Home Bargains, Tesco and Asda customers issued with pressing warning

Serious questions have been raised over the measures some stores are going to in a bid to crack down on crime and shoplifting with customers warned of their rights

The use of facial recognition cameras in UK stores have been thrown under the spotlight after a Home Bargains customer was put on the watchlist in a row over 39p paracetemol.

The woman, who does not want to be named, only discovered she’d been added to a database of banned customers when she returned to the budget store on Grove Farm retail park in Chadwell Heath. Many stores like Tesco, Asda and Sports Direct are using the technology to crack down on shoplifting, despite privacy campaigners arguing that the surveillance infringes the rights of shoppers.

It works by analysing CCTV footage and comparing faces against a private database of known offenders, triggering an alert to staff when a match is made by the software.

The debate was reignited after the woman picked up two boxes of paracetemol and asked her daughter to pay for them while she popped to Lidl next door.

According to a data complaint she’s since made to the Information Commissioner’s Office, “she was accused by staff of theft, had her bag searched, and her own personal paracetamol (which she carries regularly) was confiscated.”

She denied taking the paracetamol but was in a rush and so “left the shop and she thought nothing of it,” her daughter said.

She had no idea that her name had been added to the watchlist until she returned to the shop on 30 May where she was allegedly asked to leave by a member of staff, whose offer of explanation was to point her to a Facewatch sign.

She “later discovered that, based solely on this disputed and minor allegation, Home Bargains had added her biometric data to a Facewatch watchlist,” it is claimed.

The complaint goes on: “To be clear: [she] did not steal the paracetamol during the first visit. The allegations by Home Bargains are false. However, even taking Home Bargains’ allegations at face value, their – and Facewatch’s – biometric processing was clearly not in the substantial public interest.

“The watchlist entry was created and acted upon in order to apprehend someone supposedly guilty of (on one occasion) stealing goods valued at less than £1. It is scarcely possible to imagine a less serious ‘offender’.”

Mark Hodgson, chairman of private investigators Tremark and vice-president of the Association of British Investigators weighed in on the legal and ethical pitfalls of the technology.

He said: “A key concern is whether customers are giving meaningful consent.

“If facial recognition is rolled out with no clear opt-out, serious questions arise about autonomy and informed choice.”

“If such data is stored insecurely or accessed by unauthorised parties, the risks to individuals could be severe,” he adds.

“If a customer is wrongly flagged, as happened in this case, what recourse do they have, and how quickly can errors be corrected?”

He stresses that retailers need swift appeal channels and staff training to prevent wrongful bans that damage reputations.

Speaking about the Home Bargains case, he added: “Home Bargains – and any other retailer using Facewatch – will need full transparency on any partnerships with law enforcement.”

He suggests examining less intrusive fixes first, such as better store design to reduce blind spots, visible staff presence at exits and AI video analytics that track behaviour patterns rather than faces.

He added: “The Home Bargains episode proves that even a single false alert can erode public trust. Without airtight safeguards, the privacy and civil-liberty risks may outweigh anti-theft gains.

“Shoppers, regulators and responsible retailers must demand strict governance before cameras start deciding who may or may not enter a shop.”

A Facewatch spokesperson told the Guardian: “Facewatch exists to help retailers prevent crime and protect their employees in a way that is lawful, proportionate and respectful of individual rights at a time when shoplifting in England and Wales has reached a record 516,971 offences, and incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers have surged to more than 2,000 per day.

“Facewatch is committed to transparency, accuracy, and upholding the highest standards of data protection and public reassurance and our technology and processes remain fully compliant with UK data protection legislation and latest regulatory guidance.”