Lincolnshire Co-op Boosts Colleague Safety with Reveal

“I went into my local Lincolnshire Co-op last night in a small market town. The colleague behind the till has been there over a decade and she was wearing the camera, and I said I was pleased to see she was wearing it, and I could see her pride. Her chest sort of puffed out! She said: I have got my name badge here, and my body-worn camera here, and I'm good to go. She recognised it was part of her toolkit now to do her job safely and to the best of her abilities, and that’s what we all want more than anything else.”

Mark Foulds, Security Manager

Lincolnshire Co-op is an independent co-operative society with over 220 outlets, including food stores and pharmacies. The society, which has its own membership scheme and dividend card , employs 3,000 people across its trading area in Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and surrounding counties.

The region has a mix of city centre and more remote rural trading sites, and across them all, the safety of colleagues is the society’s top priority.

However, safety was becoming harder to maintain with a noticeable increase in threats and abuse directed to colleagues from customers, particularly in the retailer’s food stores and pharmacies. Security Manager, Mark Foulds, explains why he thinks that has been the case:

“We were a relatively quiet area, but COVID and the lockdowns changed all that. All of a sudden, our colleagues were expected to police how the public upheld the Government guidelines on our premises – the wearing of face masks; social distancing; restricting number of people in store at any one time – at a time when people were understandably stressed, and perhaps couldn’t see how it was going to end. The result was lots of threats, verbal abuse, and assaults, even on some of our colleagues who were themselves taking on more responsibility in asking people to comply with the new restrictions."

"But this continued after COVID. Some people didn’t go back to social norms – and became people have become more emboldened or entitled. Unfortunately, a shop worker is perceived by those people as someone they can speak down to without consequence. We sell a lot of products in our premises which are subject to legal compliance around age - alcohol; lottery products, tobacco; even things like energy drinks – so colleagues will have to ask for ID on occasion and have the right to refuse a sale to avoid breaking the law. Some of the language they face in response to that is shocking.

Also, in pharmacies you often have customers who aren’t well, so not in the best frame of mind, and if a prescription hasn’t come through, or a product isn’t delivered for collection, tempers can flare. The doctors aren’t there to explain, so it’s our pharmacy colleagues who bear the brunt of it."

Mark needed a means to deter these behaviours and had seen other retailers using body cameras, but none of the ones he’d seen felt right for his colleagues.

“I didn't think they were suitable to our aesthetic as a business; they were very much military or police style, so big, clunky units, worn with over-vests or a type of shoulder holster. And if you think of us, with our village shops, you can’t have a customer come in one morning and see ‘Jane’ who’s been behind the till for 10 years suddenly looking like she’s on army manoeuvers! In all seriousness, it could also be provocative to have something so disproportionate – people may feel the area was unsafe to shop in.”

And it’s not just customers, Mark was aware that any adoption of this technology would have to send the right signals to colleagues too.

Then a colleague visited a Security Conference in Leicester where Reveal were demonstrating their discreet cameras designed for the retail sector.

“He came back and said, “I think I've found a camera that ticks all the boxes for our needs.” It was discreet; easy to wear; easy to use; easy to maintain; and had great audio and image capture.”

Capturing audio was vital. CCTV could capture gestures but not the hateful language that Mark knew some colleagues had to endure. A clear recording of this is very powerful should the incident be escalated to a prosecution.

The size was also key. Colleagues could wear the camera with just a simple magnetic clip straight on their uniform.

And finally, the Reveal camera is fitted with a front-facing screen that shows what the lens is seeing.

“What we tell our colleagues to do is, if somebody is being abusive or threatening, just wake the screen up. There's a power button on the side, they press that, and, all of a sudden, the person who's in front of you confronting you can see themselves on the screen. And we have found that is often enough to resolve a situation. You see the individual saying: “Is that me on that screen? Are you videoing me?” To which the colleague can say they are not, but they will unless they modify their behaviour. And that often is enough to diffuse any situation escalating any further.”

The business commissioned a 3-month trial of the cameras at six sites, chosen for having a history of incidents.

“Reveal really supported us with good advice - insights into the do's and don'ts, through their experience with working with other retailers. They were able to guide us through operating procedures and protocols.

I think the face-to-face onboarding of those sites was critical in getting engagement: For me to be able to stand in front of the store manager or pharmacist and show them we were investing in their safety.”

During the trial, Mark visited the stores and was encouraged by the initial reaction to the technology’s use.

“So, even at the trial stage I could see the stores that had the cameras felt more empowered. The colleagues now had a response. Previously, if somebody was shouting at them, they had to almost stand there and take it. The cameras gave them a means of reply, and the ability to take control of the situation.

And we had feedback from the trial celebrating the fact the society was making this investment in colleague safety.

And the response from the Police was encouraging too. When called to an incident they always found footage and audio captured on the body cam complemented the corresponding images from the store’s CCTV.”

The trial was therefore a great success. Mark believed the cameras could be rolled -out to a further 30 targeted sites. But Lincolnshire Co-op’s Executive Leadership Team made the decision to support even more colleagues, investing in cameras for all 140 food stores and pharmacies and to have them in place for the busy Christmas period.

Reveal and the Lincolnshire Co-op team worked together to make this happen.

“Now, if we open a new store, two or three Reveal cameras will be added to the inventory and supplied to the premises. We see it as a vital tool, not just to enhance the safety and security of our colleagues and their wellbeing, but to empower my team and law enforcement to better investigate offenses against us, and when needed take specific action against the individuals who are causing us problems.”

The story of Lincolnshire Co-op with body-worn video is one of a long gestation, but fast implementation. What advice does Mark have for anyone considering this technology for their colleagues?

“Do your research! Choose a camera which works best for the people who are going to be using it. Success relies on individuals engaging with the product and using it. And be clear with colleagues on why you’re making this investment.

For us it was easy: We’re giving you this to help you, not the business. It’s not there to stop shoplifters; or monitor you. It is there to protect you whilst you're at work.

That said, I'm very pleased that we've found a camera, and a partner, that suits our requirements both as a business and for our individuals.”

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