Pret A Manger offer staff body-worn cameras amid crime epidemic
Pret A Manger has unveiled plans to offer some members of staff body-worn cameras as a new safety precaution amid the crime epidemic.
The coffee shop chain began trialling the measure for team leaders and managers at six London stores last month, Sky News reported.
Pret A Manger told the publication that any footage would only be accessed by its security team and that cameras will only be turned on in “specific circumstances”.
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It follows similar moves by Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl and most recently, BP using body-worn cameras in a bid to “combat retail crime effectively” in stores facing high levels of abuse and crime.
Last month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales had hit its highest figure in 20 years.
In the year to March 2024, there was a total of 443,995 offences reported by police, up 30% from the previous year’s figure of 342,428.
According to a British Retail Consortium survey earlier this year, retailers have spent around £1.8bn to tackle crime, investing in measures such as CCTV, security guards and body-worn cameras.
Last month, the new government unveiled its commitment to tackling retail crime, as it announced in the King’s Speech that attacking or abusing a shopworker would be made a standalone offence.
The Co-op described the decision as a “crowning moment” for shop workers, after the convenience retailer recorded more than 172,000 incidents of retail crime in the first half of 2024.
