Tesco stores are refusing entry to customers until they have been checked on CCTV, as violent incidents against retail workers in the UK surge.
The policy, which has been in effect for a few years according to the retail giant, has recently come into the spotlight after a staff worker spoke about the procedure at their store in Bristol.
The Bristol, North Street branch keeps its doors closed until shoppers have been viewed on camera to see if they are suspected thieves.
Shoppers must wait on the other side of the automated doors until they are deemed not a threat.
A Tesco store in Bristol is stopping shoppers from entering before they've been checked on CCTV
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Baskets have also been removed from the front of the store as thieves were filling them up with goods before making a quick exit.
“It has got so bad we have to check who is coming in,” an employee told The Sun.
“We know some of them and just don’t let them in the shop.
“They just fill up a basket and laugh at us and say ‘you can’t catch me’ and walk off.”
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The policy can be implemented in any Express store if they deem it necessary, the retail giant said.
It runs from 6.00am to 9.00am, as well as late in the evenings when there is no security staff on the doors.
The staff member explained the reasoning behind these hours, stating that shoplifting was typically at its worst at the beginning and end of the day.
They said it can be intimidating working in the shop but knowing the thieves cannot be stopped, is something that has made the shoplifters “cocky”.
The decision comes amid a 50 per cent rise in violent incidents against staff in the UK last year, according to the British Retail Consortium.
The trade association also said that crime has cost businesses £1.7billion in the last year.
Earlier this month, a shoplifter stole over £80 worth of meat from a Tesco store in New Milton, prompting police to launch an investigation.
Tesco announced last year they would be giving staff body-worn cameras to members of staff after a rise in violent attacks
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Meanwhile, last month, a thief stole £96 worth of alcohol from a store in Peterborough, before proceeding to punch a staff member in the face.
Joleen Maughan, the shoplifter, has since been sentenced to 12 weeks in prison as well as pay £50 in compensation to the victim of the assault.
In September 2023, Tesco announced they would be giving staff body-worn cameras to members of staff after a rise in violent attacks.
The supermarket revealed that physical assaults rose by a third from September 2022 to 2023.
Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said that they had invested £44million in four years on security measures, including the cameras, but said that more needed to be done.
“Money spent on making sure people are safe at work is always well spent,” he told The Mail.
“But it should not have to be like this. Crime is a scourge on society and an insult to shoppers and retail workers.”