New Zealand-based security company Auror is set to start trialling live facial recognition technology.

This latest development will alert retailers when someone who's been flagged for serious offending walks into their business.

Global Head of Risk at Auror, Nick McDonnell, says there's plenty of safeguards built into this technology to ensure people's privacy is protected.

"There's lots of different ways they can respond - they can greet the person as they walk in or they might not approach at all because the person's been known to be violent or aggressive or carrying a weapon. It just gives them that really critical moment's notice."

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