Retailers across the UK received almost 300,000 real-time alerts warning that known repeat offenders had entered their stores during the first six months of 2026, according to new figures from retail crime technology provider Facewatch.
The company said its live facial recognition network generated 297,433 alerts between January and June, with each notification warning staff that an individual linked to previous offending had entered a participating store, allowing them to take preventative action before theft, abuse or violence could occur.
June was Facewatch's busiest month on record, with 57,111 alerts, surpassing the previous monthly high of 55,462 recorded in May.
The figures come amid continuing concern over retail crime, with police and industry bodies increasingly highlighting the disproportionate impact of prolific offenders on retailers.
"An alert isn't a record of a crime that has already happened, it's a vital opportunity for frontline shop workers to consider a safe response to prevent one," Nick Fisher, chief executive of Facewatch, noted.
"As more retailers adopt this technology, we would naturally expect the number of alerts to grow because more stores are able to identify known offenders. But these figures also reinforce what police and the wider industry is saying, that the same prolific offenders are continuing to target stores time and time again."
Facewatch said the figures support concerns raised by the Metropolitan Police that a relatively small number of prolific offenders are responsible for a significant proportion of shoplifting incidents and frequently continue offending despite repeated arrests and prosecutions.
The company said its technology is now used by more than 125 retailers operating thousands of stores across the UK, including chains such as Budgens and Sainsbury's, as well as Home Bargains, Frasers Group, Flannels and Sports Direct.
It claims retailers using the system have reduced repeat offending by up to 70 per cent, while improving staff safety at a time when the British Retail Consortium estimates there are around 1,600 incidents of abuse and violence against shopworkers every day.
The latest figures suggest 2026 is on course to exceed last year's record. Facewatch generated 516,739 alerts during 2025, more than double the 252,943 recorded in 2024. By the end of June this year, it had already reached almost 58 per cent of its total for the whole of 2025.
On average, the system is now issuing 1,643 alerts a day, compared with 1,415 daily alerts last year.
Alongside the figures, Facewatch announced it is developing a new Crime Management Platform, designed to help retailers manage incidents from prevention through to police reporting and investigation.
The platform will combine live facial recognition with incident management tools and, for the first time, will be capable of instantly alerting police when the most serious offenders trigger a facial recognition match at participating stores.
Fisher said technology had an increasingly important role in both preventing crime and helping retailers deal with incidents afterwards.
"That's why we're continuing to invest in new capabilities, including a new crime management platform which is designed to simplify how retailers record, manage and progress crime incidents from prevention through to reporting and investigation," he said.
The new platform marks a return to Facewatch's original purpose as a digital crime reporting tool before the company expanded into live facial recognition technology. It said the new system will bring prevention, incident management and evidence-led reporting together within a single platform to support retailers and law enforcement.