London-based staff at cafe chain Pret A Manger are set to wear body cameras amid mounting safety concerns in the capital.
The popular coffee shop brand said six of its outlets in London had begun trials with the cameras, which will be provided to "team leaders" and managers, last month.
Pret said the cameras would only be turned on under "specific circumstances", while their video footage will only be made available to security personnel.
But the move has come under fire from critics, who have branded the cameras "dystopian" - and drew attention to spiking crime rates in London.
The popular coffee shop chain has announced the measure amid mounting safety concernsPASpeaking on GB News, commentator Benjamin Butterworth slammed Pret's announcement - and similar moves by other retail firms - as a "step into a dystopian society".
Butterworth said: "The idea that you're talking to someone face-to-face - a waiter or someone in a sandwich shop - and they're filming your every move... Is that not a step into a sort of dystopian society [when] you can't even buy a prosciutto butty, if anyone's ever used that phrase, without being filmed?"
He also referenced a number of other chains which have implemented similar measures, backing up data compiled by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) earlier this year.
A BRC survey in February found that UK retailers have splurged some £1.8billion on security measures as shoplifting and related thefts mount, including CCTV, body-mounted cameras and extra in-store security guards.
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Pret's move has been labelled a "step into a dystopian society"
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The consortium also reported a staggering 50 per cent increase in violence and abuse directed at retail workers, with an estimated 1,300 incidents every day in 2022/23, compared to 870 the year before.
Back in London, Pret rival Greggs made the same move earlier this year.
The comparatively cheaper coffee and baked goods chain said it harboured fears over its staff's safety in busy locations like London Bridge Station, just south of the Thames.
One Greggs employee lambasted the rise in crime in the capital, telling The Sun: "Everyone's noticed there's more shoplifting. If it was filmed on a bodycam there's more of a chance they would be put off trying."
Six Pret outlets in London have trialled the cameras
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But other staff said the move wouldn't go far enough to deter would-be thieves.
Another Greggs employee said: "They don't really do much, because they take five seconds to power up and start recording... By the time you've got it on, the thieves are gone!"
But it's not just coffee shops and supermarkets implementing the "dystopian" measures - even English Heritage, which administers the country's historic sites including locations like Stonehenge, has been pushed to deploy similar tactics.
A Pret A Manger spokesperson told GB News: "Last month, we started trialling body-worn cameras in a small number of our shops as a new safety measure.
"These are only being worn by Team Leaders or Managers, and are only turned on in specific circumstances."
