Sainsbury’s is expanding its use of facial recognition cameras to up to 150 more supermarkets before Christmas as it steps up efforts to tackle shoplifting and abuse against staff.
The company already has the AI-powered Facewatch system live in 55 stores, following earlier trials in Sydenham and Bath Oldfield Park.
The technology alerts trained store colleagues when someone who has previously been involved in violence, aggression or theft is identified entering a participating branch.
Sainsbury’s said all alerts are reviewed by people before any action is taken, while images of shoppers who are not matched are deleted instantly.
The company previously said the system has a 99.98 per cent accuracy rate and is not used to monitor everyday customers or colleagues.
The rollout follows encouraging results from Sainsbury’s early trial, which found incidents of theft, harm, aggression and antisocial behaviour fell 46 per cent across stores using the technology. It also said 92 per cent of identified offenders did not return.
However, the expansion is likely to draw scrutiny from privacy campaigners following concerns over the use of the technology in retail settings.
Earlier this year, shopper Warren Rajah said he was wrongly asked to leave a Sainsbury’s store in Elephant and Castle after being misidentified by staff using the system. Sainsbury’s later apologised, while Facewatch said Rajah was not on its database and attributed the incident to human error rather than a technology alert.
Sainsbury’s has previously insisted its use of facial recognition is “intentional and transparent”, with clear signage in stores where the technology is operating.
It said the system is designed only to identify individuals who have previously shown violent, aggressive or criminal behaviour in participating stores.
Sainsbury’s said at the time: “Colleagues should never feel at risk while doing their jobs and customers should always feel comfortable in our stores. That’s why we are taking these steps and why we will continue to put safety first across every part of our business.”
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