H&M takes drastic action at 3 major stores with staff to wear BODYCAMS in desperate bid to deter shoplifters

The Sun

5 hours ago

H&M HAS taken drastic action in three major stores as staff are now fitted with bodycams in a desperate bid to deter shoplifters.
The popular fashion store is the latest retailer to give its UK staff body cameras to help stop shoplifting and protect workers from attacks.
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The Swedish clothing giant revealed it had been testing the new technology, according to the Mail on Sunday.
The high street brand follows big names like Tesco, the Co-op, and Lidl, all of which have introduced bodycams for their staff.
These major retailers said they were forced to take action because the police had failed to respond.
Shoplifting rose by 20 per cent from last year, with violent and abusive incidents reported around 2,000 times daily.
Criminals - often in organised gangs - have been stealing goods in full view of staff and shoppers, knowing they're unlikely to face any consequences.
High street retailers urge their staff not to intervene, fearing they could be attacked.
Workers have faced racial and sexual insults, physical threats, spitting, and in some cases, physical violence.
H&M will trial the new bodycams in stores in Edinburgh, Wood Green, and Beckton in London.
A spokesman for the firm said: "We're testing this new technology in a three-store pilot to assess what beneficial impact it may have, along with proper staff customer service training, on de-escalating and reducing incidents for the safety of both our colleagues and customers."
The cameras will be worn on staff uniforms and will record distressing incidents to provide police with video evidence.
Moment Co-op worker grabs fleeing shoplifter by the THROAT to stop him making off with arms full of stolen items
Superdrug have also issued police-style bodycams and headsets to staff amid soaring levels of violence by shoplifting thugs.
Abuse and attacks on shop workers rocketed 50 per cent from 870 to 1,300 incidents-a-day last year, according to a leading trade body.
Stores are resorting to desperate measures after the British Retail Consortium blasted 'woefully inadequate' government action to tackle the High Street 'crisis'.
The consortium's survey also revealed shoplifting has more than doubled to 16.7 million incidents in the past year, up from eight million.
They added: "The cost of theft has soared to almost £1 billion a year."
A poll earlier this year found one in six staff workers were physically attacked by abusive customers.