Facial Recognition

We are using Facial Recognition (FR) in three Christchurch stores (FR Stores) as part of our commitment to keeping our teams and customers safe.   

What we’re doing 

As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce retail crime, in January 2026 we completed a three-month trial of FR in three stores across Christchurch.  

The goal of the trial was to see if FR can help our teams to identify people who have previously been violent, threatening or aggressive in our stores early, so that we can act quickly to prevent them from causing more harm. 

While we review the trial results, the three stores that trialled FR will continue to use the technology in the same way as they did during the trial. 

How we are using FR

Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and when shopping. Unfortunately, we’re seeing some people repeatedly target our stores, even after being trespassed.  When someone is violent, threatening or aggressive in one of our stores, our specialist, trained team reviews the incident. Only after careful assessment is an individual added to the FR watchlist.   

The FR system collects the image of everyone that enters an FR Store and checks it against the images of individuals on the FR watchlist.  If the system detects that a person on the watchlist has entered a FR Store, the system sends an alert to trained staff at the store.  

Two trained team members manually review the alert, decide whether it is a match, and if so, what response is appropriate. This may include observing the person, contacting Police, or intervening to ask them to leave the FR Store - if it is safe to do so.  

We understand people might have concerns about our use of FR. We have addressed some of the common concerns and the related facts about our use of FR here.

Safeguards and privacy 

We take privacy extremely seriously. We have engaged with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and carried out a Privacy Impact Assessment - you can read our report here. We have worked and will continue to work with privacy experts to ensure compliance with New Zealand’s privacy requirements. 

Key privacy safeguards include

• Clear and limited purpose. We are using FR for the sole purpose of improving the health and safety of our staff and customers by reducing the serious threatening behaviour of repeat offenders  

• Only people who have previously been violent, threatening or aggressive in our stores are entered into the FR watchlist – this is done by our specialist, trained team    

• Images of all other people who visit the FR Stores that are not on the FR watchlist are not kept and are instantly deleted.    

• The FR system is calibrated to only send an alert where it detects a match with an accuracy level of at least 92.5% - this is a high threshold.  

• All FR system matches are manually reviewed and verified by two trained FR Store team members before any action is taken  

• No images of minors (being people under the age of 18) or vulnerable people are entered into the FR watchlist  

• Use of FR is limited to the three Christchurch stores listed below  

• Each FR Store displays clear signage informing customers that FR is in use.  

FR Store locations

• New World St Martins, 92 Wilsons Road, St Martins, Christchurch 8023  

• PAK’nSAVE Papanui, 171 Main North Road, Redwood, Christchurch 8051  

• PAK’nSAVE Moorhouse, 297 Moorhouse Avenue, Sydenham, Christchurch 8011  

Questions or concerns 

If you have questions or concerns, please email [email protected].