Walmart is testing body cameras on employees to prevent crime in stores

Some Walmart employees are now wearing body cameras in US stores as part of a pilot program.

According to CNBC, Walmart has begun requiring its stores to wear body cameras in some of its U.S. locations as part of a pilot program.

Walmart confirmed it is testing the technology in one market and will evaluate the results before making longer-term decisions. A shopper in Denton, Texas, shared a photo with CNBC of a Walmart employee wearing a yellow and black body camera earlier this month.

Body cameras and the footage they collect are often promoted as a way to prevent shoplifting. But Walmart intends to use the technology to keep workers safe, not as a loss prevention tool, according to a person familiar with the program.

(RELATED: How frustrated are shoppers when their items are locked up?)

As CNBC reports, employees will be instructed on how to use the devices in a document titled “Providing Great Customer Service While Creating a Safer Environment.” It instructs employees to “record an event if the interaction with a customer escalates” and not to wear the devices in employee break areas and restrooms. After an incident, employees are instructed to discuss the incident with another team member who can help them log the incident in the “ethics and compliance app,” the document says.

Earlier this year, the TJX Companies announced that it had also begun using body cameras in its stores, which include the TJ Maxx, Marshall’s and HomeGoods banners. In a call with analysts after the company reported first-quarter results in May, Chief Financial Officer John Joseph Klinger said the devices were effective in reducing shrinkage, or loss, of inventory.