Buyers from Wulfrun Center have had their say on a new, somewhat dystopian security system at one of the mall’s stores.

Shop Outlet installed a camera at the entrance to their store that scans the face of anyone who enters and roughly determines their age and emotion.

Visitors can see a photo of their face, and next to it, a note describing their facial expression.

If someone tries to enter the store after being banned in the past for shoplifting, it will also show up on the screen.

Store manager Gagan says their high-tech system has completely deterred thieves – before, he said, there would be two or three thefts a week.

“It’s been a month since we installed the new camera,” he said. “It’s a security system to stop thieves. My brother is good at installing things like this and he found the screen and camera on Amazon. Because there are so many thieves around, especially in this mall. I even caught and I two or three guys who once tried to rob an iron or some bottles.I installed this only on the basis of thieves.

“Since we installed it, we have seen fewer thefts. When someone walks in, they see the screen and know they’re being recorded – that helps a lot in reducing crime.”

TikTok user @liaminsidetheballer shared a video on the TV camera social platform and received a huge response with 256 comments and thousands of shares and likes.

Many users who commented on Liam’s video were against the idea and called it an “invasion of privacy”.

But shoppers in the Wulfrun Center said just the opposite.

Most of them thought it was a great idea as a shoplifting deterrent, saying: If you’re not doing anything wrong, why bother?

Raj Patel owns RS News off license in Willenhall. It was all for the idea.

“It deters thieves when they know they’re after you,” said the shopkeeper. “We had this in our store as well. We catch them and find out who did it, then they’re banned from the store.

“Once people know you have cameras in the store, they’re afraid to do anything questionable.”

David Dodd from Bridgnorth believes there is too much crime and every shop should have facial recognition technology.

The 87-year-old said: “I’ve never been in the shop but I think it’s a good idea. It’s a good thing, cameras everywhere.”

I told David about some of the criticism surrounding it and that some people don’t like the idea of ​​”being filmed all the time”.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Dave said, straight to the point. “I don’t mind, that’s how they catch robbers and murderers! It’s a good thing.”

Mandy Barber, who was shopping with her daughter and nine-year-old grandson Zachary, agreed it should be seen as a good thing.

The 62-year-old said: “I don’t mind. It’s something that needs to be done to be able to keep an eye on customers. Unless you’re doing something wrong, it shouldn’t really invade someone’s privacy.”

what do you think Send me your thoughts at [email protected].