Bunnings has completed the rollout of facial recognition technology (FRT) across all New Zealand retail stores, reinforcing its ongoing investment in protecting team members and customers from rising incidents of retail crime, violence and abuse.
Threatening incidents in Bunnings stores have more than doubled over the last four years. FRT is being used alongside a range of tools to help identify repeat, serious offenders and protect the team and customers from harm.
Bunnings General Manager New Zealand, Melissa Haines, said the milestone marked an important step in responding to the increase in retail crime.
“Every member of our team deserves to come to work knowing they'll be safe. While most customers do the right thing, we continue to see incidents of violence, aggression and abuse that simply aren't acceptable,” said Haines.
"Independent team member research conducted during the first two phases of the rollout has shown 69 percent of team members say FRT has improved safety for the team, and 87 per cent are positive about the use of FRT in their store. Our team have told us that knowing FRT is in place helps them feel safer.”
Haines added that facial recognition technology allowed identification of people who have previously engaged in serious, violent or threatening behaviour so that teams can prepare appropriately and help prevent situations from escalating.
The phased implementation has allowed Bunnings to progressively assess its team training, governance processes and privacy safeguards while incorporating feedback from team members, customers and the community.
"The completion of the rollout isn't the end of the work for us. We’ll continue to review how the technology is operating with privacy safeguards and governance processes as part of our commitment to responsible use.”
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