- Sainsbury's has begun an eight-week trial of facial recognition technology in two UK supermarkets, located in London and Bath, to tackle rising retail crime.
- The initiative comes as official figures reveal shoplifting offences in England and Wales reached a record high of over 530,000 in 2024-25, a 20 per cent increase from the previous year.
- Sainsbury's chief executive, Simon Roberts, stated the technology is solely aimed at identifying serious offenders involved in violence, aggression, or theft, not for monitoring customers or colleagues.
- Privacy campaigners, such as Big Brother Watch, have strongly criticised the trial, labelling it as 'deeply disproportionate and chilling' and urging the supermarket to cease its use.
- The supermarket is partnering with Facewatch, and the system is designed to alert staff based on criminal behaviour reported by the store or other retailers utilising the same technology.
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