Central Co-op reinforces staff safety as night gets darker

Central Co-op is reinforcing its commitment to colleague safety and security as the UK heads into winter season and the nights get darker. 

It comes at the start of Respect for Shopworkers Week 2022, an initiative started by the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) to protect retail workers from violence and abuse. 

The convenience retailer has hit one year of colleague bodycams in stores since first introducing them in 2021. 

Central England Co-op rolled out staff body cameras to over 50 stores following a successful trial in two Birmingham shops. The retailer introduced the body cams to in an effort to deter threats and acts of violence towards retail staff members and security guards. 

Figures from the first six months of 2022 show significant drops in verbal abuse and threats compared to the previous year, and the bodycams work to deter would-be criminals alongside surveillance of volatile incidents, stated reports, adding that here has been a recent rise in retail staff being abused by customers as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies. 

Central Co-op has been a vocal supporter of a change in the legal penalties for assaulting shop workers, including new legislation in which abuse against individuals who serve the public has become an aggravated offence. 

“All of our colleagues have actually felt a lot safer since the introduction of bodycams,” commented Store Manager Gillian Evans, who participated in the original trial. 

“We now have peace of mind that aggressive behaviour can be recorded and handed to authorities if necessary, but we’ve also noticed that their presence defuses situations where tensions may escalate.” 

“The training has been incredibly effective and the cameras themselves are easy to use and operate. We even find colleagues requesting them proactively when they’re working, so they’ve really been a useful investment all round. 

“It’s hard to imagine working without them now, and although the vast majority of our shoppers are respectful and law abiding, these body cameras serve as a deterrent and added security when required.”