Continuing our recent theme of surveillance, a month ago it was reported that Tesco was to allow any member of its shop floor staff who wished to wear a body-cam to do so. This has now reached us. In Rhuthun/Ruthin, slightly fewer than about a quarter of staff now do this. These tend to be other than behind a till. Tills are already well 'protected' by fixed CCTV.
The only way to avoid Tesco in store CCTV is to get a home delivery... but no doubt the van has it and possibly the driver has a body-cam, too...
Indeed, there are 28 CCTV cameras inside Tesco.
Interestingly, Tesco has yet to plaster its self-service checkouts with cameras (though there is general coverage from above). This'll come, no doubt. The Co-op did so in 2021. These are cameras that record you in close up as you zip your shopping through the automatic tills. The Co-op has six self-service tills each with an eye-level camera.
More than that, however, the Co-op has 20 fixed CCTV cameras inside its store. That's only eight fewer than the much, much larger Tesco. Whether the Co-op combines these with facial recognition technology and its associated watch lists is unlikely: in 2022, Co-op deployed this software in 35 stores and it's probable Rhuthun/Ruthin's wasn't one of them. Mind you, that'll come, too, and when it does we probably won't even know it.
You would expect use of such advanced software on the streets of China but not in your 'Caring Sharing Co-op' (as the advert used to ring).
And, it's most likely that you and I would rather not be constantly watched, wouldn't you say?