Countdown considering body cameras in wake of Dunedin attack

The attack took place at the Cumberland St Countdown on May 10. Photo / ODT

Countdown is one step closer to rolling out a trial of body cameras but they will not be a silver bullet to solve the increasing amount of abuse hurled at retail workers, a union representative says.

A trial of body cameras was considered in the wake of a stabbing attack in the Countdown Dunedin Central store on May 10, 2021, in which four people were injured.

A Countdown spokeswoman confirmed a section about team safety cameras, which was added to the company's privacy policy in an August 19 update, had been added as part of the company's work looking at body cameras as a security measure for staff.

The updated privacy policy will come into effect tomorrow.

The updated policy states "video footage and audio recordings which may identify you from our cameras (including CCTV, security and team safety cameras) for security and theft prevention and/or safety purposes" may be gathered by the company.

First Union retail secretary Ben Peterson said it was open to the new technology being used to help improve staff safety, but body cameras were "definitely not a solution as a whole".

Security was a complex issue that had been increasingly prominent in the past couple of years, he said.

Staff had experienced more aggressive customers, ranging from shoplifters prepared to use violence to ideologically motivated Covid-19 conspiracy theorists.

Even more mundane incidents, such as rowdy teenagers and frustrated shoppers, were contributing to security concerns.

Retail workers saw smaller incidents as linked to the more significant ones, including the stabbing in Dunedin and the one in Auckland's Countdown Lynnmall on September 3, 2021.

"Underneath those extreme incidents we've had a lot of things that have been near-misses."

Guns and knives had been pulled in stores this year, but fortunately none of those events had escalated, Peterson said.

It was possible body cameras would help de-escalate incidents of bad behaviour and identify those engaging in it.

Ultimately, there still needed to be adequate staff and training.

A Countdown spokeswoman said the company was "still working through a number of other considerations" before a body camera trial could be introduced.

Safety was a daily focus and constantly reviewed, she said.

In the past 12 months, Countdown had introduced a new verbal conflict reporting tool, started a rollout of push-to-talk radios and piloted a licence plate recognition system.

A significant third-party review of shoplifting and security from a team and customer safety perspective had also been undertaken, the spokeswoman said.