Purpose in action

Everyone deserves to feel safe

02 September 2025

Everyone deserves to feel safe in our stores

At Sainsbury's, we believe that everyone deserves to feel safe when they come to work or to shop with us.

We led the way as the first UK retailer to roll-out colleague-worn cameras in 2018. We’ve also introduced protective screens for kiosks, exit barriers, in-store detectives and a range of product security measures. As a founding member of Project Pegasus, we’re also proud to work with Government and police in the drive to tackle retail crime.

Sadly, despite all this and more, incidents of abuse, aggression and theft are rising. Our colleagues have told us they’re worried. USDAW’s latest Freedom From Fear survey also found that 77% of shop workers have experienced verbal abuse while more than half (53%) were threatened by a customer.[1] Customers are noticing too. Over a third feel shoplifting is getting worse, and one in five are concerned about violence against supermarket staff.[2] Abuse should never be part of the job, so we’re taking action.

Trialling facial recognition to improve safety

We’re trialling facial recognition technology in our Sydenham superstore and Bath Oldfield Local. The system is designed to alert trained colleagues to known offenders who have committed acts of violence, aggression or theft. More than half of customers we surveyed support using this technology to protect people in stores and nearly two thirds of Sainsbury’s shoppers back its role in identifying repeat offenders. Privacy is at the heart of the trial, with all data handled in line with UK law. All alerts are reviewed by people, not technology alone and only those with a record of criminal behaviour are flagged. All other data generated by the software is instantly deleted.

We have partnered with Facewatch, which provides a system that meets the requirements of the Information Commissioner's Office for lawfully deterring crime. In fact, it's known to have reduced crime by up to 70 percent in other stores. Clear signage is in place at trial stores to help people understand how it works, and everyone can learn more about how it works here.

Our commitment to safety

This trial is part of a wider effort to make our stores safer. We’ll keep listening, investing and updating everyone as we go because at Sainsbury’s, protecting people will always come first.

“The role my team plays in supporting our customers and the community around us means a lot to all of us. I’m incredibly proud of what we do and making sure our store is a safe and welcoming place is really important to me. After 17 years in retail, including the last year managing our Sydenham store, it’s easy to feel like you’ve pretty much seen it all. But I have never witnessed theft, anti-social and threatening behaviour at the level we are seeing now. These actions impact my team and our customers, who all too often witness, or even worse, become the target of threatening incidents and theft. This has to stop. Sainsbury’s has trialled and introduced lots of different security measures over the years, but facial recognition technology is different. It adds an extra layer of security that will give us the confidence and opportunity to be one step ahead of people committing criminal acts in our store.”

Kashif Rasoo

Sydenham Superstore Manager, shares his experience:

“Retail crime causes significant harm to shop workers, businesses and communities, threatening livelihoods and eroding public confidence. That’s why we’re working with businesses like Sainsbury’s to tackle this issue head-on.

“Our Safer Streets Summer Initiative is boosting police visibility and coordination with local councils and businesses in over 500 town centres across England and Wales, making our high streets safer.

“But we’re going further, working with retailers and the police to put in action the Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy to target all forms of shop theft, including organised gangs, and passing new laws to protect retail workers from abuse.

“This Government stands with retailers and workers—retail crime will not be tolerated.”

Dame Diana Johnson, Crime and Policing Minister

“We welcome Sainsbury’s ongoing programme of work to protect retail workers and customers from the continued threat of abuse and violence in stores.

"Our Freedom From Fear campaign has long highlighted the unacceptable levels of violence faced by shopworkers, along with widespread concerns about safety across the retail sector.

"We look forward to seeing the results of the trial of facial recognition software and will continue to work closely with Sainsbury’s to support a responsible, evidence-led approach to tackling retail crime.”

Joanne Thomas, USDAW General Secretary

^{[1] Usdaw Freedom From Fear survey report, 2024: https://usdawlive.b-cdn.net/live/media/ppebstpb/fff-survey-report-2024.pdf}

^{[2] Sainsbury’s survey of 2,000 UK respondents, conducted by Kokoro in July 2025}