Tesco staff offered body cameras over crime fears

Tesco’s chief executive Ken Murphy has said staff at Tesco stores will be offered body cameras as violent attacks against staff has risen. 

Physical assaults on staff have increased by a third since last year. 

The findings are similar to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) which found abuse against retail staff had almost doubled compared to pre-Covid levels. 

Other supermarket chains such as Waitrose and Co-op have taken similar action. 

Tesco boss Murphy, writing in the Mail on Sunday, called for tougher laws targeting offenders. He noted changes had been made to make attacking a shop worker an aggravating factor in convictions, but wants “abuse or violence towards retail workers” to be made an offence in itself.

Murphy wants the change to bring England and Wales in line with Scotland, where the Protection of Worker’s Bill makes it an offence to assault, threaten or abuse retail staff.