Some grocery stores owned by Sobeys INorth Carolina. are the last Toronto stores to try body cameras.
In a statement, the retailer confirmed it is piloting the project after body cameras were spotted at FreshCo cashiers at a store located at Sherbourne and Isabella streets.
The cameras are used to combat harassment and assaults directed at employees and to prevent theft and other crimes, said Sobeys spokeswoman Caitlin Gray.
But James Turk, director of the Center for Free Expression at Metropolitan University of Toronto, believes they could have the opposite effect.
“I think it makes any employee… more vulnerable rather than safer because potential thieves can see the body camera and just want to take it away,” he told CBC Toronto.
(CBC)
Sobeys has seen a significant decrease in violence and aggression toward employees and customers since the cameras were introduced in select locations, Gray said in a statement. The retailer also said the body cameras only record when they are activated during an incident and are not used to monitor employees.
Sobeys has not yet responded to questions about when the pilot officially began.
The move is part of a broader trend: Loblaw Companies Ltd. also confirmed to CBC Toronto that it has been running a body camera pilot in some of its stores for the past two years.
But Turk still feels the cameras put employees who use them at unnecessary risk. “They can have the same type of surveillance using fixed cameras aimed at the right places,” he said.
Clients should be informed about bodycam use, experts say
Privacy experts have also expressed some concerns about this practice.
Ontario’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner does not oversee private sector organizations, including grocery stores, but did provide a statement to CBC Toronto expressing concerns that body cameras may collect “more information than necessary.”
The public should also be informed about the use of the cameras and whether and for how long images are retained, according to the statement.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada It also provided a statement saying that any organization subject to the Law on Protection of Personal Information and Electronic Documents should take steps to ensure that the public is informed that video surveillance is taking place.
Organizations must also ensure that recordings that are no longer needed are destroyed, deleted or anonymized, the federal office said.
Stores participating in the Sobeys pilot comply with all applicable privacy laws, including posted signage, Gray said in response.
(Jason Viau/CBC)
Meanwhile, Rui Rodrigues, executive advisor for loss prevention and risk management at the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), said he supports the use of bodycams.
“Retailers in recent years … have been exploring all kinds of options that would help mitigate, reduce or deter crime in their locations,” he told CBC Toronto.
The RCC has found that both the amount retailers have lost and the number of violent incidents in retail establishments have increased in recent years, Rodrigues said.
Body cameras are more visible than CCTV
A Toronto police data dashboard also shows that the number of theft incidents valued at more than $5,000 has increased from 32 in 2020 to 105 in 2024.
With this in mind, Rodrigues said he believes more cameras will deter opportunistic criminals.
“I think the key is knowing it’s there. It’s in your face,” he said, noting that retailers have used similar tactics for years.
“Public viewing monitors, for example… you’ll have a monitor hanging at the entrance, usually a little bit higher when you walk in and see yourself. And that’s a deterrent.”
Regarding Turk’s claim that body cameras are redundant compared to fixed surveillance cameras, Rodrigues said he believes they provide a different point of view for any incident that occurs and may be better at capturing images of criminals trying to hide their identity.
Still, Turk urged any employee who feels unsafe wearing a body camera to talk to their employer.
“If an individual feels that wearing a body camera puts them at risk, they have the right to refuse,” he said, adding that they can also speak to union representatives or contact the Ministry of Labor.
