Supermarkets Trial Facial Recognition Amid Rising Youth Offenders

A recent report highlights concerning trends related to facial recognition technology being trialled in supermarkets in Christchurch, New Zealand. According to findings from Foodstuffs South Island, teenagers represent a significant portion of individuals exhibiting threatening behaviour towards supermarket staff. The trial, which began in October 2023, aims to assess the effectiveness of facial recognition systems in enhancing safety for both employees and customers.

Foodstuffs South Island is currently testing facial recognition in three locations: Pak’nSave stores in Redwood and Sydenham, along with a New World in St Martins. The company’s Privacy Impact Assessment noted that while minors under the age of 18 are not included in the watchlist for the trial, six out of ten of the top offenders identified across the South Island network are teenagers. This statistic raises questions about the challenges posed by youth behaviour in retail environments.

The report emphasized that the decision to exclude minors from the watchlist does not diminish the trial’s effectiveness. A spokesperson for Foodstuffs stated, “Excluding minors does not reduce the usefulness of the trial. Its purpose is to assess whether facial recognition technology can help our teams identify adult repeat offenders who have previously been involved in serious incidents.” This approach intends to allow staff to intervene early and prevent further issues.

In the past year, Foodstuffs has identified 206 repeat offenders across 38 stores in 32 suburbs, with these individuals linked to over a thousand reported incidents of serious threats. The company justified the implementation of facial recognition technology, citing an “escalating level of serious threatening behaviours by repeat offenders” as a risk to the safety of staff and customers.

Technology and Operational Impact

The facial recognition trial employs a system that involves continuous recording through integrated cameras. In a previous trial conducted in North Island stores, the technology scanned 226 million faces, resulting in 1,742 alerts, of which 1,200 were confirmed as individuals on watchlists. These watchlists are exclusive to individuals known for violent or aggressive behaviour in stores, categorized as either ‘Extreme Threat’ or ‘High Risk’.

For a match to be flagged, the system requires a minimum accuracy of 92.5%. Upon detection, two trained staff members evaluate the situation, deciding whether to observe the individual, contact law enforcement, or intervene directly.

The Privacy Impact Assessment further noted that the North Island trial had shown effectiveness in reducing serious threatening behaviours. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) assessed the earlier trial, concluding that while privacy intrusion levels were high due to the collection of every visitor’s face, the implemented safeguards mitigated these concerns to acceptable levels.

Privacy Considerations and Future Steps

Foodstuffs is utilizing technology from Australian firm Vix Vizion, known for its accuracy in facial recognition, alongside products from Auckland-based Auror. The trial generates temporary biometric templates of shoppers, which are discarded if there is no match to the watchlist. While detection data is stored within Auror’s platform for up to seven years, images are deleted on the same day.

Before initiating the trial, Foodstuffs engaged with the OPC, which will receive monthly updates on the project’s progress. The current biometric processing privacy code, which commenced on November 3, 2023, does not apply to this supermarket trial.

The implementation of facial recognition technology in supermarkets is positioned as a proportional response to increasing incidents of threatening behaviour. As Foodstuffs South Island continues its trial, the outcomes will be closely monitored to balance safety needs with privacy considerations.