Walmart Employees Will Start Wearing Body Cameras To Prevent Theft

Walmart has launched a new pilot program that will authorize some store associates to wear body cameras to prevent theft.

The new pilot program will be launched at a select number of stores.

Locations implementing the new pilot program will have signs outside the store that read, “Body-worn cameras in use.”

A Walmart spokesperson shared, “While we don’t talk about the specifics of our security measures, we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry,”

Walmart tests body cameras for store employees as retail crime surges https://t.co/UUvrM3Dfpz pic.twitter.com/neD7cMhVht

— New York Post (@nypost) December 17, 2024

Walmart said it's testing body cameras on some store employees. https://t.co/gnbJ3xWrAT

— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 17, 2024

Per CNBC:

Walmart has started giving store-level associates body cameras to wear as part of a pilot program at some of its U.S. locations, CNBC has learned.

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It’s not clear how many of Walmart’s stores have the recording devices, but some locations now have signs at entry points warning shoppers that it has “body-worn cameras in-use,” according to witnesses and photos posted online.

In at least one store in Denton, Texas — about 40 miles north of Dallas — an associate checking receipts was seen wearing a yellow-and-black body camera earlier this month, according to a shopper who shared a photo with CNBC.

“While we don’t talk about the specifics of our security measures, we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry,” a Walmart spokesperson told CNBC. “This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions.”

Walmart, the largest nongovernmental employer in the U.S., is testing the technology after smaller retailers started trying body cameras at their own stores as a way to deter theft. Body cameras and the footage they gather are commonly advertised as a way to prevent shoplifting, but Walmart intends to use the tech for worker safety — not as a loss prevention tool, according to a person familiar with the program.

Walmart employees are now wearing body cameras in some stores https://t.co/YhpEZDtKsC

— CNBC (@CNBC) December 17, 2024

Per The New York Post:

Walmart employees have begun to wear body cameras as concerns about crime and shoplifting are on the rise.

The Arkansas-based retail giant recently began a pilot test involving multiple stores in the Dallas area to address confrontations with unruly customers, a person familiar with the initiative told The Post.

“While we don’t talk about the specifics of our security measures, we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry,” a Walmart spokesperson said in a statement. “This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions.”