What You Don't Know About Shoplifting

Shoplifting is a crime that happens all too often. For those who own small businesses, just a few shoplifters per month can put a serious dent in the amount of profits they take home. It’s important to brush up on your knowledge of shoplifting so you can better prevent it.

1. Eyes on the Prize - Every store should have a dedicated loss prevention employee and a set of security cameras. The person in question for shoplifting must be seen by this employee for them to be stopped. Even if someone else tips off the employee about the shoplifter, nothing can be done until they are seen stealing by this employee.
2. Bathroom/Fitting Room - A common shoplifting practice is to take items into the bathroom or fitting rooms and conceal them there. Unfortunately, an employee can not stop this person because they did not see them steal with their own eyes. You can guess that they have the items on their person, but there is no visual proof.
3. Do Not Chase - Let’s say you watch a shoplifter conceal an item and walk past the point of purchase to the outside of the store -- now what? Yes, you can confront them, but do not chase the suspect if they decide to run. If any harm is done to the shoplifter it is possible for them to sue and for the store to be liable for any harm done to them. Watch how they leave, where they go, and then call the police.
4. Underage/Overage - A store should not stop any shoplifter that is younger than 5 and older than 70. A kid under the age of 5 has no responsibility for their actions and should not be embarrassed. On the other end of the spectrum, a person over 70 should not be stopped due to liability reasons. The last thing a business needs is for an elder person to have some type of health episode while in the store.
5. Taking a Risk - There are a lot of rules that loss prevention employees must follow. However, a lot of them will take risks in order to prevent shoplifting from occurring. Have these employees know which rules are guidelines and which are laws that should not be broken. A few pieces of stolen merchandise is not worth the hassle of a lawsuit.

Shoplifting is a crime that many businesses are trying to prevent from happening too often. A good way to cut down on shoplifting and potential lawsuits is to install security cameras throughout your place of business. To learn more, or to schedule a free estimate, contact the pros at Reliable Voice & Data Systems by calling (877) 385-6657.

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