--- description: In an effort to crack down on theft at its warehouses, Amazon is using footage of workers caught in the act to scare others straight. title: How Amazon Uses Surveillance Footage to Scare Would-Be Thieves image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36793ef662da2dd7/69888a13cf40a83122c424ff/gettyimages-452347191.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Retail](/tag/retail/) ## Retail Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Amazon Uses Surveillance Footage to Scare Would-Be Thieves by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 8, 2016 4:58 PM CUT  Employees gift wrap items before dispatching them in the huge Amazon 'fulfilment centre' warehouse on November 28, 2013 in Peterborough, England. Employees gift wrap items before dispatching them in the huge Amazon 'fulfilment centre' warehouse on November 28, 2013 in Peterborough, England.Oli Scarff—Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 8, 2016 4:58 PM CUT In an effort to crack down on theft at its warehouses, Amazon is using footage of workers caught in the act to scare others straight, [Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-07/amazon-s-story-time-is-kind-of-a-bummer "undefined") reports. At some of its warehouses, the online retailer shows clips of workers stealing various objects on giant TV screens, then flashes “terminated” or “arrested” on the screen to show each worker’s fate. The thieves are shown in silhouette to keep them anonymous. The video clips also display the value of what the workers stole and how they were caught. The types of stolen items can vary widely, ranging from iPads to microwaves to Pop Rocks. James McCracken, a former Amazon warehouse worker in San Bernardino, Calif. called the use of the clips offensive. “That’s a weird way to go about scaring people,” he told Bloomberg. Amazon did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment. Amazon has long had a contentious relationship with some if its warehouse workers. A group of workers filed a class-action lawsuit contending that they should be paid for the time spent waiting in security lines to be screened for stolen items after work. They [lost the case](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts%5Flaw/supreme-court-rules-amazon-doesnt-have-to-pay-for-after-hours-time-in-security-lines/2014/12/09/05c67c0c-7fb9-11e4-81fd-8c4814dfa9d7%5Fstory.html "undefined") in the Supreme Court. \[[Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-07/amazon-s-story-time-is-kind-of-a-bummer "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4251122/amazon-surveillance-footage-thieves/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4251122/amazon-surveillance-footage-thieves/"},"headline":"How Amazon Uses Surveillance Footage to Scare Would-Be Thieves","datePublished":"2016-03-08T16:58:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:43:01.552Z","description":"At least one worker finds the strategy offensive","url":"https://time.com/4251122/amazon-surveillance-footage-thieves/","keywords":["Retail","Amazon","Surveillance","theft"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36793ef662da2dd7/69888a13cf40a83122c424ff/gettyimages-452347191.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36793ef662da2dd7/69888a13cf40a83122c424ff/gettyimages-452347191.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Online Retailers Amazon Prepare For Cyber Monday","caption":"Online Retailers Amazon Prepare For Cyber Monday","creditText":"Oli Scarff—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/retail/","name":"Retail"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4251122/amazon-surveillance-footage-thieves/","name":"How Amazon Uses Surveillance Footage to Scare Would-Be Thieves"}}]}] ```