Balancing Discretion & Safety: Ann Summers Roll Out Reveal R1 Body Cameras

Where privacy and discretion are paramount, the idea of introducing body-worn cameras might seem an impossibility. But as their experience shows, once any myths are dispelled, the technology can not only support staff but improve the experience for everyone in store. 

Sam Tenner, Head of Business Risk for the group, explains why the adoption of body-worn video was considered: 

“It’s a sad fact that it's tougher and tougher to work on our high streets, and with resources dwindling, the ability for police to respond in the way in which we might hope isn’t realistic anymore. So, with instances of confrontation or aggression up, we saw body cameras as a viable personal safety tool. 

People talk about using them [body cameras] for recording shoplifting, and inherently there is a deterrent factor with the camera That's a bonus as far as I'm concerned, and so that didn't form part of any business justification for trialling them in store. 

It was purely around making our people feel we're investing in the right tools to keep them safe, and showing them how to use those tools to actually de-escalate aggressive behaviour.”

“We have great CCTV, we have security guards, but body-worn video is a much more visible front-foot solution than cameras in the ceiling. And CCTV is fantastic but it records crime, it doesn't stop crime – and we know that body-worn video has the potential to de-escalate situations when used correctly.”

The argument for body-worn video was accelerated by two factors: First, customers are increasingly used to seeing retail staff wear the technology. Second, the culture of Ann Summers meant the Board was fully behind ensuring the personal safety of their store colleagues. 

The overwhelming percentage of Ann Summers staff are female, and the business champions internal development and promotion. As a result, many of the key holders or managers will be in their first supervisory position having worked their way up from a part-time role. 

Unlike people who have worked in night-time economy or public sector roles, these staff may have had little experience of conflict in the workplace, and the Board’s Finance Director came forward to act as champion for the trial of body-worn cameras as she understood they could mitigate risk in the important issues of brand reputation and the financial implications of staff retention and wellness. 

The Board are not looking for heroes – they’re more focused on the safety of their colleagues. 

“Staff know we don’t have a magic wand to control society’s ills, but we can demonstrate we take their safety seriously, and that we are prepared to invest in processes to reduce their exposure to risk.

It would be all too easy to say, “there's nothing I can do to control the High Street”, when actually we can control our own environment and should take responsibility for doing so.”

This approach was an extension of the unique training already in place at Ann Summers. Staff are trained to handle intimate conversations, and have scripts to close down discussions if they feel uncomfortable. This empowerment meant Sam could show staff they also had the radar to recognise when a body-worn camera may need to be deployed, and the skills to follow scripts confidently.

“It’s a system that I am really proud of and has been so easy for colleagues to adopt. They will recognise the phrases and warnings they find themselves saying in instances of aggression: “Please don’t raise your voice… you are making me feel threatened…”  

This leads to the trigger point when they slide the big red button and start recording, and that has become a prompt to really start to follow procedure in terms of their behaviours to navigate the de-escalation path successfully. Colleagues take comfort in the fact there is now something to concentrate on and follow.” 

Some colleagues worried that the training was asking them to back-down, but they were assured that the best outcome in any of these situations was the speedy return to a safe, calm shopping environment. Embodying that ethos was, in fact, a show of great strength. 

The Trial of the Technology

Convinced the technology was going to help support colleagues, the trial of body-worn cameras at Ann Summers had three further objectives: 

1. To find the right partner and camera 

2. To have robust but proportionate privacy controls for the brand

3. To ensure colleagues were confident in what to say and do in instances of aggression or conflict

Following a tried-and-tested approach from Reveal, the process started with an extensive questionnaire to gauge colleague understanding and concerns on the topic. 

“I knew getting hard data from a trial like this - particularly where success involved preventative outcomes - might be tricky. So, I wanted to measure the intangible, almost the emotional, benefits. Do you feel safer? Do you feel that the business is taking your safety more seriously as we move through the trial?”  

The trial outcomes were to be viewed in two stages: the first couple of weeks focused on adoption (how quickly staff could familiarise themselves with the hardware); and then the remainder of the trial could look at how the business could get the most out of the technology. 

“I spent a huge amount of time giving the team the assurance that this footage isn't going to end up where it shouldn't, the fact that if, for example, somebody grabs a camera and runs off with it, they can't access that footage somewhere else. All of the sensible privacy controls are there, including two-factor authentication. 

The only people in the business who can access the footage are me and my number two. There is nobody else who can access this footage and I'd like to keep it that way because it's so easy to administer, there's no reason to open this up to a wider access group.”

The R1 also has a pre-record function meaning that the camera continuously captures a time-period before it’s activated to record. This way any critical moments before an incident (which may represent crucial evidence) are not missed. 

“We trialled a 30-second pre-record - hoping that was enough to meet any post-event feeling of “I wish I pressed record a bit sooner.” And that has been long enough in all the instances we have wanted to explore further - so just 30 seconds appears to be the right level of pre-record for us.” 

Sam identified that the flash points for incidents in store were the front entrances and till points, so that’s where cameras were focused and colleagues could opt-in to wearing one. Any concerns were more around being involved in instances of violence or aggression rather than the technology itself, but the Reveal team provided hands-on training to help embed how the cameras would work in tandem with their current operating procedures. 

“Some colleagues raised on the pre-trial survey that they feared this was going to provoke customers. It's a valid concern, but there was absolutely nothing to justify that or support that throughout the trial, which is great news. 

We're not asking them to compromise their own personal safety, and clearly a body-worn camera isn't a shield. It's not a piece of defensive equipment.  It just allows you to record that interaction and obviously step away when there's nothing else you can do to disengage, and we worked hard to make sure colleagues understood that message.” 

The trial took place in three flagship stores - Edinburgh's Princes Street, London’s Oxford Street and Nottingham city centre, which all share a mix of theft and substance abuse driving aggressive interactions. 

“I wanted the solution to be judged on its impact, rather than its cost.

As part of the trial, we made two decisions. One was, I didn't share with the stores the costs of the project, and the other was to not give ongoing feedback about their use. I didn't want it to become like a negative feedback loop. I needed it to embed, and then we could address any issues from an overview, rather than be reactive to one small thing after another.”

“When we did reveal the costs of the trial, every single store manager guessed three or five times over the actual spend. I think that speaks to the perceived value of the solution: not only in the effect it has had, but in the build and feel of the hardware.”

After eight weeks with three cameras in three stores, it was time to assess the success of the trial. Anonymous feedback from the colleagues who took part in the trial was very positive, and recorded the more intangible benefits of technology, including how staff felt more valued and safer. 

“A danger I was conscious of from the beginning of the trial was how would a store team feel if we didn't take this forward? But it became very evident within a couple of weeks that adopting these cameras across the estate was going to be the right thing for us. 

Having the feedback loop to the Board through my sponsor in the Finance Director was a great help in moving things quickly - meaning we could take advantage of this in our busy Christmas period. 

It was really, really important for her to hear first-hand what was working well and discuss our learnings. And we have some amazing examples of store colleagues following our training and de-escalating an incident.

We had two guys in Edinburgh animated, clearly under the influence, intimidating colleagues. The deputy manager used the cameras exactly in the way we told her to, and these two chaps actually apologised on their way out. My FD shared this footage in a Board meeting and said, “See? It's like magic!”

But actually, for the other Board members to hear the shouting and abuse the staff were facing was so impactful. You don't get that on CCTV.”

“I did have some nervousness that the administration of this would be a full-time job, but it really isn’t. We come in, and with our morning coffee we log into DEMS 360 and see what’s there or what needs archiving. It’s minutes of footage, not hours”.

“Reveal gives you the support you need, I honestly couldn't ask for more. We didn't have a single customer complaint about the use of body cameras throughout the trial. And if we can nail the privacy concerns, there's no reason for other retailers not to be using them.

Reveal genuinely took the time to understand our requirements and our shopping environment. They have been brilliant at liaising with our technology team. 

The hardware is great. The software is great. The service is great. 

Everyone has been so easy to deal with, and every time I've needed something from them; they've been there. I call it hyper-care.”

During a busy December trading, stores with body cameras experienced a 42% reduction in personal safety incidents – a major win for Ann Summers in their quest to create safe spaces for both colleagues and customers alike.