The rising tide of violence on UK high streets: A growing concern for store staff

UK high streets have become more of a battleground where store staff are facing increasing levels of assault and violence. This alarming trend is not just a matter of concern for the retail industry but also for society at large. The safety and well-being of store staff, who are at the receiving end of this violence, are paramount.

Some retail chains have already made additional investments to provide body-worn cameras to their store staff and employing additional security staff to respond to threats and incidents (see news).  According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), retailers have already invested over 1.8 billion pounds towards enhancing CCTV coverage, increasing security personnel, installing anti-theft devices, and providing body-worn cameras to their store staff.

Shoppers are witnessing violence on high streets

Recent surveys and reports have painted a grim picture of the situation. A shocking 24% of the UK population has witnessed thefts in the past 12 months, while 23% have seen physical or verbal abuse directed at shop staff. These incidents range from racial or sexual abuse to physical assault and threats with weapons.

The Impact on Store Staff

The consequences of such violence are profound. Store staff are not only physically harmed but also suffer from emotional and mental trauma. The fear of being assaulted or abused has become an all-too-common part of their daily lives. This constant threat affects their job performance, mental health, and overall quality of life.

Calls for stronger protections

Retailers and industry bodies like the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have been vocal about the need for tougher laws to protect shop staff. The Government’s Crime and Policing Bill, which aims to create a new offence of assaulting people working inside shops, is a step in the right direction. However, it is crucial that these protections extend to all retail workers, including delivery drivers, who are also frequent targets of violence.

Surveys show that over 60% of respondents were dissatisfied by the poor response from the police. This lack of confidence in policing is seemingly emboldening criminals to steal, threaten, abuse, and assault.

Visual AI: A modern solution

Visual AI combines the power of computer vision and large language models (LLMs) to interpret their environment, provide insights, and automate responses. Integration of visual AI technology with traditional CCTV systems can help combat violence in retail stores.

Visual AI can monitor live video feeds, identify suspicious behaviour, and immediately alert security personnel. This technology can be integrated with existing CCTV systems to enhance their capabilities, making them more efficient in detecting critical events.

SAI Group’s visual AI platform detects suspicious customer behaviour and sends live alerts to the store staff, and the security operations centre enabling quick and effective means to intervene and stop further escalation of situations. The platform works with existing CCTV infrastructure in retail stores and provides return on investment within months of deployment.

The platform greatly simplifies the aspect to crime reporting as it provides legally admissible video evidence on incidents, a huge timesaver for the store staff who currently need to wade through hours of footage to identify and extract the footage of interest.

About SAI

As a leader in computer vision technology, SAI Group delivers cutting-edge, multi-modal AI solutions into retail environments. Using a unique platform approach, its technology uses existing camera systems to target losses, increase store safety, and underpin operational efficiencies.

All solutions are built from the ground up to ensure the highest levels of security and data protection, respecting the privacy expectations of the public and operating to stringent ethical standards while delivering substantial value to our clients. Globally, SAI monitors millions of transactions per day, protecting the revenues from tens of millions of product sales and hundreds of millions of customer interactions. Its models also accurately identify anti-social behaviour, aggression and violence, helping to de-escalate situations with real-time interfaces to security officers and operations centres.