UK retailers triggered more than half a million live facial recognition alerts last year as they stepped up efforts to tackle repeat and organised shoplifting offenders.
New data from Facewatch showed 516,739 alerts were issued to stores in 2025, more than double the 252,943 recorded in 2024, with offending peaking in the run-up to Christmas.
The facial recognition technology company now sends an average of 1,415 alerts a day, compared with 693 per day in 2024, highlighting both the rising volume of offending and reliance by retailers on rapid, intelligence-led responses, Facewatch said.
“Retailers are dealing with levels of theft and aggression that would have been unthinkable a few years ago,” said Facewatch CEO Nick Fisher.
“The fact that alerts have more than doubled in a single year reflects both the growth in repeat and organised offenders and the reality that retailers are under pressure to act faster, smarter and more collaboratively to keep employees and customers safe.”
The alerts are designed to notify retailers in near real time when known prolific and repeat offenders enter shop premises, enabling staff to take preventative action before offences are committed and to safely prepare for known antisocial or violent offenders.
In 2025, Facewatch’s system issued alerts with an average response time of nine seconds. This includes the time taken for specialist facial analysts to verify matches requiring human intervention before alerts are sent to retailers.
Fisher added that speed was now one of the most critical factors in modern retail crime prevention.
He said: “When an alert is delivered in seconds rather than minutes, it gives staff time to prepare, de-escalate or deploy appropriate measures. That can be the difference between prevention or a potentially dangerous incident.
“With violent and abusive behaviour and offenders with weapons becoming increasingly commonplace in a retail crime situation, fast advance warning is no longer just a key benefit – it is absolutely vital. This is about preventing crime where possible, not responding after harm is done.”
No comments yet