Primark staff are being equipped with body cameras as the fashion chain attempts to tackle a rise in shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

Associated British Foods, Primark’s owner, says company profit margins are going to suffer as a result of the lawlessness, as it becomes the latest firm to warn about the problems facing store bosses.

Earlier this week the head of John Lewis described shoplifting as an ‘epidemic’ on Britain’s high streets.

In releasing its trading update on Tuesday, Primark confirmed adjusted operating profit margins for the second half of the year will be down slightly because of ‘higher than expected stock loss from stores’.

Similar to many other retailers, Primark has invested in CCTV, security guards, and even body-worn cameras for staff as it attempts to deter troublemakers and catch those responsible.

At the start of this month Tesco boss Ken Murphy said body cameras had been offered to his supermarket staff after seeing physical assaults rise by a third in a year.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday he explained: “Money spent on making sure people are safe at work is always well spent.

“But it should not have to be like this. Crime is a scourge on society and an insult to shoppers and retail workers.”

According to Dame Sharon White, the chair of John Lewis and Waitrose, the number of shoplifting offences has doubled in the last year.

Her company is reportedly among the big-name retailers lining up join a project being dubbed ‘Pegasus’, which will give stores greater access to police facial recognition technology and biometric data to help them deal with repeat offenders.

The reasons behind the rise

The cost of living crisis and a growth in organised crime are among the possible factors being put forward to explain the rise in shoplifting.

An increase in social media videos, in which accounts boast about the items they’ve been able to steal from a particular shop, are also getting the blame for ‘glorifying’ the crime.

Last month, hundreds of teenagers gathered outside a branch of JD Sports in London in an apparent response to viral posts circulating on the internet, which spread rumours of an organised robbery campaign.

The incident led to a number of stores on Oxford Street temporarily locking customers inside while police investigated and dispersed crowds.