The UK’s most popular supermarket is rolling out body cameras to thousands of its delivery drivers who feel at increased risk of attack due to the expansion of age verification checks.
Tesco said 5,000 of its employees who deliver groceries to customers’ homes will receive body cameras by the end of the year.
The move follows “increasing levels of threats and violence” towards drivers in recent years, the supermarket said.
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A trial carried out by the retailer showed that the cameras act as a deterrent and reduce serious incidents against drivers by 50%, it said.
The cameras are only turned on if a driver feels unsafe, and a wider rollout is planned next year, Tesco said.
The company delivers 1.45 million online grocery orders per week.
An increased threat
Delivery workers are “particularly” vulnerable retail workers, said the Stores, Distribution and Allied Workers’ Union (USDAW), which welcomed the move.
Expanding age verification to knives is a new issue employees are facing.
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Under age verification laws, delivery drivers are legally required to verify the age of people receiving a delivery of restricted goods such as alcohol, tobacco and, more recently, knives.
“Our members tell us that this can be very problematic and that they feel vulnerable to attack,” USDAW said.
A survey of 300 union workers indicates that 77% had been the victim of abuse, 13% were attacked, and 26% have refused a delivery out of fear for their personal safety in the past year.
More to do
While a new standalone offense of assaulting a retail worker is being introduced via the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill, delivery drivers are not included.
Both USDAW and Tesco have called for this category of staff to be included in the offense, “especially as they work alone without the protection that being in a store provides”, the retailer added.
Such an addition would bring England and Wales closer to Scotland, where delivery drivers are affected.
Tesco said the law had reduced the number of reported cases compared to the rest of the UK.