The United Kingdom (UK) government is redoubling its efforts to combat shoplifting by allocating £55.5 million ($70 million) to improve facial recognition technology, including scanning vehicles in busy shopping districts.

According to The Guardian, the initiative was revealed alongside plans for harsher punishments for anyone who assaults retail workers, which include being forced to wear a tag to ensure serial or abusive shoplifters in England and Wales do not revisit the scene of their crime.

Under the new law, which will be introduced as an amendment to the criminal justice bill that is working its way through parliament, criminals could be jailed for up to six months or face an unlimited fine. The Guardian reported that the change could happen in the summer. 

UK to Invest in Vans With Live Facial Recognition to Identify Shoplifters in Crowded Areas

The UK government has pledged to invest £55.5 million over the next four years as part of a renewed crackdown on shoplifting. The investment includes £4 million ($5 million) for mobile vans that use live facial recognition in crowded places to identify individuals wanted by the police, including repeat shoplifters.

This funding comes after the completion of Project Pegasus, which enables major UK businesses to integrate their CCTV images of suspected shoplifters into the police database. The £55.5 million will come from a £240 million ($304 million) four-year police productivity initiative outlined in the budget.

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UK Businesses Call for Crackdown on Organized Gangs Due to Increased Retail Crime Rate

Shop owners have called for a crackdown on what they describe as a surge in retail crime perpetrated by organized gangs that prey on small businesses. The high retail crime rates prompted 90 retail executives to write to the government in October 2023.

Last week, the Co-op Group, which has been at the forefront of a campaign to create a specific crime for assault on a retail worker, said it had lost £70 million ($89 million) from shoplifting following a 44% surge in retail crime last year to around 1,000 incidents a day.

Sharon White, the outgoing head of the John Lewis Partnership, which operates Waitrose supermarkets and department shops, said: "Retail crime is never victimless-it costs retailers over £1bn every year and can have a huge impact on the shop workers involved."

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