Walmart tests body cameras for store employees as retail crime surges

Published

7 months ago

December 18, 2024

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Walmart employees have begun to wear body cameras as concerns about crime and shoplifting are on the rise.

The Arkansas-based retail giant recently began a pilot test involving multiple stores in the Dallas area to address confrontations with unruly customers, a person familiar with the initiative told The Post.

While we dont talk about the specifics of our security measures, we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry, a Walmart spokesperson said in a statement. This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions.

The devices were spotted at a store in Denton, Texas where employees were sporting the cameras while they checked customers receipts, according to a report by CNBC.

Walmart declined to say how many stores are participating in the program or to share any findings about the test.

Other retailers use body cameras to prevent theft and violent incidents, which has spiked over the past several years as a rash of smash and grab incidents have gripped the retail industry from grocery stores to department stores and luxury boutiques.

The high incidence of these crimes has resulted in expensive and popular merchandise, including toothpaste, clothing detergent and toiletries being locked up and requiring the assistance of a store clerk.

Walmart staff were instructed on how to use the cameras, according to CNBC, which cited an online forum for Walmart employees and customers.

Walmart employees are advised to record an event if an interaction with a customer is escalating, and to remove the cameras in employee break areas and bathrooms, according to a Walmart document entitled Providing customers service while creating a safer environment, cited by CNBC.

Employees are told to log any incidents in the ethics and compliance app.

The Walmart initiative comes as retailers struggle with how to handle aggressive customers who may have mental health issues or are trying to steal merchandise.

This year, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Retail Worker Safety Act, which will require merchants with 50 or more employees to install panic buttons that will alert law enforcement to come to the store immediately. The panic buttons will be required by Jan. 2027.

Its the first such law in the U.S. and Walmart opposed it arguing that it would result in false alarms.

Other retail experts have argued that body cameras are effective deterrents to bad behavior.

Many of these body-worn cameras have reverse view monitors on them so … theres a little video screen that you actually see yourself on camera, David Johnston, vice president of asset protection for the National Retail Federation told CNBC.

That in itself can be a very big deterrent. The moment that you see yourself is probably [when] youre going to change your behavior, and thats what I think the use of a body-worn camera can do.

Environment

Fiat launches beachy Topolino Vilebrequin as Stellantis ramps up EV production

Published

4 hours ago

July 20, 2025

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Fiat launches beachy Topolino Vilebrequin as Stellantis ramps up EV production

Fiat Celebrates the Advent of Summer With the Topolino Vilebrequin, an Easygoing Beach Car

The Fiat Topolino Vilebrequin is a new beach town cruiser that captures the elegance, glamour, and relaxed vibe of the French Riviera. More significantly, the updated EV also heralds Stellantis’ plans to double EV production at its Kenitra Assembly Plant in Morocco.

Closer to a Mercury Villager Nautica or Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson than a new model on its own, the new Topolino Vilebrequin features colors and fabrics inspired by the French surfwear brand, and is based on the Dolcevita version of Stellantis’ electric microcar. With its open sides, a soft rollback roof, and turtle-tastic fabric prints, it’s ready to whisk you off on a carefree summer adventure in France or Italy – which are, coincidentally, the only two markets the “collector’s edition” Vilebrequin Topolino is currently available in.

“This encounter between the Fiat Topolino and our iconic sea turtle gave rise to a high-quality, lower-impact, and perfectly whimsical design,” says Roland Herlory, CEO of Vilebrequin. “(It is) the definitive summer toy, and the perfect witness to sun-soaked memories still to come.”

Like the standard Topolino, the new Vilebrequin model remains electronically limited to a top speed of 45 kph (just under 30 mph), and is equipped with a 5.5 kWh battery pack that ensures up to 75 km (about 45 miles) of electric range. Prices start at €13,490 ($15,810), and if you don’t want one you’re dead inside.

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Fiat Topolino Vilebrequin

The Vilebrequin Topolino is just the latest version of Stellantis’ electric microcar platform that underpins the Citroën Ami, Opel Rocks-e, and Fiat Topolino. Annual production of the little EVs has grown from 20,000 units and is reportedly on track for 70,000 in 2025.

Now, Mopar Insiders is reporting that number is about to get even bigger. Stellantis’ Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region, Samir Cherfan, announced plans to more than double the production capacity at the company’s Kenitra Assembly Plant in Morocco, from some 230,000 vehicles per year to more than 530,000.

The factory was opened in 2019, and the planned €1.2 billion ($1.4B) expansion is expected to add around 3,100 new jobs to the factory’s employee roster.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Stellantis.

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Business

Lakeland-owner Hilco eyes swoop for stricken jeweller Claire’s

Published

5 hours ago

July 20, 2025

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Lakeland-owner Hilco eyes swoop for stricken jeweller Claire's

The prolific high street investor which owns Lakeland and has backed chains including HMV and Superdry is sizing up a takeover of the UK operations of Claire’s, the struggling jewellery chain.

Sky News understands that Hilco Capital, which was also one of the recent bidders for Poundland, is among the parties expected to submit offers for Claire’s in the coming weeks, according to banking sources.

Other parties expected to examine offers for Claire’s British chain, which trades from about 280 stores, would include Alteri Investors and Modella Capital, which recently bought WH Smith’s high street chain.

The Telegraph reported earlier this month that Claire’s had hired Interpath Advisory to find a buyer for the UK business as it explores options – including bankruptcy – for its US-based operations.

Prospective buyers of the business have been told that a sale of the British chain could lead to significant numbers of store closures.

One retail industry boss speculated that as many as a third of the UK shops could be axed in a deal to salvage the rest of the chain, potentially putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

Claire’s has been a fixture in British shopping centres and on high streets for decades.

Houlihan Lokey, the investment bank, is advising on the sale of the US arm.

Claire’s, which is reported to trade from 2,000 stores globally, is owned by former creditors Elliott Management and Monarch Alternative Capital following a previous financial restructuring.

Hilco could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Politics

Embedding human rights into crypto isn’t optional, it’s foundational

Published

6 hours ago

July 20, 2025

admin

Embedding human rights into crypto isn’t optional, it’s foundational

Embedding human rights into crypto systems is a necessity. Self-custody, privacy-by-default, and censorship-resistant personhood must be core design principles for any technology. The future of digital freedom depends on it.