Retail violence and abuse increased by 50% last year, and thefts more than doubled to 16.7 million incidents. With Black Friday and Christmas on the approach, how can Body Cameras benefit your business?
As crime within Retail skyrockets, with no signs of slowing down, we explore Body Cameras and the benefits they can bring in combating abuse and theft.
The Rise in Retail Crime: A Nationwide Security Issue
Retail crime has been climbing quickly over recent years, but last year BRC reported that UK shop workers faced 1,300 incidents of violence and abuse a day, this was up from 450 the year before.
In response to this, 90 retail leaders, including Tesco and Boots wrote to the government in 2023, demanding action on the rise in retail crime and cited that criminals were “emptying stores”.
The physical risks posed from retail theft and disgruntled shoppers continues to grow, and many shop workers are left in fear. Retail Trust found that last year 80% of retail workers were experiencing deterioration in their overall mental health.
This is a nationwide security issue, and with Black Friday and Christmas creeping closer, in-person shopping is only being encouraged meaning the dangers are likely to increase further.
Due to this unprecedented rise in retail crime, and the festive season upon us, many retailers are left asking themselves, what can we do?
The Benefits Body Cameras Provide to Retail Security
Many will implement or increase security guards over the coming months, however, this is not a guaranteed method to support staffs’ individual safety.
Body Cameras provide a security solution for both staff safety and a deterrence against retail crime. Used across multiple industries, there has been an increased uptake in Body Cameras due to the unique, individual benefits they provide.
For Retail in particular, WCCTV found there were 7 key benefits in using Body Cameras as an industry:
Deters, De-escalates and Reduces Retail Crime Against Shop Workers
The main aim of Body-Worn Cameras is to provide frontline, public-facing workers such as, Retail staff protection from crime.
Designed with a front-facing camera and screen to help deter and de-escalate verbal or physical altercations from customers, Body Cameras work similarly to other security solutions, but on a more singular basis.
The clear, purposeful display of the camera to customers can create concern of being caught and facing criminal conviction, which can support in stopping or de-escalating Retail abuse.
Captures, Saves and Stores Live Video and Audio Recording
With 63% of Britons now preferring to shop in-person, and some of the busiest times in Retail upon us, capturing criminals in their tracks this Christmas will help manage and reduce financial loss to stores nationwide.
Body Cameras can help combat this by capturing live footage and audio recording of events, and following this, will save those videos and store them safely to be used as evidence in future.
At WCCTV, our Body Cameras go one step further by providing a configurable pre-event recording buffer of up to 120 seconds to ensure that any vital information is not missed before the employee presses record. This enhances upon more traditional Body Cameras where footage is only captured from the point of the record button being selected.
Our cloud based Evidence Management System (EMS) also manages the security of any evidence, meaning that if footage is required for a criminal conviction, you can have confidence that it will be available to you.
In Retail, this type of technology could save stores from catastrophe and claw back some of the financial loss from theft. It also helps capture incidents of Retail abuse which can help with facilitating prosecutions or shop bans.
Provides Safety Support to Lone Shop Workers
Lone working is common within the Retail industry, but this comes with its risks.
Body Cameras have many features and benefits that provide individuals working alone with the reassurance that they are safe at work.
They have a proven track-record in reducing the occurrences of verbal and physical abuse directed towards public-facing workers such as, Retail staff, whilst ensuring any incidents captured can be dealt with accordingly.
Improves Employee Training on Retail Crime
Due to Retail crime being so prevalent in the UK, training on the policies and processes surrounding this is key to ensuring staff feel confident in the management of such situations.
Presenting footage from real-life events can boost the effectiveness of training for employees. It supports them in understanding the real-life scenarios they could be presented with, followed by the correct response to this.
Body Cameras can gain that real-life footage from retail workers within your own business and utilise it in training for new starters or for training refreshers where required.
Reduces Financial Loss from Retail Theft
Financial loss over the festive period is one of the biggest risks for Retailers, and with many in-person stores facing a surge in shoppers, every penny counts at Christmas.
Shoplifting will often increase and therefore, so does the need for store security. With only 14% of shoplifting cases resulting in prosecution, Body-Worn Cameras can capture criminals and claw back financial losses from incidents by recording events from shop workers’ points of view.
This security solution can also be rolled out to all staff, which can boost CCTV coverage for Retail stores.
Boosts Employee Wellbeing and Retention
A recent study found that 39% of workers want to leave their job or leave the retail industry altogether due to the rise in violent and abusive incidents.
Employee wellbeing is central to creating a positive environment for all your employees and ensuring they feel safe, supported and secure with you as their employers. Especially within the Retail industry where employee retention is a struggle due to the increase in shop worker abuse and theft.
Body Cameras can help boost employee wellbeing and retention by providing them with a source of individual protection.
Each retail staff member can attach a Body Camera to themselves, record any incidents they are present to, and most importantly prevent any Retail crime happening in the first place. By responding to such a big challenge faced by shop workers with a security solution like this can help build trust, gain support and show care to your employees.
Easily Attaches and Stays Secure onto Shop Workers Uniforms
Traditional CCTV cameras are clunky in design and cannot provide shop workers with the personal protection that Body-Worn Cameras can provide them with.
Small, discreet and lightweight, Body Cameras can be easily attached to a shop worker’s uniform whilst driving personal safety and security with its front-facing camera.
At WCCTV, we also offer multiple accessories for our Body Cameras that allow for attachments to pre-existing equipment and offer greater opportunities to suit your needs.
The Future of Securing Staff Safety in Retail
Securing the safety of your staff is vital in Retail in order to keep your business running as normal, especially with in-person shopping continuously on the rise in recent years, there is a nationwide opportunity for growth within the industry.
However, overcoming this challenge requires a response and WCCTV understands this. Having previously been shortlisted for the Retail Risk Fraud Awards, our Body Cameras are recognised within the Retail industry and have supported in reducing Retail crime.
Interested in finding out more? Speak to one of our Body Camera experts who can advise you on this.
