Pak'nSave staff in Tauranga are wearing bodycams like the one pictured to deter crime and disorderly behaviour. Photo / Jed Bradley
OPINION
“If you see someone stealing food – no, you didn’t.”
This is a mantra that circulates on certain corners of the internet suggesting that you look the other way if you witness a person hiding a loaf of bread up their shirt or stashing a packet of rice in their handbag.
Now, let’s be clear – whether or not you would look the other way if you saw a person shoplifting a small item or two of food, the person taking that food is committing an illegal act.
Taking something from a store without paying for it is theft. That’s pretty black and white.
But the people who espouse this internet mantra are suggesting that if a person is desperate enough to risk getting into trouble with the law over a loaf of bread, it is morally right to pretend you saw nothing.
After all, the argument goes, supermarkets factor loss into their pricing and they’re certainly not the ones struggling to make ends meet.
Does that make it okay?
Well, no. But, like so many things, there are going to be shades of grey.
Many of us would sympathise with the plight of a struggling mother desperate enough to steal nappies for her baby, even while knowing that her actions are definitely, 100 per cent, unarguably unlawful. On one hand – she’s committing a criminal act. But on the other – would we do the same in her shoes?
One of the reasons why I believe that internet mantra has proved itself so popular is that it makes people feel a bit of a Robin Hood against the powerful, profitable supermarket chains.
But it’s not the grocery industry bosses who come face-to-face with thieves and aggressive members of the public – it’s the (mostly) low-wage staff members on the shop floor.
In an article published last week, it was revealed that Pak’nSave Tauranga has begun fitting its staff with front-facing cameras “for the purposes of preventing crime and managing disorderly behaviour”.
Emma Wooster, spokeswoman for Foodstuffs, which owns Pak’nSave and New World supermarkets, said it was “a sad reality that retail crime is on the rise”.
Wooster said Foodstuffs’ stores were individually owned, which meant the security tools used at each of its stores varied. She said some stores had chosen to use body cameras to “help keep team members safe”.
Countdown is also considering using body cameras.
I have to say, I’m a little sceptical about how much of a real impact they’ll have, given that there are CCTV cameras literally everywhere in 2023 and there’s still quite a lot of crime. Maybe the visibility of the cameras will prove a deterrent – or maybe shoplifters will get better at sleight of hand.
Will body cameras stop people from being aggressive towards staff? Again, I’m sceptical. The people who cause a scene in a supermarket are already doing so in front of a live audience and they’re well aware they’re being recorded.
But maybe the cameras will make other shoppers feel safer. In this day and age, almost all of us are feeling a little on edge about crimes happening to and around us.
The Weekend Herald revealed in a poll that two-thirds of Kiwis are more concerned about being a victim of crime today than they were five years ago.
From 2017 to 2022, reported crime rose 33.1 per cent. The number of offenders arrested dropped 25.4 per cent and convictions dropped 26.2 per cent.
Some of those large fluctuations are due to different reporting methods and higher levels of people reporting crimes, but it is my view that the percentages we’re seeing here can’t entirely be blamed on that.
It would make sense, then, why we feel less safe than before. But do security cameras make us feel safer?
That question got me thinking, so I checked out a few forums discussing the Pak’nSave body cameras. Schools of thought include firstly: “If you’re doing nothing wrong, why are you worried?” And secondly: “Big Brother is watching you.”
I’m more in the second camp myself. Unfortunately, I’m one of those awkward people who suddenly forgets how to walk if I notice someone looking at my feet. The idea of someone recording my bumbling attempt at small talk with a checkout operator makes me feel uncomfortable and self-conscious.
Supermarket workers would probably feel similarly.
I can only imagine how invasive it would feel knowing that every little move, each spoken word, and each step taken, was being recorded and potentially reviewed by a manager.
It’s quite confronting to think about.
In my opinion, it is important these cameras are not used against customers already struggling to get by.
If they indeed make shoppers and staff members feel safer despite my scepticism – great. That’s a positive. If they bust a few large-scale crime rings, even better.
But if they’re used to monitor staff or punish those customers just trying their best to survive then, in my view, it becomes more a question of whether the cameras will do more harm than good.
I believe there’s a line to be drawn here. Let’s hope it is drawn in the right place, where it does the least harm for all of us.
Sonya Bateson is a writer, reader and crafter raising her family in Tauranga. She is a millennial who enjoys eating avocado on toast, drinking lattes and defying stereotypes. As a sceptic, she reserves the right to change her mind when presented with new evidence.