Sainsbury’s installs more facial rec tech in stores: Should shoppers be worried?

Sainsbury’s, the United Kingdom’s second-largest supermarket chain, is rolling out facial recognition cameras to 150 more stores across the country, claiming a trial showed the tech to be effective. However, experts see trouble ahead.

A line hidden in Sainsbury’s Q1 trading statement shows that the retail giant is satisfied with how facial recognition technology is being installed in its stores.

“Facial recognition technology is now live in over 55 stores following a successful trial, with over 90 percent of identified offenders not returning. Up to 150 further stores planned before Christmas,” the press release reads.

Verbal abuse and safety

According to the company, the AI-powered system has a 99.98% accuracy rate, and a trial showed that the technology stopped 9 in 10 repeat offenders from coming back and trying again.

Shoplifting is indeed a growing problem in the United Kingdom. Last year alone, nearly 500,000 offenses were committed in England and Wales, and retail executives say thieves are more aggressive and organized than ever.

“Seventy-seven percent of shopworkers have faced verbal abuse, and more than half have been threatened,” Sainsbury’s said earlier in the year.

“When colleagues tell us they’re worried about their physical safety, we have a responsibility to act. A safe environment for colleagues helps ensure customers feel safe too – no one should feel at risk simply going about their day.”

The tech used by Sainsbury’s and several other stores, like Sports Direct, Home Bargains, and Budgens, is made by Facewatch.

When retailers upload reports of bad behavior – such as violence or shoplifting – moderators then review camera footage and tag suspects. When one of them later walks into any store with Facewatch tech installed, the company sends an instant alert.

Not perfect by any stretch

Still, despite assurances that every alert is checked by a trained member of staff before anyone is approached, Facewatch had to fend off accusations in February when shopper Warren Rajah was wrongly identified and kicked out of a Sainsbury’s branch in London without explanation.

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Back then, Jasleen Chaggar of Big Brother Watch pointed out that the organization “regularly hears from members of the public who are left traumatized after being wrongly caught in this net of privatized biometric surveillance.”

Other experts also stress that the technology is not perfect by any stretch. Rebecca Moody, head of data research at Comparitech, told Cybernews that further rollout of facial recognition technology in supermarkets was a “huge concern.”

In February, Facewatch had to fend off accusations when shopper Warren Rajah was wrongly identified and kicked out of a Sainsbury’s branch in London without explanation.

“Placing citizens under surveillance as they go about their day-to-day shopping has a worrying impact on our freedom and right to privacy,” Moody said, adding that a recent study found that higher surveillance didn’t correlate with lower crime rates.

“There’s also the risk of mission creep. Facial recognition may be introduced as a tool for combatting shoplifting, but once it’s installed, who’s to say it won’t be used to monitor shoppers’ buying habits and activity as time goes on?”

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