Woolworths New Zealand has planned to launch team safety cameras in all 191 stores this week, following positive feedback from its 17-store trial. The retailer has listened to team members who said the team safety cameras help de-escalate conflict situations and make them feel safer.
Woolworths New Zealand Director of Stores Jason Stockill found it troubling that these measures had to be taken, but he was also happy to see such good results from efforts.
“Our team deserves to feel safe coming to work every day, and what they’re dealing with is unacceptable. While 99 percent of people walking through our door are great and treat our team well, every day, our team across the country is still experiencing instances of abuse and aggression from shoplifters and other offenders,” said Woolworths New Zealand Director of Stores Jason Stockill.
“Speaking to team members who have trialled using team safety cameras, they’ve told me they feel much safer knowing that they have a tool to record abuse or conflict when it arises - and often turning the camera on actually de-escalates the situation completely, which is fantastic.”
The rollout of team safety cameras is part of Woolworths New Zealand’s three-year, NZ $45 million investment programme, adding more security measures to stores.
The cameras are only turned on in the event of a security incident, and footage will only be released when police request it as part of an investigation.
Woolworths New Zealand team members are also required to notify customers before recording. In the next few months, the retailer will install new secure knife cabinets in the produce, deli, butchery, and bakery departments to reduce their visibility and accessibility to potential offenders.
Every security measure implemented in Woolworths stores complies with New Zealand law and privacy requirements.
