We’re working hard to protect our store colleagues from assaults and violence but this is not at the expense of our customers’ rights.

We have focused the use of facial recognition only in the branches where there is a higher level of crime. The system is GDPR compliant and does not store images of an individual unless they have been identified as an offender.

The purpose of our targeted use of facial recognition is to identify when a known offender, including individuals who have been evidenced as an offender or those who have been excluded, enter one of our stores. This gives our colleagues time to decide on any action they need to take, for example, asking them to politely leave the premises or escalating the incident if this is a breach of an injunction or a banning order. All of our customers at the individual stores have been made aware with distinctive signage. The number one reason for violence against our store colleagues and within the wider retail sector is when they intervene after a theft has already taken place. Using facial recognition in this limited way has improved the safety of our store colleagues.

A photo is shared with our facial recognition technology provider in order to check it against a database of offenders. Any biometric data is held by them directly. No biometric data is shared with us, the police or with any other organisation.

Facial recognition is just one tool in a range of methods we are using to tackle crime from every angle – causes, prevention, reporting and justice. We can’t solve the problem alone so hope that together with our communities and other organisations, we can make a difference to our colleagues’ lives.