Retail crime is a global problem that is growing more violent, brazen and organized, putting retail workers and everyday shoppers in harm’s way. 

To help retailers responsibly address this issue, Auror has launched Subject Recognition, an innovative new tool that gives retailers the ability to responsibly integrate their own information about past serious offending with facial recognition technology (FRT).

The Subject Recognition module integrates with world-class FRT providers, applying the crucial end-to-end workflows, strict safeguards and important context to ensure that this technology is used in the right way, while protecting the privacy of everyday shoppers.

Auror co-founder and CEO Phil Thomson said unlike other FRT solutions, Auror has built a system that ensures retailers use this technology strictly for crime prevention and safety purposes only.

“We take our role in protecting information and building safeguards for retailers using this tech very seriously,” he said.

“Subject Recognition cannot in any way be used for tracking, monitoring or profiling people. Like all of our services, it prohibits retailers from entering sensitive information like ethnicity, race and religion, which is a key safeguard that reduces human bias, improves evidence-based decision-making, and enhances privacy.

“It’s designed to immediately discard images and information of those that don’t match the retailer’s list of known high-risk and prolific offenders. Biometric data is never stored or entered in the retailer’s information within Auror regardless of a match, and a human is always in the loop on decisions.”

Auror US retailer data shows 1 in every 7 events involve violence, weapons, assault, aggression, threats or threatening behaviors. Meanwhile a comparatively small group of offenders are driving the most harm, with the 10% of top repeat offenders responsible for more than 70% of retail crime - these repeat offenders are more than 4 times more likely to be violent.

Thomson said Auror Subject Recognition is about giving workers critical early notification as known high-risk and prolific offenders enter their stores, giving them precious moments to respond according to risk and keep people safe.

“Every day we hear more stories of physical abuse, the brandishing of knives and guns, and threats directed to people in retail settings,” he said.

“The retail sector is one of the biggest workforces in the world, made up of workers young and old, with the majority being women. This technology is about protecting these vulnerable frontline workers by preventing violent and threatening retail crime incidents from happening in the first place.

“We should all refuse to accept a society that considers this behavior ‘part of the job’ just because it happens in a shop. Addressing violence and organized crime in stores is a shared responsibility, and we’re proud to play a part in helping retailers and communities make their stores safer. 

Subject Recognition will join Auror’s Risk Detection suite of modules alongside Vehicle Recognition - offering retailers with layered protection for their stores.

Subject Recognition will drive Auror’s renewed mission to help retailers reduce violent retail crime by 50% in the next five years - 50 in 5.

“Retailers have done a great job surfacing the scale of this issue, and now we’re calling on our partners to take the next step in addressing violent retail crime, together,” Thomson said.

Learn more about Auror Subject Recognition on our website.

Key Facts - Auror Subject Recognition (ASR):

• ASR can only ever be used for identification of persons of interest (POI) for crime prevention and safety purposes.
• ASR never stores or enters biometric data within the retailer’s information on Auror, regardless of a match.
• If there is no match, both the detection image and temporary biometric template is discarded immediately. It is never stored or retained by the retailer or Auror.
• To be enrolled to the list, a POI must already exist within the retailer’s information on Auror and meet their criteria for Extreme Threat, Serious Threat or High Loss.
• Retailers cannot manually or arbitrarily enroll any profile to the POI list. They can review suggested enrollments based on their own policies.
• Auror prohibits the collection of sensitive information by retailers, such as ethnicity, race, religion, political affiliation or sexual orientation.
• ASR cannot in any way be used for profiling, categorization, prediction, tracking, monitoring behavior or targeted marketing purposes.
• Law enforcement cannot access the Subject Recognition module or lists.
• There are no shared lists between retailers and they cannot be shared with law enforcement.
• A human is always in the loop on decisions.
• Built-in transparency and auditability tools are available.

More information about our safeguards and how it works is available on the Trust Center.