'Privacy is dead': The questions being raised over body cameras in stores

Businesses are looking for ways to combat crime.

"You're seeing more cameras being installed, better lighting outside and inside. In some cases, you're seeing them maybe rejig the floor plan that they have," said Retail Council of Canada Atlantic Director Jim Cormier.

Canada's largest food retailer is taking measures a step further. Loblaw has launched a three-month pilot project where body cameras will be worn at select stores in Calgary and Saskatoon.

"We are taking these steps to increase safety and reduce risks for our customers and colleagues in certain areas where criminal activities are more prominent. Our goal is to see an overall decrease in violent encounters in these stores," a Loblaw spokesperson said in an email to CTV News.

Loblaw said the on-duty store manager and security team will be trained to use the cameras.

"Based on the results from other companies that have implemented this technology, we believe it will help de-escalate situations, keeping our store teams and our customers safer," said the spokesperson.

The practice is raising some questions.

"What are you doing with this data and the capturing of people's images? Are you keeping it for a week? Are you keeping it for a day? What are you doing to properly inform people? But the irony is, is that this privacy is dead," said St. Thomas University criminology professor Michael Boudreau.

"In some cases, people may not really be upset that they're being recorded, but it's still tricky."

Loblaw's decision comes at a time when shoplifting is on the rise in many areas across the country. Recent data shows Nova Scotia had the highest rate in the country.

"It's not just the bigger retailers that are getting hit with this rise and increased organized retail crime. Small independent retailers are dealing with the same thing and they don't necessarily have the inventory where they can sustain a major theft from their store," said Cormier.

Halifax Regional Police said so far this year, there have been 4,468 shoplifting incidents below $5,000 and 12 shoplifting incidents over $5,000. In 2023, there were a total of 5,154 incidents below $5,000 and 19 over.

"It's just it's become a level of frustration for our retailers where they have to do everything that they can to try and create a welcoming environment for the vast majority of honest customers, but it's this rise in organized retail crime and the threats of violence and the actual violence that often goes with it," said Cormier.

While Loblaw did not say whether it plans to expand the pilot project beyond Calgary and Saskatoon, shoppers in Halifax are paying attention.

"I would be interested to see about what the implementation of it brings forward and if it actually changes theft or not, because if it doesn’t, then I don't know If the extra measures are needed," said shopper Raylene MacLellan.

"If it's good for catching the shoplifters, that's a good thing," said shopper Ron Delaney.

There could be some other advantages when it comes to the body worn cameras in retail settings.

"If there is an incident where someone is seen to be shoplifting, this evidence could then be used in court to possibly convict them as opposed to just having an employee testify that that's what they thought they saw," said Boudreau.

"If it's a well-organized scheme, all the security in the world isn't going to necessarily prevent it. What you can hope for is that if you've got enough cameras, you can find the perpetrators after the fact."

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