Privacy concerns raised, as Winnipeg drug store staff don body-worn cameras to ramp up security | CBC News
Some staff members at a Shoppers Drug Mart in a Winnipeg strip mall are now donning body-worn cameras — part of a new pilot project aimed improving safety and security — but one expert points out it could infringe on customer privacy.
Cashiers at the Shoppers in Dominion Centre, at the corner of Marion Street and St. Mary’s Road, were seen Friday wearing devices about the size of a smartphone.
Loblaw Companies Ltd., Shoppers Drug Mart’s parent company, told CBC News participation in the pilot project is voluntary, hoping it can create a safer experience for customers and staff.
A spokesperson for Winnipeg police told CBC officers have been called to the Shoppers Drug Mart at Dominion Centre 12 times so far this year.
Police said officers received 70 calls for service to Dominion Centre’s Shoppers last year, the same number they received in 2022, but many more than the 24 calls they got in 2023.
The majority of calls involved retail theft, while a handful were for robberies, property damage and fraud, police said.
John Linossier, a regular patron at the Dominion Centre store, said theft is a normal occurrence that he has witnessed himself at the store.
“Just this week, I was in there, and somebody was trying to steal a 30-pack of batteries, which is worth about $30,” he said. “They gotta do something because they’re losing money like crazy.”
While he isn’t convinced body-worn cameras will be a deterrent for shoplifting, he said it could help staff get records of those who are stealing from the store — which he said could be used in a police investigation or for court matters.
“It’s just a big problem, that’s all. Problem of our times,” he said.
WATCH | Shoppers Drug Mart staff wearing body cameras in new pilot project to deter crime:
You might be on camera the next time you go to Shoppers Drug Mart on Marion Street. Body cameras are now being worn by staff.
Last month Shoppers Drug Mart introduced the body camera pilot project to address concerns around theft and safety.
Pauline Gerrard, another Shoppers patron at Dominion Centre, says she has witnessed how security at the store has been ramped up in the last year. But the idea of being recorded by the new body-worn cameras doesn’t quite sit well with her yet.
“There’s a balance … I feel for the business in terms of theft, I’ve definitely seen challenges,” she said. “In terms of privacy, I’m not sure I’m crazy about being recorded … [but] I don’t know what a better solution is, though.”
Concerns over customers’ privacy
Ann Cavoukian, former privacy commissioner of Ontario, said stores rolling out these kinds of measures should, at the very least, display clear notices of what’s being recorded and have the footage deleted at the end of the day if nothing happened at the store that would justify the need to keep it.
“People’s facial images are very sensitive. They can be used and abused in a variety of manners. What are they doing with that information?” Cavoukian said.
Loblaws said if the footage is not required for investigation, it is deleted as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will be stored in a secured cloud-based system.
But Cavoukian said it is still unclear how the company will assess whether or not to save the recorded material.
“Is someone following up on this at the end of the day? Does someone take notice and make sure … the data is immediately deleted at the end of the day?” she said. “I’m guessing they’re not going to such lengths to get rid of the information.”
While Cavoukian understands stores’ concerns about retail theft, the measure can infringe on customers’s privacy.
“A whole range of activities that you don’t want to be captured on camera that’s no one’s business. You go in to buy something at a Shoppers Drug Mart or pick up a prescription,” she said.
“Privacy is critical to our society. [It] forms the foundation of our freedom. Freedom is everything,” she said.
Besides the retail store at Dominion Centre, a Shoppers Drug Mart on Osborne Street and another location on Marion Street have adopted the pilot project, Loblaws said.
Superstores on Regent Avenue and McPhillips Street are also outfitting body-worn cameras to some of their employees.
