Retailers across the UK have been alerted 297,433 times that a known repeat offender has entered one of their stores during the first six months of 2026 – equivalent to 1,643 times every day.
The data, compiled from Facewatch’s crime prevention network, showed how many real-time warnings had been issued between January and June, representing the number of times known offenders were positively identified by its live facial recognition technology.
Each alert gave retailers a real-time warning that an individual linked to previous offending had entered a store, creating an opportunity to intervene before theft, abuse or violence could occur or escalate, explained Facewatch.
June became the system’s busiest month on record with 57,111 alerts, surpassing the previous monthly high set only a month earlier in May (55,462 alerts), reflecting both the continued expansion of Facewatch’s network and the persistent activity of repeat offenders.
Nick Fisher, CEO of Facewatch, said:
“As more retailers adopt this technology, we would naturally expect the number of alerts to grow because more stores are able to identify known offenders. But these figures also reinforce what police and the wider industry is saying, that the same prolific offenders are continuing to target stores time and time again.
“Technology has an increasingly important role to play, not only in preventing crime before it happens but also in helping retailers manage what comes afterwards.
“That’s why we’re continuing to invest in new capabilities, including a new crime management platform which is designed to simplify how retailers record, manage and progress crime incidents from prevention through to reporting and investigation.”
Facewatch claimed that its technology, which is used by more than 125 retailers operating thousands of stores across the UK, has helped deter repeat offending by up to 70%.
