Business Safety

GENERAL ALERT TO ALL BUSINESSES

Shoplifting

A shoplifter is a person who steals goods from a store while pretending to be a customer. Shoplifting can be done in one of two ways:

  1. By concealing an item and walking out of the store
  2. By keeping an item in plain view and walking out of the store

In either case, it means a financial loss to the businesses they target.

There are several types of behaviours that shoplifters will exhibit and a variety of techniques they will use to shoplift. Shoplifters may:

  • Look around for security cameras and employees in an attempt to avoid them
  • Wear sunglasses inside the store to hide the fact that they are not looking at items
  • Give a vague answer like, “just looking, thanks,” when asked by an employee if they need assistance in the hopes that the employee will leave them alone

Here are seven techniques shoplifters may use to steal merchandise:

  • Padding Items: Shoplifters stuff extra items into boxes or bags of items they intend to purchase. If the items are found by the cashier, the shoplifter claims they didn’t know the items were in there and refuses to pay for them.
  • Using their Children: Shoplifters may use their infant’s stroller to conceal items. Merchandise can be easily tucked around or under the infant, covered with a blanket, or hidden in diaper bags or the folds of a folding canopy. Parents can also use small children to carry items out of a store, either by handing the merchandise to the child or directing the child to take the item and conceal it. If they are caught, the parent will scold the child and claim they had no idea the child had the item.
  • Hiding Items: Merchandise can be hidden up sleeves, in boots or socks, and even in underwear. Watch for customers who constantly fidget with their cuffs, pull their hands all the way up in their sleeves, bend down to tie their shoe laces more than once, or repeatedly hitch their pants up or rearrange their dresses – these could be signs that something isn’t right. Customers with unusually bulky or out-of-season clothing should also be watched. Some shoplifters also use a jacket draped over one shoulder to conceal their actions and hide items in the sleeves.
  • Wearing it Out: This is a favourite technique for clothing and shoes. Often the shoplifter will wear the item around the store for several minutes, before simply walking out with it. They will first remove the price tags or tuck them out of sight.
  • Hiding in Plain Sight: This is a favourite technique for large or heavy items. By holding an old receipt in one hand, the shoplifter walks out of the store as if the item has already been paid for. Another variation is when the shoplifter brings empty bags (usually hidden in a pocket), or full bags and packages into the store and when they feel they are not being watched, starts filling them with merchandise. If they are stopped, they will say these items were bought from a different store. A variant of this method is to simply pick a (usually) expensive item and simply walk out. This method is favoured by professionals because they are usually in and out of the store with their item in less than one minute without anyone noticing.
  • Grab and Run: This technique involves very little skill and is usually carried out with an accomplice waiting in a running car. The shoplifter will walk into the store, grab what they can carry and run out.
  • Groups of Youths: Watch groups of children or teenagers because peer pressure can be a strong influence on normally law-abiding youths. Sometimes groups will loiter in front of a store, looking for visible security measures and how attentive the staff is.

 

Here are some things you can do to prevent shoplifting:

  • Make sure your employees are trained to spot and apprehend shoplifters
  • Keep your store and display shelves neat and organized, so employees can observe customers and see if merchandise has gone missing
  • Eliminate blind spots by placing mirrors in the corners and consider using electronic article surveillance systems or cameras to monitor your store and merchandise
  • Prevent grab-and-runs by keeping merchandise away from exits and design the layout so people entering and exiting the store must pass security personnel or employees
  • Keep expensive items in locked cases and limit the number of items employees may remove at one time for a customer, ensuring they are replaced when the customer is finished
  • Fitting rooms and restrooms should be watched at all times. Limit the number of items taken into a fitting room and don’t allow unpaid merchandise to be taken into the restrooms.
  • Keep the cash register inaccessible to customers and monitored at all times