Sainsbury’s to install CCTV cameras and mirrors at 300 stores to stop people stealing items

CCTV cameras and mirrors are being installed at supermarket self-service checkouts to deter thieves.

Sainsbury’s is introducing the security measures at 300 stores to prevent people stealing items by not scanning them and sneaking them into their bags.

The cameras will be monitored by staff, and Sainsbury’s says the measures are also aimed at increasing in-store safety.

A spokesman said: ‘This is in hundreds of stores and has been in some for almost a year. The safety of our customers and colleagues is extremely important to us, which is why we invest in a range of measures to keep everyone safe.’

One in four shoppers who use self-service tills has admitted failing to pay for an item, recent research shows.

A separate study last year found about £3.2billion of goods are stolen from self-service checkouts each year, or about £5 per person a month.

That is double the 2014 figure of £1.6billion. The number of self-service checkouts has rocketed since they were introduced by Tesco in 2009.

But they are not always popular with customers and the notorious ‘unexpected item in the bagging area’ announcement fills many with dread.

More than 60 per cent of non-payers said scanners failing to recognise products, particularly fruit and vegetables, were the reason for their theft.

They said they found it easier just to put the item in their shopping bag rather than trying to sort it out or call for help.

A further 36 per cent blame a memory lapse, according to a study of 2,000 people for the website vouchercodespro.co.uk.

In 2012 Antony Worrall Thompson, the chef, was filmed by staff at Tesco in Henley-on-Thames failing to pay for wine and cheese at self-scan checkout machines on five separate occasions.