Kickstarting a new pilot program at select locations, Walmart employees are now testing body cameras as a new security measure against rising threats faced in-store. Walmart isn’t the first retailer to begin testing body cameras as a safeguard against theft and violence, but it is one of the largest in the country to do so.
Shoppers have grown more brazen with their attitude against store employees and with the holiday season here, tempers are even higher. Details of the Walmart security camera pilot are few in number as the business has not released any data on the testing, but we know that at least one Walmart store in Denton, Texas has enforced the body cam program after a shopper shared a photo from the outlet earlier this month.
Image: Walmart
Walmart Employees Don Body Cameras as a Security Measure Against Theft and Violence
Earlier this year, TJX companies began testing the use of body cameras at certain stores, primarily as a way to discourage external theft. The retail shoplifting prevention strategy was intended to de-escalate situations and inhibit people from doing anything untoward when they realized they would be caught on tape.
The company has not released any updates on the program and whether it has been beneficial, however, Walmart has launched its own security camera pilot study to test the waters.
“While we don’t talk about the specifics of our security measures, we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry. This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions,” a spokesperson from Walmart told CBS MoneyWatch.
From what we can tell, the program is being tested in the Dallas area, and customers have shared images of the yellow-black recording device and the signs at the store that say “body-worn cameras in use,” to alert customers about the possibility of being recorded.
Is Walmart’s Body Cam Program Really Necessary?
According to the National Retail Federation’s report from 2023, there were “unprecedented levels” of crime, violence, and theft in the retail industry. While the Federation did not release a report this year, it has appealed to legislators to consider supporting the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act as a way to bring retailers, law enforcement, and policymakers together.
There are two parts to the problem Walmart is trying to confront—theft and employee safety. The United for Respect Education Fund found that between January 1 and December 31, 2023, there were over 200 distinct incidents of violence at Walmart stores across the country.
The threats varied in severity but ranged from gun violence to physical assault. The data also showed that 6 of the top 10 states in the country in terms of violent incidents, were in the Southern U.S. These numbers confirm that workers are often at risk of facing violence at work.
Organized retail crime is also on the rise, and many businesses have experienced loss of merchandise that eventually hurts their profit margins. While employees are required to oversee everything taking place within the store, they cannot be expected to put themselves at risk to defend against those who intend to steal from the business.
Despite the risk of employee over-surveillance, body cameras can serve as a way to record the incident for law enforcement without putting the employee at risk. The body cam program can also be useful in recording incidents with aggressive customers who may later accuse the employees of acting out against them.
As Walmart begins testing the body cameras, we’ll know more about just how effective it is as a solution to the problems faced by in-store employees.
