new York
CNN
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Hourly security guards at retail stores now wear body cameras similar to police in department stores.
Retail giant TJX, parent company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods, said it is equipping some store employees with body cameras to thwart shoplifting and keep customers and employees safe.
TJX Chief Financial Officer John Klinger revealed the body camera project during an earnings conference call last month. “It’s almost like de-escalation, where people are less likely to do something when they’re being filmed,” he said.
TJX is not alone. In a survey of major chains by the National Retail Federation last year, 35% of U.S. retailers said they were looking for body cameras for their employees. The Taser device maker and other security companies are now designing and marketing body cameras specifically aimed at retail workers.
Although retailers say they want to reduce costly merchandise losses and keep stores safe, equipping workers with body cameras won’t do much to stop shoplifting, some criminologists say. Worker advocates say better training, better store staffing levels and other safety investments will do more to protect front-line workers and reduce shoplifting.
A TJ Maxx retail employee in Florida said body cameras were “just for show” and their presence didn’t make employees feel safer.
The job of these security guards “was to just stand there with the tactical vest labeled ‘security’ and the camera mounted on the vest,” said the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists. .
“It feels like implementing this program with the cameras is not supposed to add anything, but rather something that the company can point to” as improving safety.
Over the past year, TJX has tasked its unarmed hourly security guards, known as loss prevention associates, with wearing body cameras in some stores.
TJX workers who wear the cameras undergo “extensive training on how to effectively use the cameras in their role,” a TJX spokesperson said. The Company only shares video footage at the request of law enforcement or in response to a subpoena.
“Body cameras are just one of the many ways we work to support a safe store environment,” the spokesperson said.
The company did not provide additional details about training or share policy on when the cameras are on.
TJX is one of the only retailers to publicly talk about body cameras and post job listings with specific details about the cameras in the job description.
The main responsibilities of a job at Marshalls in Miami Beach, Florida are to maintain a “proper and professional posture” at the front of the store, act as a “visual deterrent to avoid potential loss/dishonesty » and wear a company uniform. body camera issued. The description says the camera is intended to record “specific events involving critical incidents for legal, safety, and training purposes.”
These employees, who wear a company-approved black vest, black pants and black shoes, are instructed not to stop or pursue shoplifting suspects.
The retail industry is responding to store thefts and violence against workers.
Many retailers report seeing an increase in organized thefts, which typically involve groups of thieves stealing items from stores. About 90 percent of asset protection specialists surveyed last year by the National Retail Federation said crime had become riskier over the previous three years and shoplifters had become more violent.
However, accurate national data on organized retail crime is lacking, and some analysts say the threat of shoplifting to retailers is exaggerated.
Body cameras are just the latest in a series of security measures retailers are taking, such as locking products behind display cases and doing away with self-checkouts. Retailers are also working more closely with law enforcement and devoting more internal resources to theft investigations.
In the UK, Tesco, Lidl and other grocers have distributed body cameras to their employees. Bakery chain Greggs has equipped its employees with body cameras after a rise in sausage roll thefts and threats from customers.
Axon Enterprise, which owns Taser and primarily develops technology and products for law enforcement, launched a “Body Workforce” camera this year aimed at retail and healthcare workers.
These cameras are lighter than those Axon developed for police because they don’t record as long and require as much battery life, Axon President Joshua Isner said at an analyst conference last month. It’s also a more “inviting” product, rather than a militaristic camera” worn by police, he said.
“We think retail is an emerging market for body cameras,” he said. “We believe this is a logical extension of where our company is headed.”
The company told CNN that dozens of retailers are testing Axon’s body cameras, including big-box chains and specialty retailers. Axon did not share specific channels.
One test retailer saw a 53% reduction in camera-related incidents compared to stores where employees did not wear them, the company said.
Over the past decade, police departments have equipped their officers with body cameras to improve public accountability.
John Eck, a criminologist at the University of Cincinnati, said body cameras in retail “can help solve problems” when customers complain about problems such as racial profiling in stores or unwarranted arrests for shoplifting.
Despite TJX and Axon’s claims, some criminologists say body cameras are unlikely to be an added deterrent to shoplifters, who already know there are cameras in every stores.
“I don’t know to what extent this will stop someone in the act. They already assume they will be recorded,” said Ernesto Lopez, a research specialist who has studied shoplifting trends at the Council on Criminal Justice.
Body cameras could help retailers or law enforcement identify shoplifters, but it would force employees wearing them to get closer to a suspect, potentially putting their safety at risk.
“I would be very cautious about putting underpaid and undertrained people in these positions,” said Thaddeus Johnson, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice. “We have to be very careful when we talk about body-worn cameras.”
Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, said: “It’s not enough to just point a camera at someone and say that’s an alternative to more security measures. important. »
The union, which does not represent TJX stores, has advocated for legislation in New York that would require retail employers to adopt a violence prevention plan and train workers on de-escalation and shooters assets. Under the legislation, large employers must install panic buttons in all stores.
Appelbaum also expressed concerns about the information collected by body cameras and the possibility that it could be used to thwart unionization attempts.
“Employees feel like they are being watched,” he said.
– CNN’s Curt Devine contributed to this article.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly spelled the last name of Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union president Stuart Appelbaum.