Convenience retailers says facial recognition tech is a crime deterrent
DEBATE around facial recognition technology has seen the spread of some misinformation about the nature of the tech and prompted some concern from members of the public.
Many consumers hear the description of the tech and how it can store images of people’s faces onto a database and alarm bells begin to ring as many picture an 1984-style present day where people have lost their privacy and safety.
But this belief could not be further from the truth.
The facial recognition tech utilised in these stores will only store the image of a face of a customer who previously caused a problem in the store, or other stores that also make use of the same tech, and provides an additional safety measure for retailers, their staff members as well as the customers they serve.
This has very much been the case for Adeel Iqbal, store owner of Day-Today Anniesland, who said that his customers appreciate having the tech in store.
He said: “Having this tech in my store has helped to ensure more safety for my staff members, they feel more secure and confident when doing their job and this means, they can better serve customers who come into the store.
“We also have lot of young kids and their parents who come into my shop as well, and you can see that the parents feel more secure to shop here.”
Not only do his customers feel safer knowing the system is in place, Adeel also talked about how the technology helped to prevent a fight from taking place inside his store.
Adeel said “Two men entered my store recently who were having an argument. The situation began to escalate and, at one point, one of the men grabbed the other by the collar and looked ready to attack him.
“At this point, we informed the pair of them that there was facial recognition software active in the store and any crime they commit inside the building would be recorded on this.
“After that, one of the two of them left the store without further trouble and the other man left shortly afterwards.
“It stopped a fight from taking place and prevented any of my staff members from being involved in a dangerous situation.”
The tech has helped to prevent would-be criminals from acting in Nathalie Fullerton’s store, One-Stop Dumbarton Road, as well.
When customers enter the store, a beep sound can be heard to alert everyone who comes into the store that they have been picked up on the camera system.
Nathalie said: “Those prolific criminals know what that tone means whenever they walk into my store. They know straight-away the camera has picked them up in store.
“And I’ve seen it myself, people have walked into my store, heard that beep and immediately walked right back out again.
“It stops further crime from happening in my store and tells these criminals that, if they try to shoplift in my store, they will be caught on the system.”
This allows Nathalie to further ensure staff safety across her store, especially in a busy city centre location such as Partick.
She said: “It will only alert us if the person’s face has been added to the database in the past, which means they have committed a crime in my store or another store that uses the same tech.
“And the ideal part of the tech is that it doesn’t just cover our store, but the database is shared with everyone that signs up to it.
“So, for example, if a person had been caught committing a crime in another shop with the tech, we will still get an alert when this criminal enters our store – even if they have never stolen from us in the past.
“It keeps my staff safe and it means we can approach criminals in the store in a non-confrontational way.
“I encourage this with my staff, I don’t want them to confront them and tell them they need to leave the store because that can put them in harm’s way.
“Instead, I tell them to ‘kill them with kindness’. They are trained to follow these criminals around the store, they offer them a basket if the staff member sees them putting items in their pockets and, once the person realises they haven’t got a chance to steal in my store, they will choose to leave.
“It keeps me and my staff safe and I do believe that, if I had to remove this tech, then my business would not be sustainable.”
