The Dutch supermarket chain Dirk will provide some of its store staff with a body camera after those involved have been trained for this. The cameras can be switched on in threatening situations and then record both image and sound.
The bodycams used by the former Dirk van den Broek are equipped with an external screen. According to the chain, it has a de-escalating effect when people are confronted with their own behavior. In principle, employees only turn on the cameras if a 'tense or threatening' situation arises. At such a time, the employee must indicate that the camera is switched on and the recorded image will appear on the external screen. Dirk says that recorded videos are only stored if they have to be handed over 'to the police, for example'.
The supermarket chain already held a pilot with the body cameras in 2023. Since then, the privacy regulator Dutch Data Protection Authority has been concerned about this development. For example, NU.nl quotes: “Camera surveillance is very invasive. This applies to regular cameras that hang on the wall and even more so to body cameras. They film you from very close up, right in your face.” Dirk has adjusted his privacy statement with the adoption of the bodycams.
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