Cosentino’s Food Stores Adopts Axon Body-Worn Cameras for Incident Documentation

Cosentino's Food Stores has expanded its use of body-worn cameras as part of an effort to improve employee safety, strengthen incident documentation and support loss prevention operations across its grocery locations in Kansas and Missouri. The company operates 31 stores and employs more than 4,000 people.

Cosentino's implemented Axon Body 4 cameras and related software tools following a proof-of-concept trial. The deployment, described in a case study released by Axon, was led by the company’s loss prevention team, which supports stores dealing with shoplifting, trespassing, difficult customer interactions and other safety-related incidents.

Prior to the deployment, Cosentino’s reported challenges with incident reporting. The company said reports varied in detail, while customer complaints did not always align with employee accounts of events. According to the case study, those inconsistencies made it more difficult to evaluate incidents, coach employees and respond to disputes.

The company also sought a way to capture more complete records of incidents amid concerns that partial videos shared online may not provide full context.

Following the trial, Cosentino’s selected an Axon platform that includes body-worn cameras, audio capture, transcription capabilities and digital evidence management. The company also uses Axon Evidence to store and manage digital evidence and Auror to manage incidents and reports.

One of the primary outcomes was a reduction in confrontational interactions. Cosentino’s reported that people often altered their behavior when informed they were being recorded. In some cases, individuals accused of theft or involved in combative situations left stores without further incident.

The company also reported improvements in report quality and consistency. Video and audio recordings provided additional context beyond written notes, while automatic transcription capabilities enabled administrators to prepare reports more quickly and accurately before uploading them into Auror.

Cosentino’s said the cameras were assigned to loss prevention specialists who are most likely to encounter difficult situations. The company reported positive employee feedback and said the cameras provided an additional layer of support for frontline personnel.

Cosentino’s initially sought better documentation and visibility into incidents. The company said the deployment also supported de-escalation efforts, employee confidence, training initiatives and incident response activities. As it moves beyond the initial trial phase, Cosentino’s plans to continue evaluating additional use cases for the technology.