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To Catch a Thief

Written by: Fred Tarasoff

Article Overview: I challenged a friend who owned a Health Food / Vitamin Store to an experiment. Over a three day period an accomplice and I would try to rob his store blind. The owner was confident that his staff was alert and he had some good anti-theft devices.

To Catch a Thief

Several years ago I challenged a friend who owned a Health Food / Vitamin Store to an experiment. Over a three day period an accomplice and I would try to rob his store blind. The owner was confident that his staff was alert and he had some good anti-theft devices. Equipped with special “booster bags and packs” we walked into the premises on two different occasions while the store was understaffed and relatively busy. Virtually unnoticed we stuffed the packs and bags with various items, purchased a handful of items and quickly slipped out the door.

After the experiment we ended up shoplifting a little more than $2000 worth of merchandise ranging from vitamins to natural body care products from athletic supplements to grocery items. What makes this experiment even more interesting is the fact that we were not experienced shoplifters. Much of what I had gathered and learned was while I was doing my research for a shoplift prevention training program where I had interviewed approximately 250 shoplifters.

Although my friend, the shop owner was shocked at the ease and the high volume of stolen goods, the good new is that this was only an experiment and all his goods were returned but this is not an uncommon scenario. External theft accounts for more than a third of retail shrinkage, and most stolen goods are gone for good: For every dollar recovered, $30 is lost. For every shoplifting incident detected, 50 go unnoticed. Many establishments are just unaware of how widespread the problem is unless they have strict inventory controls.

While a secure floor plan that limits hidden areas and provides an open view of the store is important defence against thieves, a well trained and alert staff is by far the most effective in dealing with loss prevention. It is important to have potential shoplifters think twice and make them uncertain if and when they may be under surveillance. If shoplifters identify a store as an easy target, losses will climb quickly. Even with the latest anti-theft devices shoplifting continues to skyrocket because many shoplifters have become very sophisticated and can get around most anti-theft devices...

In working with retailers, I have found that an establishment does not necessarily need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on sophisticated surveillance equipment in order to effectively reduce losses. Too often retailers feel that as long as they have security systems in place, they are protected. Well that is not enough, for many retailers it simply gives them a false sense of security. To be effective in reducing shrinkage sometimes just a few tweaks in store layout along with a fully trained staff in shoplift prevention will make a big difference in security.

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Article Tags: accomplice, alert staff, athletic supplements, easy target, establishments, floor plan, food vitamin, handful, health food, high volume, inventory controls, loss prevention, losses, occasions, premises, prevention training, retail shrinkage, shoplifting, thieves, vitamin store



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