Retail crime is on the rise, with an exclusive poll for Sky News revealing that 80% of shopkeepers reported a retail crime within a week in October.The boss of Iceland has now said he would 'happily' trial facial recognition technology in his stores to tackle the increase and protect staff.In a post on LinkedIn, Richard Walker said 'urgent' reform was needed to address the 'growing severity' of the issue.
Mr Walker also said: 'Whilst we don't yet use it, I will happily trial and use legal, proportionate facial recognition technology as an effective response to the very real threat my colleagues face.'It comes after policing minister Dame Diana Johnson revealed plans last week to reverse a charter which sees thefts under £200 considered low value, in an attempt to crack down on retail crime.