FACIAL recognition cameras are helping reduce crime in a shop on a high street in Newport.
“The cameras have helped,” said Lawrence Jones-Hughes, store manager at SportsDirect on Commercial Street in Newport city centre.
SportsDirect in Newport have experienced a lot of shoplifting, Mr Jones-Hughes said: “The shoplifting is dreadful around here.”
In the last few months SportsDirect have put facial recognition cameras at the entrances to their stores.
These facial recognition cameras will spot someone who is on their system who has shoplifted in the store before.
“If someone comes in who we have on our system, all the staff immediately get an alert on their phone,” said Mr Jones-Hughes.
The SportsDirect shop on Commercial Street is also linked with the system at their store in the East Retail Park in Maesglas. This means that anyone who has been caught on CCTV shoplifting on one store will be flagged to the staff if they were to enter the other store.
Mr Jones-Hughes said the only issue is that someone has to be on their system in order for the staff to be notified of them entering the store.
In November the Argus reported that shoplifting cases in Gwent up by 43% in the last year.
This increase in Gwent shoplifting cases was according to the The Office for National Statistics. This is most out of all the Welsh police areas.
Mr Jones-Hughes said shoplifting, which happens every day, is getting worse this time of the year, as thieves are stealing from SportsDirect and “selling it off at Christmas”.
The shop installed facial recognition cameras to spot repeat offenders. The shop also have tags on many of their items.
In November, the new methods to deter the crimes in the shop had just been put in place.
However, at the time Mr Jones-Huges said the extra security had not stop shoplifters.
“Yesterday, I saw a bloke take some clothes off the rack and make for the door. I shouted at him and he ran out. I tried to chase after him but couldn’t get near him,” said Mr Jones-Hughes.
However, after a few weeks of them being in place, the shop has noticed a decline in shoplifting.