and proportionality tests a deployment has to pass, and its legitimate interests guidance covers the balancing test behind it. Where the outcome may affect an employee, the fairness of the process matters as much as the evidence, and the Labour Relations Agency publishes the Northern Ireland codes of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures that employers are expected to follow.
Worth asking any investigator: will they start with the records you already hold; will they write the authorisation before deploying anything; how are third parties in the footage handled; who holds the evidence and for how long; and will the package survive a challenge from a solicitor.
What happens next: book a confidential consultation. Tell us what is going missing, and we will map the fastest lawful route to an answer and give you a fixed quote after a free survey.
Theft investigations, your questions
How do theft investigations usually start?
With a pattern: stock counts that do not balance, till discrepancies or missing equipment. We start from your records and footage before deploying anything new.
Can you review footage from our existing system?
Yes. Forensic review of what you already record is often enough to answer the question, and it is the cheapest place to start.
What if the evidence points to a staff member?
We hand you a properly handled evidence package and, where useful, support your HR process so the outcome stands up to challenge.
Will the investigation stay confidential?
Yes. Investigations are handled discreetly with a named contact on your side and access to findings restricted to the people who need them.
Do you work with the police?
Where you choose to report, we prepare footage and records in the format police need, including redaction where other people appear.
Can you use footage from our existing cameras?
Usually yes, and it is the cheapest place to start. Where footage exists we review it against till, stock and door records before proposing anything new. The two limits we hit most often are retention periods that have already expired and camera positions that cannot identify a person, and the review tells you quickly which of those you are facing.
How long does an investigation take?
It depends on how much recorded data exists, how frequently the losses occur and whether a covert deployment is needed at all. A review of existing records can be a matter of days. A deployment waiting for a pattern to repeat takes as long as the pattern takes, which is why the scope carries a review date rather than an open ended commitment.
Will the evidence stand up in a disciplinary or in court?
That depends on how it was gathered as much as on what it shows. We write the authorisation first, keep export continuity, obscure people who are not part of the case and hand you a written account of what was done. Where you intend to report the matter, we prepare the material in the format the police ask for.
Discuss the losses
you need to understand.
Book a confidential theft investigation consultation with Advanced Overwatch.
Advanced Overwatch
Established in 2017, we design, install and maintain security systems. Advanced Overwatch is SSAIB certificated (NIRE127) specifically for Intruder Alarm Systems, Visual Surveillance Systems (VSS) and Access Control Systems. We operate our own 24-hour CCTV Monitoring Control Room. Intruder alarm monitoring is provided through our monitoring partner’s NSI Gold certified Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC).
Related pages
- Professional security services
- Covert CCTV
- Theft and shoplifting prevention