Stores Roll Out Employee Body Cameras as Retail Crime Precaution
Retail crime is on the rise—and flash mobs, smash-and-grabs and even everyday instances of shoplifting are becoming more violent.
With the trend accelerating, retail workers are more concerned with the safety of their workplaces than they have been in years past. In fact, according to a recent survey from Lotis Blue Consulting, strong health and safety measures make employees 68 percent more likely to stay with their employer—a 10-percent jump from 2022.
More from Sourcing Journal
According to recent research from Axonify, a retail technology solutions provider for frontline employees, 40 percent of retail workers are afraid to go to work due to hostile or threatening situations. Half of the 1,000 employees polled said they had witnessed a theft in person during their tenure.
With these concerns as a backdrop, retailers are looking at new ways not only to deter theft, but protect their workforces.
Axonify data showed that 28 percent of workers have turned a blind eye to shoplifting or attempted theft, and 36 percent said they did so because they didn’t feel properly equipped to manage the situation.
Locking up merchandise and employing private security have failed to address the issue, and that’s where body cameras come into play.
Often used by police officers in the field of duty, the technology is increasingly gaining traction as a means of monitoring retail employees’ safety.
Earlier this year, public safety technology firm Axon released a new generation of body cameras specifically designed for frontline workers in the retail and healthcare fields. According to the company, which debuted its Axon Body Workforce camera in January in the U.S., Australia, Canada, the EU and the U.K., the cameras can help deter and de-escalate incidents, support employees in real time, and aid law enforcement in theft investigations.
The cameras don’t just capture high-resolution video of consumer interactions and goings on in stores, they also serve as communications tools when a worker is in trouble. Live capabilities allow employees to call for help in real time. Meanwhile, video footage can be shared both internally and externally with law enforcement, district attorneys and other stakeholders.
Former Chief of the Dallas Police Department Renee Hall said a body-worn camera “is not only useful for promoting frontline workers’ safety, but also aids law enforcement agencies responding to the recent rise in violence in healthcare, retail and other commercial settings by providing easily accessible digital evidence.”
With about 85 percent of frontline managers surveyed by Axonify saying they believe theft and customer violence are growing industry issues, technology providers are picking up the mantle with tools for the sector.
Motorola Solutions dropped its VT100 body-worn camera several years ago, with British retailer Co-op among the first to roll out the technology across dozens of its locations. One of the U.K.’s biggest store chains, Co-op said its employees saw 1,350 attacks during the first six months of 2020, prompting the adoption of cameras as a safety measure in 250 stores.
The lightweight device is attached to a store worker’s uniform and is activated with the push of a button when an employee feels threatened. The V100 enables a livestream of the incident to be shared with the retailer’s security operations center. Trained personnel can also access the footage and contact police when necessary.
Last fall, the U.K.’s largest retailer, Tesco, rolled out body cameras during a spike in physical assaults of retail workers. The group’s CEO, Ken Murphy, in September revealed that over 200 Tesco employees are victims of serious physical assaults every month.
Meanwhile, last week, Woolworths stores in New Zealand implemented body cameras across all doors after locations in the country saw a 75-percent increase in physical assaults—and a 148-percent rise in serious reportable incidents—over the course of the past three years.
In a statement, the retailer’s director of stores, Jason Stockill, said the rollout was a part of Woolworths $41 million security measures investment program. Cameras are to be turned on only during instances when store workers feel unsafe, and customers will be informed that they are being recorded, the retailer said.
“Our team deserves to feel safe coming to work every day and what they’re dealing with is unacceptable,” he said. “While 99 percent of people walking through our door are great and treat our team well, every day our team across the country are still experiencing instances of abuse and aggression from shoplifters and other offenders.”
