Poll: Minister backs facial recognition tech to stop shoplifting

Facial recognition technology has become a valuable tool to prevent retail crime, despite fears it is an invasion of privacy and can be used to track people without their consent.

A trial of the technology at 25 New World and Pak’nSave stores has now finished.

It was estimated to have helped prevent 100 serious harmful events - but also misidentified nine people.

Now Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith wants to make facial recognition technology a permanent tool in the fight against retail crime.

Opinion: Foodstuffs' tech 'a red flag'

Facial recognition trial starts

Retail crime is estimated to cost about $2.6 billion a year and Goldsmith has already announced plans to broaden citizens’ arrest powers.

Facial recognition technology is a key part of the Government’s plan to tackle retail crime, which includes strengthening the trespass law and introducing on-the-spot fines for shoplifting.

Goldsmith has been laying the groundwork to extend the use of facial recognition technology.

"I’m on the side of being as enabling as we can, primarily because the strong feedback we’ve had, certainly in the trial, (is) that it diffuses the situation," Goldsmith told the

New Zealand Herald

"If you know somebody’s come in, they’ve robbed you 10 times before and you get them one minute after they arrive at the door, it’s a much easier discussion than dealing with them as they’re trying to get out with a full trolley."

Cabinet will make decisions about trespass law, facial recognition technology and shoplifting fines by the end of June.

But the NZ Council for Civil Liberties says the technology should not be used to collect people’s information without consent.

The council fears it will lead to more powerful surveillance tools that police could access without a warrant.

Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster told the

Herald

he is currently evaluating the supermarket trial and expects to release his findings in June.

Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young told the

Herald

retailers want to be able to use facial recognition technology to identify people who have been trespassed from their premises.

Young said the risk of misidentification can be addressed.

She told the

Herald

the Foodstuffs trial had a 90% matching threshold, which then went to two specially-trained staff for further verification.