THE BATTALION
THURSDAY, MARCH 3 1977
Page 3
"'Shoplifters: easy to spot, hard to catch
\
By DARRELL LANFORD
Battalion Staff
They usually take small items,
tone medicine. Mousetraps. Nasal
ipray. Bottles. They’re shoplifters.
If they are caught and convicted,
hey can receive penalties up to a
)0 fine or jail sentence if found
Ity of a felony.
1 think at any retail store shop-
ifting is a problem,” said June
,usk, security supervisor at K Mart.
Ruben Galvez, assistant manager
tK Mart, said three or four shoplif-
J ers are caught each month. “Any-
r lody that is caught shoplifting,
Aether it’s a dime or $100, is pros-
‘ muted, he said.
y
Over a one year period, pilfered
goods represent one per cent of
goods sold in a year, Galvez said.
“Usually shoplifters have nervous
habits,” Galvez said. “They’re ner
vous, tense, they look up, they look
around. They go off in the dark cor
ners of the store.”
“They never look at the item
they’re going to steal,” Lusk said.
She said more women than men
shoplift.
“The majority of the shoplifting
we have here is through group ef
fort,” Galvez said. “Usually they
come in threes or fours or more.
I would call them professional shop
lifters .
mm
Mi'
i wasp
vouldri
lOmitt
amn
iing
emmet
al pi
ay tk
s exera
apatb i
e from
nything
leads
nd ofi
indieti
r d nali
ft anvi
Security precautions include
one-way mirrors and “someone
watching the floor at all times,”
Galvez said.
Sales personnel usually are the
only persons watching over Fed-
Mart, said Hermalinda Jackson, as
sistant manager.
Jackson said she sees about 20
possible shoplifting cases a month,
but that she is unable to catch the
offenders.
“Most people who
steal here are regular
customers. ”
“Most people who steal here are
regular customers,” she said.
She said the store is reimbursed
$400 a month for pilfered goods by
the Fed-Mart chain.
Store officials at Fed-Mart,
Skaggs and K Mart said they knew
of no extra percentage added to total
prices in order to make up for losses
because of shoplifting.
Managers at Skaggs and Safeway
said that the amount of goods stolen
cannot be determined.
“The only way we can tell how
much is stolen is to put up
cameras,” said Oliver Bishop,
Skaggs store director.
He said cameras were set up in
another store for a week. The film
showed that one person out of 30
shoplifted.
“We’ve caught some very promi
nent people,” he said.
“It’s surprising that most people
we catch have a whole pocketful of
money,” Bishop said.
He said normally Skaggs policy is
to prosecute. Statistics on the
number of people caught were not
immediately available.
Bishop acknowledged that the
store suffered from employe pilfer
ing.
“We try not to give employes the
opportunity to steal,” he said. “We
have people working together.
There is a supervisor watching the
store operation at all times.
Bishop said other security pre
cautions include floorwalkers who
have been or are policemen . Private
investigators check on employes
periodically and those found shop
lifting are also prosecuted, he said.
Shoplifting suspects can be ac
cused before leaving the counter,
but usually they are confronted after
passing tbe checkout counter, Lt
Jim Beamer of the College Station
Police Department said.
ap
,'hodolij
hatwei|
'S?
'ort Hi|
ye were I
/as to d(|
rcific re^
ry-indn!
o be i
isions Mj
iction to|
hese
)s?
that gen
st, excel
sense
ell, we!
inizatio
t. Buti»
;ain.
lie ti
icracy
o arountf
parti#
■orkedsl
iteineni.
say. Ai
erythinlj
yful in
good»
mytW
they
oerties
d then 1 '
of a
outlasts
king,
it Infr;
IS
m
r lyg -
‘‘Mgs®*,
The Promise
of Spring
Don’t let an early case of spring
fever keep you from getting your
spring clothes ready now.
^ AGGIE CLEANERS
111 N. MAIN — NORTHGATE
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
DALE CARNEGIE
COURSE
BEGINS IN BRYAN SOON
• SELF CONFIDENCE • HUMAN RELATIONS
• EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS • CONTROL WORRY
• ENTHUSIASM • NAME REMEMBERING
...ALL INCLUDED IN THE DALE CARNEGIE COURSE
Dale Carnegie said this about the course: “In fourteen weeks,
if you cooperate, you will probably learn more in the areas of
courage, itelf confidence, the ability to get along with and communi
cate with people, than you have in the preceding fourteen month*
or fourteen years...”
1“””“ —“““-“-““““■““”““““““““"1
| For information call THE DALE CARNEGIE COURSE
| AT The Eagle 822-3707 or clip this coupon and mail to
■ Dale Carnegie Course
I c/o The Eagle, Box 1073, Bryan, Texas 77081.
| NAME
I ADDRESS
BUS. PHONE
| HOME PHONE
I
JOE SLIVA, AREA MANAGER/INSTRUCTOR
AF$
POLITICAL FORUM
presents
STATE REPRESENTATIVE
DAN KUBIAK
speaking on
“PUBLIC SCHOOL
FINANCING
Friday, March 4
206 MSC, 12 noon
Free Admission
Beamer said most shoplifters are
charged with Class C misdemeanor,
punishable by up to a $200 fine.
The charge depends on the value
of the good taken, Beamer said. Up
to $5 is a Class C misdemeanor;
Class B, goods valued from $5 to
$20; Class A, goods valued from $20
to $200. Over $200 is a felony, he
said.
Dr. Russell Dunckley, professor
of psychology at Texas A&M Uni
versity, said there could be a
number of reasons why people
shoplift. He stressed that there is no
one reason why a person does some
thing.
“In th e cases that I know of
virtually every person reported
some kind of excitement when they
shoplifted,” he said. “Part of it can
be a kind of cops and robbers game.
“Also, people steal when they feel
like they’re getting ripped off, he
said. “It could be a counterculture
type thing to get back at the estab
lishment.”
“Kids might do it to embarass
their parents, to manipulate them,
he said. “Also, it’s just an easy way
to acquire goods.’
Fantasy movie
filmed in Rome
ROME (UPI) — Director Pier
Carpi is filming on location a science
fiction, fantasy movie starring Anne
Heywood, Irene Papas, John Philip
Law and Martin Balsam.
The movie, “The Circle in the
Dark,” deals with a group of women
who have superhuman and magical
powers and are therefore excluded
from normal society, Carpi says.
Noon seminars to highlight
creative art demonstrations
The urge to stay outside increases
as the sun keeps shining. If you
would like to absorb a little culture
along with the sunshine, bring your
sack lunch and join the crafts shop
for its Brown Bag Seminar.
Beginning Thursday, March 10,
the Texas A&M University crafts
shop will sponsor demonstrations of
various types of artwork in various
media. Cheryl Evans, crafts shop
staff member, said the seminar will
take place every Tuesday and
Thursday from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.
by the fountain in front of the
Memorial Student Center (MSC).
The first demonstration will be
given by Rhoda Krammer on throw
ing pottery (making pottery on the
wheel).
Also scheduled are demon
strations on leaded glass (March 24),
drawing and illustrating (March 29)
and throwing pottery and primitive
firing methods (April 21).
Other demonstrations tentatively
scheduled are watercoloring, black-
smithing, weaving and hatiking,
which is printing of fabric.
—Barbara Fricke
LET US
UNIVERSITY
LUTHERAN
CHAPEL
315 N. Main
045-0667
Hubart Back, Pastor
GIVE YOU
A HAND
t
n
j
WORSHIP SERVICES AT 9:15 A.M. AND 10:45 A.M.
WORSHIP CELEBRATION AT 6 P.M.
Bible Studies Available
DANIEL. Mondays, 8:30 p.m.
REVELATION, Tuesdays. 8:30 p.m.
GENESIS, Thursdays, 7:00 p.m.
MANOR EAST MALL
Texas Ave. at Villa Maria
Fri. & Sat. Only March 4th & 5th
3.00 OFF
REGULAR PRICE
WRANGLER JEANS
Mens Bells #645
Reg. 14.00
11
00
Student Bells #651
Reg. 12.00
9
00
Hurry while selections are
best. Save 3.00 off every pair
you buy. All in 100% cotton
denim in sizes 26-38, assorted
lengths. But, remember, this
sale is for 2 days only; March
4 & 5.