Facial recognition specialist Facewatch has announced that its latest anti-shoplifting technology, Facewatch Live, will be offered free to retailers and the police. The platform, currently undergoing live testing, is designed to give retailers a clearer understanding of the crime affecting their businesses.
Facewatch Live can be deployed as a standalone crime reporting solution or used alongside Facewatch’s established live facial recognition technology. Together, the two systems can help retailers understand offending across their stores and target preventative action where it is most needed. Retailers can also use either service independently.
Free access to crime data and evidence management
Facewatch Live will be available as a completely standalone service, giving retailers free access to record incidents, manage supporting evidence and analyse their own crime data. It will not be necessary for a retailer to subscribe to Facewatch’s Live Facial Recognition service in order to use Facewatch Live.
The platform brings together incidents, CCTV, images, witness information and other supporting evidence to build a clearer picture of crime across individual stores and entire estates. Multiple incidents can be associated with the same offender profile, helping retailers identify repeat and prolific offending that can be difficult to recognise when incidents are viewed separately.
CEO explains decision to make platform free
Nick Fisher, chief executive of Facewatch, said: “Live facial recognition has already proved the value of giving retailers accurate, actionable intelligence the moment an offender enters a store.”
“Facewatch Live gives retailers the opportunity to record incidents, see the bigger picture in their own crime data, and build stronger evidence against prolific offenders.”
“Retailers can decide which system best suits their needs, but feedback from current retail partners who have helped build the platform is that the two systems together offer a powerful force against retail crime.”
Fisher added: “We have taken the decision to make Facewatch Live not just free to police, but also completely free to the retail sector. Retail operators should not have to pay simply to understand what is going on in their own businesses, and the process of reporting crime should not come with a price tag.”
Company background and recent performance
Facewatch was originally founded in 2010 as a digital reporting tool to help businesses provide usable incident reports to police. In 2018, Facewatch shifted its focus to prevention using live facial recognition. Budgens and Sainsbury’s are among the retail clients of Facewatch.
In September 2026, Facewatch’s live facial recognition system generated 81,988 real-time alerts, its fifth consecutive monthly record. In May, the figure was 55,462.
