Body worn cameras for retail security and worker safety

Image Credit Motorola Solutions

Your retail store is open, and members of the public come streaming through your doors every day. Most of them are as honest, kind and as courteous as you are. But there are people who will steal, and there are individuals who will abuse your employees verbally or even physically. 

It’s a growing problem. The facts and figures are in, and they show that retail employees are experiencing a rise in abuse and violence in the workplace. 

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reports the following disturbing statistics. 

• Over 1,300 abusive or violent incidents occur in UK retail stores every day. 
• 100 violent incidents per day affect retail personnel in the UK. 
• Only 36 percent of violent or abusive incidents are reported to the police.
• Only 8 percent of reported incidents lead to prosecution. 

The 2024 study benchmarks its results against pre-pandemic figures, noting a worrying rise in theft from retail stores and close to 100 percent growth in overt hostility towards retail workers. It’s a grim outlook for retailers and their employees, and a growing number of retailers are turning to technology to enhance retail worker safety. 

Additionally the ACS Crime Report 2024 found that:

• UK’s local shops recorded a shocking 5.6 million incidents of shop theft over the last year.
• Retailers have recorded over 600 incidents of theft an hour over the last year.
• Over the last year, there have been around 76,000 incidents of violence in shops.

This article examines the role of body worn cameras as retail security equipment, answering your questions on their role in protecting employees, your business’s reputation, and your assets.

Will body worn cameras help to protect your employees? 

As an employer, it’s your duty to provide a safe workplace for your employees. But your store has to allow all kinds of people through its doors. Although malcontents are in the minority, some members of the public are frustrated by rising prices and reduced means. A small percentage of these people will take out their frustrations on anybody who represents your brand. 

Retailers are aware of the problem with 87 percent listing the consequences of violence as one of the top three threats their businesses currently face and 67 percent rating it as their number one threat. 

Body worn cameras certainly can be a help. Study after study has shown that the use of body worn cameras helps to de-escalate violence. Knowing that their behaviour is being captured on camera and that the evidence will be inarguable often encourages members of the public to adopt a more reasoned approach. 

At the same time, your staff should be equipped with interpersonal skills that help to defuse tense situations. This will require training which, when combined with body worn camera footage, serves to promote calmer, more reasoned behaviour among confrontational, and potentially violent customers. 

Will body worn cameras help to protect your business’s reputation?

Apart from considering workers’ perspectives, your customers’ response to witnessing violence or abuse in your store will have significance. If we are to speak of customer experiences, being a bystander when aggressive behaviour, whether verbal or physical, plays out doesn’t take a top spot. It’s certainly not an experience most people would want to repeat. 

So, apart from protecting your staff, using strategies to de-escalate tense situations will help your customers feel safer and more comfortable.

The threat is real:

•  According to a survey, 90 percent of customer-faced retail workers experience abuse from customers. Physical violence represents a small but significant percentage of this figure.
• The Guardian reports that 42 percent of retail employees consider resignation after facing verbal tirades or physical attacks from customers. 

By empowering them to expect justice, body cameras can serve as a powerful tool that help retail workers to feel safer, making them likelier to continue in their current positions. Staff turnover is costly. Staff wellbeing and empowerment are invaluable. Body cameras can contribute. 

Can body camera footage be used as evidence?

Courts see body worn camera footage as objective evidence in which both video and audio footage of real life events are recorded and can be used to support prosecutions. That’s part of the reason why body cams are so powerful in preventing crime and violence. 

However, there is a complex regulatory environment surrounding the recording and retention of any form of surveillance footage. Consent is key, but retailers can easily obtain tacit consent by displaying prominent signage indicating that CCTV and BodyCam footage are recorded in store. 

Regulations further govern questions like which personnel are authorised to view footage as well as how it can be stored, how long it can be stored, and whether it should be stored at all. 

Nevertheless, these regulations are navigable. Security in retail can be furthered through surveillance using both CCTV and body camera footage. And staff, your business, and its customers will benefit.

Should security measures in retail include the use of body worn cameras?

With verbal abuse and physical assaults against retail employees on the rise, CCTV cameras may not capture the essential details that could result in the successful conviction of offenders. 

Furthermore, body worn cameras can act as a means of defusing potentially violent situations. Even the most aggressive of customers will be aware that footage can be used as evidence against them. 

In addition, assessing and mitigating workplace risks is the duty of every employer, and deploying body cameras can form part of your occupational health and safety strategy. Confronting abuse is something your staff members should not have to deal with on their own. 

Verbal attacks may have severe mental health implications, and physical attacks could even be life-threatening. While body cameras aren’t a complete solution in themselves, they will serve as tools to support your employees when they’re confronted with aggression. 

Which types of retail staff will benefit most from body worn cameras?

While body worn cameras have proved their usefulness in retail environments, they do represent an investment. For the sake of cost efficiency, you can focus on equipping key frontline personnel with body cameras. 

Top areas to consider may include:

• Store security: These people are the “first responders” when potentially incendiary incidents arise or theft is detected. Empower them with video evidence to support their eye-witness accounts.
• Store managers: Your store managers may face heated complaints from customers and store personnel alike. It’s their duty to seek a fair resolution when issues are raised. Body camera footage allows top management to assess interactions, providing support or further training according to the recorded facts.
• Customer service representatives: Most of the time, your customers will present service representatives with issues they can easily resolve. However, there may be times when customers are verbally abusive or initiate physical attacks.
• Cashiers: There are times when customers will dispute payment amounts with cashiers. Although cashier training should include dispute resolution processes, some customers may become overly reactive. Of course, if outright robbery is occurring, your cashiers will often be at the frontline. Their body camera footage may provide vital evidence that leads to the arrest of criminals.
• Delivery staff: Did the delivery occur or not? Was the packaging damaged in a way that would indicate damage to the product? Did your delivery staff conduct themselves in a professional manner? Bodycam footage could provide the answers you’re looking for. 

Security cameras in retail stores

Security cameras are essential in monitoring customers in retail stores. This includes general CCTV monitoring. However, the importance of up-close recording of interactions between your staff and the public can’t be understated. After all, bodycam footage provides both video and audio recordings. 

You gain unequalled insight into your employees’ experiences during confrontations with the public. If there’s a need to involve law-enforcement, you have all the evidence required for a successful prosecution.

Radiocoms in retail

In retail stores, managers and staff must have the ability to coordinate activities and communicate security threats. Two-way radios, Push to Talk devices, and body worn cameras all have relevance in retail business contexts. 

Body worn cameras ensure that staff facing the risk of confrontation with members of the public are not alone or unsupported. Retail worker safety is at risk, and body worn cameras can help to keep your business and its people safe. 

Radiocoms works with you to combat the rising threat of workplace abuse and violence in retail. Whether they’re lone workers in kiosks or staff members in a busy retail store, your workers will benefit from your strategic deployment of body worn cameras. Talk to us about retail worker safety today.