Tesco offers body cameras to staff as physical attacks soar

In an article for The Mail on Sunday, Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy stated that physical assaults have risen by a third compared with this time last year.

Murphy emphasised that, while the people responsible for these incidents are “few in number”, this has a significant impact on staff.

Tesco has invested £44m over four years in security measures, including door access systems, protection screens, digital radios and the new body cameras.

Murphy said that the new cameras will help protect Tesco’s “unsung heroes”.

“Money spent on making sure people are safe at work is always well spent,” he said.

“But it should not have to be like this. Crime is a scourge on society and an insult to shoppers and retail workers.”

Murphy said it was “time we put an end to it” and that the rising number of incidents was “unacceptable”, condemning the impact on workers.

He also called for a legal change to make abuse or violence towards retail employees an offence across the UK.

“I want those who break the law in our stores brought to book,” he said.

“After a long campaign by retailers and the union Usdaw, last year the government made attacking shop workers an aggravating factor in convictions – meaning offenders should get longer sentences.

“Judges should make use of this power. But we need to go further, as in Scotland, and make abuse or violence towards retail workers an offence in itself.”

 Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Co-op already offer their staff body cameras.