Australian retail giants such as Woolworths and Coles are improving their security measures after noting an increase in theft and hostile behaviour in their stores.

Last Thursday, Woolworths CEO announced some of the new measures the company would be taking to address worker safety concerns, including two-way radio headsets, CCTV upgrades, and “virtual reality violence and aggression training”.

Bradford Banducci began his speech by offering condolences to the families of two workers who died in separate workplace incidents in the last year.