The Bunker Blog

LOL!!!

This is a little unorthodox, I realize, but wouldn’t it be funny if all the shoplifters who "get away" were posted up on YouTube? Better yet, maybe a camera crew should tag along with police when they arrest these knuckle heads who think that nobody saw them just because they got out that particular time. Then someone could post those videos to YouTube! Talk about fun! You could place it in a whole new category and call it "Busted"

I have had to let people walk before, and it twists your gut to do it, but you have to factor in safety (Yours, Customers, Other Employees, and the Shoplifter’s), evidence (Do I have enough?), and sometimes, there are other factors that allow a shoplifter to escape, for the moment. 

However, in most major retailers at least, you probably have video evidence of the crime, and LP people generally remember the faces of the "ones that got away", and wait for that next opportunity to make the apprehension.

There have also been times in my career where I have worked with Law Enforcement on cases where video evidence was used to catch a crook after the fact. Some were very similar to this one, minus the YouTube submission, of course.

What a hoot! When you check out this news story, pay attention to the look on this guy’s face. It’s priceless

Mesa police arrested a 36-year-old man in connection with two shopliftings captured on surveillance video and posted on YouTube by the store’s owner.
The owner of the Big Sticks cigar shop offered a $1,000 reward for the capture of the bandit, who stole watches valued at $725 and $1,195 on Nov. 1 and Nov. 3, respectively.
Investigators traced one of the stolen watches to a pawnshop, where Michael L. Adams provided identification when he pawned it, according to Detective Chris Arvayo, Mesa police spokesman.
Court records indicate Adams sold the $725 watch for $100.
Adams told investigators he sold the watches to pay for drugs and to settle debts to drug dealers.

YouTube video helps Mesa police arrest accused shoplifter – ABC15.com: Phoenix, Arizona News, Weather, Radar, Breaking News, Traffic and Web Cams

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What a GREAT idea! Wish we had more of this here in the U.S.

Police have named and shamed ten criminals in a bid to drive them out of the city centre.

With sales starting today officers hope that releasing a rogues gallery of the worst offenders – published on the front page of today’s Telegraph & Argus – will make it safer for festive shoppers.

The Top Ten prolific offenders have records for shoplifting, vehicle crime, burglary and theft and are known to target retail outlets throughout the city centre.

• Is this a good idea? Want to discuss it? Click here to join our forum.

Technorati Tags: loss prevention,shoplifters,retail crime

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A store clerk from Grover remains in critical condition after she was flung off the hood of a car while trying to stop shoplifters on Christmas Eve.

The first question that comes to mind is, "Why was she on the hood of a car?"

Still, our prayers go out to Cheryl Greene and her family who, because of a senseless crime, are having a less-than-happy holiday. Get Well, Cheryl.

That being said, this is an unfortunate example of what can happen when untrained employees try to act as store security or loss prevention. The first rule should always be safety, and no amount of merchandise is worth what Cheryl Greene and her family are enduring right now.

When faced with jail, some shoplifters will panic, and then things get very dangerous. This is true for everyone involved, and for innocent bystanders. I’ve had my share of bumps, bruises, cuts, and close calls over the years; and I can tell you that no shoplifter is worth my safety or the safety of my colleagues or those bystanders who may get injured in an altercation.

Anytime a shoplifter is stopped it is chaos. It is up to the loss prevention professional to make sure it is controlled chaos.

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Okay, so it’s not exactly like that, but this story goes right along with my other commentaries on kids being used in shoplifting or other criminal operations. This time, a 10 year old girl does all the stealing while Grandma is the lookout. That way, if the little girl gets caught, Grandma will say, “Bad child!!” and then to the store loss prevention personnel: “She gets this from her mother”.

Here’s the story:

Police said Vickie Barela used her 10-year-old granddaughter to take items from a Wal-Mart store over the holiday weekend.

Police claim Barela kept lookout while the 10-year-old placed items in empty shopping bags. According to court documents, Barela stood in a checkout line with a few items while the girl tried to exit the store with the alleged stolen merchandise.

I have seen this at least 50 times in my career. It’s not always Grandma. Sometimes it is Grandpa, or Uncle Joe, or Aunt Phyllis. The end is still the same. The adult directs the child in what to steal and how, while they watch for store personnel. When they get caught, because LP approaches the person with the merchandise first, the adult acts totally surprised that the child has been stealing.

In some cases, the adults will even send the kids into a store alone, with a list of what to steal, while they wait in the parking lot in the “get away” car. Exciting stuff for a 10 year old. Just like the movies!

And the kids will take all the blame, too. Why? Well, because they’re told that they won’t be punished because they are kids, and the courts won’t charge them the same as they would an adult, so the kids will say, “Grandma didn’t know about it.” just to protect Grandma.

To me, this is one of the lowest forms of child abuse. These kids are taught from a very early age that stealing is okay, even good. They are also taught that Police and Security officials are bad. And we wonder why today’s kids have this mixed up sense of values and morality?

And get this, even if your kids are not being subjected to this by you or one of your family members, chances are very good that they know a kid who is (89% of kids know a kid who shoplifts). Whether we like it or not, our kids are being influenced by them.

Luckily, in this case, the store loss prevention people recognized this scheme, and Grandma got arrested and charged with Child Abuse and Contributing To The Delinquency Of A Minor.

As a father and a loss prevention professional, I say these people should do the maximum time allowed by the law for corrupting our kids. They should not be allowed to be around kids, let alone be responsible for them.

Note: If you like this post, please pass it along to all your parent friends. Awareness is the key to fighting these kinds of crimes against our kids.

Technorati Tags: loss prevention,child shoplifters,juvenile crime,retail theft,shoplifters,lp,child abuse

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