Employees at some Walmart locations across the U.S. are wearing body cameras, with Walmart InHome delivery workers sporting the devices while dropping off goods.
Some customers and employees noticed the camera rollout the past few months.
A shopper at the Denton, Texas, store shared a photo of the camera with CNBC. A Walmart spokesperson told the network that “we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry. This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions.”
Denton is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The company didn’t tell CNBC how many area stores have the body cameras or if and when an expansion of the pilot program could happen.
An unnamed person familiar with the program said the body cameras are meant less for deterring theft and more for stopping customer aggression against Walmart employees.
Some remain skeptical that the body cameras could help stop customers from getting confrontational or violent with employees.
“There’s a claim that the body cams are going to promote de-escalation just organically. We don’t think that’s true. You see a lot of violence against workers already at the self-checkout kiosks,” Bianca Agustin, co-executive director for the United for Respect organization that advocates for Walmart and Amazon employees, told CNBC.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.