Lidl staff to wear body cameras after surge in shoplifting

Lidl will have its staff wear body cameras in stores to combat shoplifting and violence against staff.

According to the supermarket chain, they are the first to ensure bodycams will be used in every store, but they will not be required for every staff member.

Lidl GB, with more than 960 stores in the UK, said it will invest £2m to ensure each shop had the new security measures. The bodycam rollout is set to be completed by spring next year.

Ryan McDonnell, chief executive at Lidl GB, said: “Safety and security has always been an absolute priority for us.

“While our stores are typically safe environments, retail crime is something that is impacting the whole industry.

“Our investment into ensuring all our stores have body-worn cameras is just one of the ways we’re taking action to protect and provide reassurance to our colleagues and customers.”

Last month, 10 retailers including Lidl, Tesco and John Lewis, committed £60,000 of funding and launched Project Pegasus to help fund a police crackdown on shoplifting.

Retailers also told the Home Secretary that action was needed over the sharp rise in retail crime.

In August, Suella Braverman said it was “unacceptable” crimes such as shoplifting were treated as “less important”.

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Industry lobby group the British Retail Consortium said its 2023 crime survey showed incidents of violence and abuse towards industry workers had almost doubled against pre-pandemic levels to 867 every day in the latest year.

Data released by the Office for National Statistics in October showed 365,164 shoplifting offences were recorded by police in the year to June – up 25% on the previous 12 months.

ONS data also showed that total police-recorded theft rose by 10% in the year to June 2023, still below pre-pandemic levels.