Boots trialing body cameras ahead of plans to use them in Milton Keynes

The Co-op has brought in body cameras to protect their staff from a rise in abuse they received during the pandemic.

Following their lead The chemist will be trialling fitted body cameras to be worn by their customer-facing staff.

If the trial is successful the body camera system will be used nationally, initially body cameras will be in use in selected stores in Birmingham only.

The MK Citizen has detailed incidents of abuse against shopworkers trying to enforce safety measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Including this incident in a Sainsbury's store and this person's conduct in a Marks & Spencer shop during the first lockdown.

A wave of abuse and assaults are being suffered by retail staff up and down the UK during the coronavirus pandemic.

Though bosses and staff say levels of abuse and violence have been accelerating for years, the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have intensified the situation, with staff reporting verbal abuse and even physical violence from customers.

In March 2019, a report released by the USDAW union estimated that more than 400 retail workers a day were being verbally or physically abused by customers. That number is estimated to have shot up throughout the pandemic, with Co-op alone reporting a 40 per cent increase in abuse incidents in 2020.

It's thought that a number of incidents have been sparked by enforcement of rules around social distancing and mask wearing in supermarkets. Abuse levels are now so severe that senior retail leaders have written to the Prime Minister calling for a change in law to make assault, threats or abuse against shop workers illegal in England and Wales.

Last month, Scotland passed its own such legislation, making abuse or assault against shop workers a specific offence in law.

Announcing the decision to trial wearable cameras in stores, a Boots spokesperson said: "Like other retailers, we are concerned about the increasing problem of violence and abuse experienced by hundreds of thousands of retail workers, which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"As part of our responsibility to ensure that our colleagues working in stores are safe, we recently started a trial of body worn video cameras across a small number of stores in Birmingham."