Tesco is the latest supermarket to make major change in shoplifting crackdown

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Special cameras to be installed at self checkouts that can check contents of shoppers’ bags

A woman uses a self-checkout at a Tesco

Tesco is installing a new safety measure in stores to deter shoplifting.

By Lucy Ashton

Tesco, which has branches in Dumbarton and Helensburgh, has announced its newest strategy to crackdown on shoplifting at self checkouts.

The company has become the latest supermarket to install VAR-style replays at the self scanner tills, following Sainsbury’s who introduced the cameras earlier this month.

While currently only in a select number of stores, these cameras record shoppers as they are scanning and packing their items. The system then uses AI to find out if any products did not get scanned.

Currently it is unclear when the cameras will be installed as Tesco has not confirmed exactly how many of its stores will take on the new measure, reports the Mirror.
The supermarket giant also hasn’t announced whether it will be rolled out nationwide or not.

One retail source has however said that early indications show that the AI cameras are “effective” and have become a deterrent for theft.

The source told the Sun: “This is different to a live camera because many shoplifters assume nobody is watching.

“If your attempted theft has been clipped up and replayed to you seconds later, you know you might only have two options.

“One is to pay, and the other is to get caught. A great deal of shoplifters simply will keep going, whatever the stores do. But it will deter some, and much like Tesco’s slogan, every little helps.”

A spokesperson from Tesco has also said: “We are always looking at technology to make life easier for our customers. We have recently installed a new system at some stores which helps customers using self-service checkouts identify if an item has not been scanned properly, making the checkout process quicker and easier.”

However, Tesco is not the first supermarket to install this form of security as earlier this month Sainsbury’s announced it was installing a similar technique.

Like Tesco, a camera has been installed over the self checkouts which has a view of the scanner and packing station. When an item is bagged and not scanned, the shopper is shown the video along with a message saying: “Looks like that last item didn’t scan. Please check you scanned it correctly before continuing.”

Back in 2022, supermarkets were seen to add more security measures to their stores as prices of food and other items were seen to rise. Other measures included adding security tags to items, placing empty products on shelves, putting products in security boxes and requiring shoppers to scan their receipts before they leave the shop.

In October, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) published that shopping offences recorded by the police rose by 29 per cent in the 12 months running up until June 2024. According to ONS, this number was the highest in 20 years.

In comparison, Police recorded 516,971 incidents of shoplifting last year, which is up from 429,873 in 2023. As a result, Tom Ironside from the British Retail Consortium said that crime is now costing firms a whopping £2billion a year.

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