Policies: Shoplifting

[temporal1]

.. Armed guards are probably not an option for Mennonite businesses, though ...
I'm also curious about how Christian shopholders should handle this.

Have these problems hit Mennonite businesses?

As for Christian shop owners, in my area, i can’t think of any still in business, maybe one Christian chain bookstore?
As for Christians who are in business, i have no idea how this would be identified.

Some local retail shops have been “visited” by looters that appear organized. From what i understand, they do as they please, police try to catch up with them after the fact. i don’t know of any shootings (specific to shoplifting). There are plenty of non-police shootings. Chicago crime is everywhere. Reports attempt to avoid addresses, even names of criminals. (Blue state)

Businesses off interstate highways are prone to being targets.

The organized aspect begs another label, other than shoplifting. The loss/damage can be devastating from one visit/hit.

[mike]

Can you flesh this out a bit?

You have high-definition video of a robbery in progress. Where are the cameras pointed? Do they capture the vehicle in the parking lot as well? Can you get the license plates? Are there cameras in the bathrooms? How do you prevent people slipping things into their clothes in the bathrooms?

How does this video get linked to the identities of the people who did it?

Who decides whether the shoplifter gets prosecuted? Can the store decide whether to press charges, or is this up to the police?

Like many businesses I have cameras in the parking lot. Three cameras cover the vast majority. They are not HD enough catch a license plate of a distant vehicle, but may if it is close enough to the camera. Often bystanders are needed to catch plates. No cameras in the bathrooms. I think that's illegal. You can't catch everything with cameras.

Cameras are a tool that only have value if used properly. The best way to catch shoplifters is people, whether staff or customers. All the shoplifting that we have caught at my store that I can think of was initiated by suspicions of people watching it happen. The cameras though were what provided the evidence. They don't help a lot for something that is in progress.

POS data is valuable also if the shoplifter has also made a purchase with an electronic card, because that is a footprint that can be investigated. I am a little unclear on who decides if a shoplifter gets prosecuted. The police file the charges, but they let the victim/business have a say in the charges at least in my experience. I was told once by police that there is no such thing as "pressing charges." They press the charges. But at the same time when I reported a shoplifter once, I had the option of asking for all four verified instances to be charged separately, which would have resulted in the shoplifter going to jail. Or, I could choose to ask for only some of the instances to be charged.

[ohio jones]

1. Shoplifting is through the roof right now

If a building is secured, the roof is often the weak link (John 10). But shoplifters brazenly walking through the door is a whole 'nother level.

Are there cameras in the bathrooms? How do you prevent people slipping things into their clothes in the bathrooms?

A camera aimed at the bathroom door can show them going in and coming out, for comparison.

How does this video get linked to the identities of the people who did it?

Facebook will tag them for you.

On a lighter note:

[appleman2006]

Shoplifting is becoming a bigger and bigger problem all over and I expect based on what I see on the horizon in the economy it will get even bigger. I agree with Mike that at this point you need to have all the tools of technology at your disposal to have any effect at all and even then depending on what you are selling you will have issues.
Here are my suggestions for what they are worth.
1. Report crimes. Not to get revenge but rather to help stop what is fast becoming a problem that if followed to it's logical conclusion will permanently break down everything that is good in our society and will as in most of these things end up hurting most the people that can least afford it. Sure if you happen to actually believe that yours is the rare exception and you just happened to catch that one desperate mother that is stealing milk for her baby than I am all for being discreet and dealing with her in a loving caring way. But your chances of winning the lottery are probably higher than actually finding a case like this. Most people stealing today are either involved in organized crime or trying to feed a drug habit. And as always has been the case there is the odd kleptomaniac that is just addicted to the thrill of stealing. Any of these you are not helping anyone in allowing then to get off.
2. Have a really good video security system. They are not that expensive anymore and a good system will be a deterrence in and of itself in many cases.
3. Train employees what exactly to do if they are suspicious. The most effective way is to be extremely and I mean extremely helpful with that person until they leave the store. Literally follow them around with a big smile on their face. It will become very evident in a hurry what their motives are. It is not harassment to follow and watch them very closely in the confines of your own property or that of your bosses. Nor is it harassment to get them to dump out their bags if you have video proof of them leaving the store without paying for something.
4. Trespassing laws very in different jurisdictions but I think it is alright to use them in the case of smaller offenses. Usually just threatening them with being trespassed if they ever show up in the future will take care of the smaller thieves.

As an aside while ultimately Mike is correct that it is not our job to tell the government what they should do with shoplifters I think it is perfectly ok to applaud governments that do an effective job of protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty. The Bible says that is what governments do. Obviously some do it better than others and I think when done well it promotes peace for all.

I remember over 50 years ago my Dad saying that he believed over 90 percent of people are honest and that it is the other 10 percent that cost us so much money. I am afraid that number has gone way up. At a certain point society as we have known it will no longer work. Perhaps we are already there. I hope not.

[Josh]

When I talk to people who work in local stores in North Carolina and in Kentucky, they keep telling me:

1. Shoplifting is through the roof right now
2. Some of it is very organized, with drivers and careful planning
3. Trying to interfere with it is too risky for employees, it can get them hurt

Security guards are one measure. So are video cameras. But I don't have a lot of great ideas for solving shoplifting. Do you? If so, what?

Shoplifting went through the roof in 2020 after policy changes were made to stop arresting and prosecuting shoplifting, such as (for example) no longer charging or arresting people in California for shoplifting at $950 or less of value. It should be obvious what happened since then.

Security guards can't do anything - security guards are employees too. They can't interfere with a shoplifter or physically restrain them, generally speaking.

Video cameras don't do any good if shoplifters are not arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and imprisoned and/or made to pay restitution plus fines and penalties to incentivise them not to shoplift again.

But I don't have a lot of great ideas for solving shoplifting.

We didn't have this problem before 2020. Go back to the policing and prosecuting that happened before 2020, when the whole "Defund the police" thing happened.

[Ken]

When I talk to people who work in local stores in North Carolina and in Kentucky, they keep telling me:

1. Shoplifting is through the roof right now
2. Some of it is very organized, with drivers and careful planning
3. Trying to interfere with it is too risky for employees, it can get them hurt

Security guards are one measure. So are video cameras. But I don't have a lot of great ideas for solving shoplifting. Do you? If so, what?

Shoplifting went through the roof in 2020 after policy changes were made to stop arresting and prosecuting shoplifting, such as (for example) no longer charging or arresting people in California for shoplifting at $950 or less of value. It should be obvious what happened since then.

Security guards can't do anything - security guards are employees too. They can't interfere with a shoplifter or physically restrain them, generally speaking.

Video cameras don't do any good if shoplifters are not arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and imprisoned and/or made to pay restitution plus fines and penalties to incentivise them not to shoplift again.

But I don't have a lot of great ideas for solving shoplifting.

We didn't have this problem before 2020. Go back to the policing and prosecuting that happened before 2020, when the whole "Defund the police" thing happened.

None of what you just wrote is true or factual.

The $950 felony limit for shoplifting was passed in 2014 as part of Ballot Proposition 47, not 2020 as you claim. Shoplifting under $950 of items is a misdemeanor but still subject to prosecution. And for shoplifters who are part of any organized theft ring, any amount of shoplifting is a felony under CA law and that is most of what we seem to be seeing. Source? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Cali ... osition_47

With respect to organized shoplifting being a felony in any amount? Here is the CA Department of Justice: https://oag.ca.gov/bi/retail-crime#:~:t ... hoplifting.

Finally, security guards and any other store employees can most certainly detain shoplifters under CA law. If they are ordered not to do so, it is due to corporate policies, not anything mandated by law. Source? Here is a private security company in CA advertising that that they have the legal right to detain people: https://prosecurityguardcalifornia.com/ ... etain-you/ Another reference to CA law regarding detention of shoplifters: https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/defense/la ... privilege/

Grab a pile of $100 bills or a bucket of casino chips and walk out of a casino and watch how fast the private security will have face down on the floor and in handcuffs. Security guards in a Target store are operating under the same rules as security guards in a casino. Or try robbing an armored car. Those are private security guards too. They aren't going to watch you walk away with bags of money because they are powerless to act under CA law.