Crime app targets pub and club troublemakers

The app will allow pubs to highlight known offenders to each other and to police

A crime-fighting app which has helped police tackle shoplifting is being expanded to cover anti-social behaviour around pubs and clubs.

The UK Partners Against Crime (UKPAC) app allows shop owners to share information about known offenders with each other and the police.

The app will now be rolled out to night-time venues to help them identify and ban prolific troublemakers.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Donna Jones said the app had helped secure 45 years' worth of prison sentences for shoplifting offenders.

Shop staff began using UKPAC in June. The app allows them to report shoplifting and share information about offenders using their phones.

Information can then be passed on to police so they are able to target problem areas and track repeat offenders.

Steve Hudson, chairman of Portsmouth City Pubwatch, said violence and drug use were still issues pubs faced.

"I've been in the trade since 1986 and [that's] not changed, really," he said. "[The app] is about trying to make everything as safe as possible for everybody."

Steve Hudson, who runs two pubs in the city, say the app will make staff feel safer

Jamie Peckham, who runs the Painters Arms in Portsmouth, said he had not heard of the app but thought it was a good idea.

"If I know their face and that they could cause trouble, I can tell them to leave before they even get in here," he said.

"I have a good relationship with other pubs... if we share information with them, they'll share it with us."

Ms Jones said use of the app had saved nearly a month of police time.

"We've seen 66 high-profile, prolific offenders across our communities put before the courts," she said.

Shoplifting offences rose by 9% across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight for the year ending June 2025 compared to the previous 12 months, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Earlier this month the owner of a Southampton shop said shoplifting was a "big part" of why she closed after 50 years.