Rich Carlucci makes his living running a convenience store in North Philadelphia.
“I’ve been here 10 years,” Carlucci told NBC10. “I give my life and blood and soul to this business. I’ll always be here.”
However, his life was threatened every day by shoplifters.
“I think there were two or three shoplifters a day,” he said. “I think we lost over $50,000 to theft. That’s a lot of money. That’s a lot of money coming out of my pocket.”
Carlucci wasn’t alone. According to the Philadelphia Police Department, theft at retail stores in the city increased by 27.56% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Carlucci told NBC10 that all he could do was watch after a security camera caught the shoplifter stealing items from the store. So he started looking at options beyond the cameras he already had in place. His search eventually led him to a new AI program called “Veesion.”
Benoît Koenig, co-founder of the program, told NBC10 that his company feeds live security footage of businesses into an AI system. AI then analyzes customers in the store and detects specific movements that could indicate someone is stealing. The action could be as simple as someone slipping an item into their pocket.
“This is so that when someone hides items in their clothes, bags, backpacks, or wallets on the shopping floor, we can take action right then and there, rather than just assess the damage later,” Koenig said. said.
NBC10 Responds observed firsthand how the program works. An NBC10 “Respons” producer walked through the aisles of Carlucci’s store, pulled candy off the shelf and put it in his book bag. Carlucci immediately received a message on his cell phone.
“So as soon as you were hiding items, I received a warning,” he said.
The alert was sent through the Veesion app along with a video of the shoplifting suspect’s actions.
Carlucci said shoplifting at his store has decreased since installing the device.
“If the thefts continued, we would have no choice but to shut down, go out of business, or raise prices,” Carlucci said.
Vision said his company’s AI is only installed in a few hundred stores nationwide. But this is not the only AI program being used to control crime.
The Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC) at the University of Florida has extensively tested various anti-theft measures.
Dr. Reid Hayes, director and founder of LPRC, said his team is working with 110 high-tech companies and 88 retailers, including Target and Walmart, to help reduce store losses. Stated.
“No one is saying that shoplifting, theft and loss are going down or staying the same,” Hayes said.
Hayes’ team works in a first-of-its-kind simulated store and has implemented hundreds of real-world projects using store simulations, multiple surveillance cameras, product locking devices, and more.
Hayes said he is also researching AI as a possible solution.
“There’s AI here that could potentially recognize an item at self-checkout even if you’re not actually scanning it,” he says.
Carlucci told NBC10 that AI technology allows people to keep more money in their pockets.
“This is a godsend and has already paid for itself about 10 times,” he said.
Philadelphia police announced that retail thefts will continue to rise in 2024, with a 30% increase compared to the same period last year.
