Co-op supermarkets given AI tech and 200 secure tills after 44% rise in crime

Decision comes as grocery retailer reports 1,000 incidents a day in 2023, with shopworkers suffering physical assaults

The Co-op is installing in its supermarkets more than 200 secure till kiosks, locked cabinets for bottles of spirits and AI technology to monitor self-checkouts after a 44% surge in retail crime last year to about 1,000 incidents a day.

The grocery retailer, which has more than 2,400 stores across the UK, said its undercover security guards detained 3,361 individuals across its stores last year for a range of offences including burglary, abuse and harassment, amid a surge in physical assaults on its staff.