Countdown will equip staff with body cameras in 10 supermarkets after seeing a rise in violence towards workers.
Over the last six years, Countdown has seen a 303% increase in physical assaults, an 806% rise in security incidents and a 326% rise in theft incidents, the supermarket chain said.
Retail NZ's Carolyn Young joined Breakfast this morning to discuss the "challenges in retail at the moment".
"There's certainly been a significant increase in retail crime and violence towards staff and customers, which threatens health and safety for their wellbeing," Young said. "And of course that also leads on to the viability of businesses."
There's been a rise in aggression and threatening behaviour since Covid, she added.
"It seems that there's been a shift in the social paradigm of how people are behaving and what they feel is acceptable behaviour. As a result, stores are having to look at a wide range of things to put in place to ensure that the majority of people are safe," Young said.
She said moves like implementing new technology across stores can be expensive — but it can also help businesses to stay viable, by ensuring better safety for staff and customers and ensuring smaller losses.
The body cameras for Countdown staff will only be turned on in the event of a security incident.
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