Security Staff Capture Thieves With The Help Of Sorair Technologies

ASEL security staff capture van thieves on Newcastle retail estate with the help of the Police, & Sorair Technologies.

ASEL security staff at Team Valley capture 3 van thieves with the help of the police and Sorair Technologies. The Police commended the Team Valley ASEL team for their ability to get a drone up in the air quickly to respond to the situation occurring on-site.

“The best part about utilising the DJI dock drone and the Soranet in situations like this is the ability to keep security staff, like myself, away from dangerous situations/risk whilst being able to monitor the current onsite activities. We are more than happy to engage threats onsite, but the drone enables us to plan and coordinate confrontations better.” – Derek Graham, Team Valley Watch Officer, ASEL (Argenbright Security Europe Limited).

Background on Sorair and ASEL’s partnership

Sorair Technologies and ASEL had first contact in early 2023, where the idea of using drone-in-a-box systems, AI technology and smart sensors for commercial security purposes was merely an idea. 

From 2023, Sorair and ASEL have been working together to deliver collaborative security solutions to industrial companies across the UK and Europe.

In November 2024, Sorair Technologies installed its autonomous surveillance system on a retail estate in Newcastle, and ASEL started utilising this new technology to enhance current security operations. 

With only 2 months of operations, ASEL’s security team clocked in over 22 hrs of total flight time using the Soranet™  system.

Quiet morning, typical British day (Weather included…)

On the morning of the incident, Team Valley was quiet. Couriers were entering and leaving the park, and people were visiting their favourite retail shops as usual… A smooth-sailing, typical British day for the ASEL team.

In the afternoon, alarms and alerts went off in response to a report that someone was stealing a van on-site. The ASEL ‘Team Valley Watch’ team were notified alongside the police about the situation at hand.

Upon receiving this trigger, the ASEL team utilised their various CCTV towers to spot the criminal. Within 10 minutes of the search, they had found the perpetrators.

The culprits had driven over junctions, crashing through cars and barriers.

Perpetrator at large

The ASEL team deployed a DJI Dock 2 drone-in-a-box system using Sorair’s autonomous surveillance system – the Soranet™  (https://enterprise.dji.com/dock-2) in response to coordinate how to effectively confront the threat, whilst providing sufficient aerial coverage and information for the police and other guards on site. The Soranet™  system launches a drone in the air within seconds of being issued the command by the Team Valley Watch guards.

The police arrived at the scene as the drone was deployed. Whilst the culprits were still trying to escape, the valley watch team members communicated with the police during this time to ensure the police did not miss the perpetrators. As the police vehicles engaged the threat, the threat became more erratic and uncontrolled.

A police car plus another civilian car were crashed into during the culprits’ attempted escape, which resulted in the stolen van being totalled and unable to move.

Incident resolution

The 3 culprits were then confronted by the police and thus arrested for their crimes.

The police were attentive and quick to respond in this situation, and had great communication with the Valley Watch team to catch the culprit who was at large.

Cooperation and communication are the best strategies for capturing culprits at large; cooperation between security guards, technology and estate managers.