Facial recognition system provider Facewatch has reported it sent more than half a million real-time offender alerts to retailers in 2025.
This figure more than doubles the number issued the previous year, as organised and repeated retail crime continued to escalate across the UK.
The crime prevention platform issued 516,739 alerts to its retail subscriber network in 2025, up from 252,943 alerts in 2024 - an increase of just over 100% year-on-year.
On a daily basis, Facewatch now sends an average of 1,415 alerts a day, compared with 693 in 2024, underlining both “the rising volume of offending and the growing reliance by retailers on rapid, intelligence-led responses to protect staff and stores,” it said.
The alerts are designed to notify retailers in near real time when known prolific and repeat offenders enter shop premises protected by the company’s live facial recognition technology.
Nick Fisher, CEO of Facewatch, said the figures illustrated the “industrial scale” of retail crime now facing businesses and the increasingly important role of technology in tackling it: “Retailers are dealing with levels of theft and aggression that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
“The fact alerts have more than doubled in a single year reflects both the growth in repeat and organised offenders and the reality that retailers are under pressure to act faster, smarter and more collaboratively to keep employees and customers safe.
“When an alert is delivered in seconds rather than minutes, it gives staff time to prepare, de-escalate or deploy appropriate measures. That can be the difference between prevention or a potentially dangerous incident.
“With abusive behaviour and weapons becoming commonplace in a retail crime situation, fast advance warning is no longer just a key benefit - it’s vital.”
“With violent and abusive behaviour and offenders with weapons becoming increasingly commonplace in a retail crime situation, fast advance warning is no longer just a key benefit - it is absolutely vital. This is about preventing crime where possible, not responding after harm is done.”
Facewatch observed three new milestones in offender activity in UK retail stores as measured by the number of alerts it sent. In July, the volume of alerts sent in one week exceeded 10,000 for the first time, with 43,602 recorded across the entire month.
Also, in December, the number of alerts sent in one week hit a new record, with 14,885 sent over the seven days up to Christmas Eve, bringing December’s total to 54,312, a new monthly record.
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