Customers have said they are stunned by security measures put in place at a Lancashire Tesco Express, where shoppers can’t enter the store until a staff member lets them in.
The Tesco Express in Central Drive, Blackpool, has enforced a security measure requiring a staff member to press a button to let a customer in, which has caused controversy among shoppers.
The 'Door Access System' is believed to have been put in place due to a shoplifting problem so aims to prevent crime in the store, as the number of shoplifting offences recorded in the area has more than quadrupled since 2021.
Some people have said they aren’t surprised by the supermarket giant implementing such an ‘extreme’ measure, with one person even praising the system.
They said: “Shoplifting and the accompanying verbal abuse against the staff there was rife.
“I shop there daily, and it is the only way to keep certain known shoplifters and other undesirables outside.
"I only wait a second or two, and it has improved the shopping experience massively! Well done Tesco.”
Another person said: “If it makes the staff feel safer then I’m happy to wait for them to open the door.”
However, others are outraged claiming it could single out shoppers and discriminate against people who look a certain way.
One man said: “Very extreme. How does one decide who is allowed access and who is refused entry?
"How am I supposed to not look like a shoplifter? To treat customers like criminals is shocking.”
Another man said: “How exactly does this help though? Do they just not let you in if you look like a wrong 'un?
"If it is that, they might as well just close. And if they let you in anyway, then surely you're just locking a potentially violent person in the shop with you?”
Shoppers are also concerned this measure "reflects how screwed up society has become”.
One woman added: “People are getting desperate, the saddest thing I heard recently was parents having to steal baby milk.”
In March 2023, the last recorded month for crime this year, 73 shoplifting crimes were logged within half a mile of Central Drive, Blackpool, which was an increase from 24 shoplifting crimes in March 2022, and 16 in March 2021.
An additional 36 forms of theft and robbery crimes were recorded during March this year as well as 143 anti-social behaviour crimes.
Responding to concerns raised, a Tesco spokesperson said their “stores should be safe places to work and shop” therefore the safety of customers and colleagues it their main priority.
Tesco has rolled out body worn cameras in all their stores for security officers, duty managers and other shop-floor colleagues, as well as other safety measures, such as this Door Access System, in some Express stores.
The spokesperson added that the Door Access System allows colleagues control access into stores during quieter periods of trade or at any time to help them feel safe – “this tends to be later in the evening and at night”.
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