Asda trials facial recognition to combat retail crime
Asda is trialling live facial recognition at five of its stores in Greater Manchester to help combat the rise in retail crime.
Asda is trialling live facial recognition at five of its stores in Greater Manchester to help combat the rise in retail crime.
The retailer has launched a two-month trial of the technology supplied by FaiceTech at its Ashton, Chadderton, Eastlands, Harpurhey and Trafford Park supermarkets.
More than 1,400 incidents of assault took place against Asda store colleagues last year – an average of four per day.
The technology is integrated into the supermarket’s existing CCTV network and works be scanning images and comparing the results to a known list of individuals who have previously committed offences on an Asda site.
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If the automated system detects a match, a member of the retailer’s head office security team will conduct a check and feedback to the store in real time.
Asda chief commercial officer for non-food and retail Liz Evans said: “The rise in shoplifting and threats and violence against shopworkers in recent years is unacceptable and as a responsible retailer we have to look at all options to reduce the number of offences committed in our stores and protect our colleagues.
“We consistently look for new ways to improve the security in our stores and this trial will help us understand if facial recognition technology can reduce the number of incidents and provide greater protection to everybody in our stores.”
The supermarket is currently consulting with more than 26 members of staff in its customer service team as it looks to outsource their roles in an effort to cut costs.
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