Secured by Design accreditation granted for Facewatch

Every year, upwards of 20 million retail crimes are reported across the UK, costing businesses an estimated £2.6 billion per annum, although the true figure is likely to be significantly higher as many offences go unreported.

What was once opportunistic theft perpetrated by petty shoplifters, retail crime has become more sophisticated and now often involves organised crime gangs, sometimes using violence, intimidation and weapons. Targets range from luxury stores and High Street chains to small independent stores and charity shops.

The impact of such criminality isn’t purely financial. Retail staff are frequently on the receiving end of aggressive behaviour or confrontations and find themselves increasingly at risk, which then leads to workplace stress and anxiety. The latest British Retail Consortium Crime Report points towards 1,600 incidents of abuse and violence towards shop workers every day in the UK.

Cloud-based system

Developed to tackle this growing crime wave, Facewatch is a cloud-based LFR system that helps retailers in proactively identifying known offenders as soon as they enter a protected store.

Cameras positioned at store entrances automatically scan faces and turn the images into biometric templates. Two separate algorithms analyse each template to detect key facial features, including the distance between eyes, nose shape, jawline and multiple other facial reference points.

If both algorithms agree on a match with a known offender on a secure database, and the match also passes human verification conducted by a specialist team of facial analysts, an alert is then sent to the retailer with notifications appearing – both visually and audibly – on mobile devices carried by shop staff who carry out the final visual verification step.

If no match is found, the biometric data is immediately deleted. The image is retained only as standard surveillance footage and for no longer than a period of seven days.

Wider ecosystem

Facewatch operates as part of a wider retail crime prevention ecosystem. Staff are trained to use it responsibly and respond to alerts safely and in accordance with Facewatch’s own policy as well as that of the store/retailer.

Retailers can upload images of individuals involved in offences to Facewatch’s database when an incident has occurred and where there’s reasonable evidence of a crime having been committed. These incidents are checked and verified by Facewatch before they’re accepted on to the database to ensure the incident has been reported correctly, with appropriate supporting evidence (such as surveillance images and staff witness statements).

Facewatch’s crime prevention system has helped to deter repeat offenders and improve staff safety. In 2025 alone, the system generated over 500,000 real-time alerts of known offenders. Retail clients include national chains and independent retailers such as Sainsburys, Budgens, Sports Direct, Costcutter, Spar, B&M and eat17.

The company takes its data responsibility seriously and operates within UK data protection legislation, is compliant with the UK’s General Data Protection Regulation and uses special category biometric data for the prevention and detection of crime. Stores deploying the technology are required to display clear signage informing customers that facial recognition is in use.

Crime prevention

Hazel Goss, development officer at Secured by Design, noted: “It’s great to have Facewatch become a member of Secured by Design again. It’s a truly unique facial recognition system which will help many businesses right across the country to tackle/prevent crime. I’m looking forward to working alongside the company for many more years to come.”

Facewatch CEO Nick Fisher observed: “Secured by Design accreditation is an important signal to our current and future retail partners that we’re open to independent scrutiny and operate our systems and processes according to the very highest standards.”

Fisher concluded: “More retailers are turning to LFR because it’s a proactive crime prevention deterrent that delivers results and protects front line staff who frequently tell us they feel safer when Facewatch is operational.”

*Further information is available online at www.securedbydesign.com and www.facewatch.co.uk