Bodycams worn by Toronto Fresco cashiers raise questions about security and privacy

Some grocery stores owned by Sobeys IN.C. are the latest tThe Oronto store will test body-worn cameras.

In a statement, the retailer confirmed it is piloting the project after bodycams were spotted on Fresco cashiers at a store located on Sherborne and Isabella streets.

Sobeys spokeswoman Caitlin Gray said the cameras are being used to combat harassment and assault toward employees and to prevent theft and other crimes in stores.

But James Turk, director of the Center for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University, said he thinks they could have the opposite effect.

“I think it makes any employee … more vulnerable rather than safer because potential thieves could look at the bodycam and want to take it away,” he told CBC Toronto.

Sobeys has seen a significant reduction in violence and aggression toward employees and customers since installing the cameras in select locations, Gray said in a statement. The retailer also said the bodycams only record when 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 larger trend, with Loblaw Companies Ltd. also confirming to CBC Toronto that it has been running a bodycam pilot in some of its stores for the past two years.

But Turk still feels the cameras put workers wearing them at unnecessary risk. “They can do the same kind of surveillance using fixed cameras aimed at the right places,” he said.

Experts say customers should be informed about bodycam use

Privacy experts have also raised some concerns about this practice.

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario does not oversee private sector organizations, including grocery stores, but provided a statement to CBC Toronto expressing concern that body-worn cameras could collect “more information than necessary.”

The public should also be informed about the use of cameras and whether footage is being retained and for how long, the statement said.

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada A statement is also provided that says any organization is subject to Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act Steps should be taken to ensure that the public is informed that video surveillance is taking place.

Organizations should also ensure that recordings that are no longer needed are destroyed, erased or anonymized, the federal office said.

Gray said in response, stores participating in the Sobeys pilot are following all applicable privacy laws, including posted signage.

Meanwhile, Rui Rodriguez, executive advisor for loss prevention and risk management at the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), said he supports the use of bodycams.

“Retailers over the past few years… have been looking at all kinds of options that will help reduce, reduce or prevent crime in their locations,” he told CBC Toronto.

Rodriguez said the RCC has found that retailers have suffered losses in recent years and the number of violent incidents at retail locations has increased.

Bodycams are more visible than CCTV

The Toronto police data dashboard also shows that the number of shoplifting incidents worth more than $5,000 has increased from 32 in 2020 to 105 in 2024.

With that in mind, Rodriguez said he thinks more cameras will deter opportunistic criminals.

“I think the key is the knowledge that it’s there. It’s in your face,” he said, noting that retailers have used similar tactics for years.

“Public view monitors, for example… you’ll have a monitor hanging at the entrance, usually a little bit higher up when you walk in, you see yourself. And that’s a deterrent.”

As for Turk’s claim that bodycams are unnecessary for stationary surveillance cameras, Rodriguez said he thinks they provide a different perspective to any incident that occurs and may be better at capturing images of criminals trying to conceal their identity.

Still, Turk urged any employee who feels unsafe wearing a body camera to talk to their employer.

“If a person feels they are in danger from wearing a bodycam, they have the right to refuse,” he said, adding that they can also speak to union representatives or contact the labor ministry.