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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1980)
ocal THE BATTALION Page 7 MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1980 tores arming for perennial battle Shoplifting a Christmas tradition ? By FRANK CHRISTLIEB » 3 fflfoininML Battalion Reporter fcsoldtogdi! Shoplifting is a problem that has inflatai ; many possible solutions, but it is one iniKU-.latis nearly impossible to solve. at is, merchants can take sever- irecautions against shoplifters and i extratait their diverse methods, but no matter || dedicated the efforts, shoplift- ;oes undetected or unpunished ne reason or another in many |s. e shoplifting problem has faced ly all merchants at one time or fdier, no matter what size stores they may have or what types of mer- idise they may sell. In fact, an article in the Nov. 27 issue of the Montgomery County Courier states: it ,i ^According to crime statistics re- ' ™ leased by the Federal Bureau of In- ' OF to Instigation, shoplifting is the biggest ( monetary crime in the United ® States, accounting for 14 percent of CCS,Of(j(flll|!t ore bankruptcies.” i Bryan-College Station merchants ,li ' 1 1 Mve their share of shoplifting, even , ...QUgh most stores are taking steps , toward preventing its occurrence. a PeriOilti b Bobby Riggs of the Bryan Police Department said he is giving ——shoplifting seminars to Bryan mer- ffints to inform them of different jrays to protect against shoplifters. He said he also tells them about Slt L Kthods used by professional and u e T® teur shoplifters, uhibit the ’^“Employees should be courteous ■ and acknowledge customers as soon general tar ed to react i lossible,” Riggs advised, leveral area merchants said they >s recoim&Bg j s one Q f the best ways eguard against shoplifters. One said if a customer enters a lie! PaticU’j iceabillpeml iblishers fel hvices include convex mirrors, one-way mir rors, binoculars, camer as and an object which Jooks like a vent, but is V\r\ actually a type of peephole through which he top id tic employees can watch for is and Rea A I igan State t shophlters. placed nin4 he contest fejfc udents A' stor( ' w fth the intention of shoplift- placed firstiipi ^ere is less chance that he will if iss placedhV s greeted and offered assistance est. LarsotM n employee, lecky tied(«|;f^his, he said, is because a custom- f animal miWvill then know that he has been the America! 611 hy an employee, and he will not a, Kan. pi comfortable enough to shoplift at 20 univenife leisure. s, F Riggs said employees should > contest k Wa tch for loiterers and suspicious ies ofwer' People, since they are possible sho- :re the stialnjers. ner grades dltMerchants can take other precau tions in order to prevent shoplifting, Riggs said. For instance, he said, most stores limit the number of clothing items which can be taken into a dressing room at one time. He said it is best to place a limit on the number of items because if there isn’t one, employees cannot possibly keep a count of all customers and how many items they bring into dressing rooms. Another protective measure taken by some stores, Riggs said, is the rotation of clothing hangers on racks. He said if hangers are placed so every other one faces one direc tion and the next one faces the other way, customers will not be able to take too many items at once. This, he said, will prevent shoplif ters from taking several items and putting them into a bag or otherwise concealing them in an attempt to steal. Riggs said merchants can also use different types of surveillance equip ment and security to watch for sho plifters. He said these include convex mir rors, one-way mirrors, binoculars, cameras and an object which looks like a vent, but is actually a type of peephole through which employees can watch for shoplifters. A source at Skaggs Alpha-Beta said the store uses plainclothesmen and one-way mirrors, which appear to be regular mirrors on one side and “windows” on the other side through which the store can be seen. These mirrors are placed on the walls throughout different parts of the store. John Holly, assistant manager of Weiner’s in College Station, said, “Increased observation cuts down on the number of shoplifters in our store.” Holly said plainclothesmen and employees watch the store closely, and because of this, shoplifting has not been a bad problem for the store. Shoplifters have many different, methods, Riggs said, and these methods can be simple or complex. He said large purses, large coats or clothing, boxes, shopping bags and “booster boxes” are a few of the devices used by shoplifters. Riggs explained that “booster boxes,” used by professional shoplif ters, are gift-wrapped boxes which have one end cut to form a flap. He said the shoplifter finds the items he wants to steal, opens the flap and puts the items in the box. One merchant said shoplifters may use handbags with secret com partments, as well as coats with sev eral pockets inside. This merchant said shoplifting is greatest during the busiest times of the year, such as during the Christ mas season and during January and February. Holly said shoplifting seems to be greatest during the “predominantly gift-giving seasons” and estimated that 75-80 percent of shoplifting takes place during the Christmas season. The most frequent shoplifters, Riggs said, are probably housewives. He said housewives do more family shopping, so they are the people who have more chances to shoplift. Riggs said juveniles and young adults between the ages of 18 and 22 rank two and three respectively in frequency of shoplifting. There is a general consensus among area merchants that shoplift ing cannot be totally stopped, even with all of the preventive measures that are being taken. One source said the problem is “so... scattered out” that it cannot be Shoplifting is greatest during the busiest times of the year, such as dur ing the Christmas season and during January and February. accurately pinpointed as to who is actually responsible. He said the fact that only a small percentage of shoplifters are caught also makes the problem hard to over come completely. Another merchant said it is hard to stop shoplifters unless they are actually seen concealing an item. He said if an employee is not sure of a suspect’s intent to steal, he should not attempt to detain him. But, he said, “They know and you know that if you don’t see them get it, they can beat you at it.” Riggs explained this is a big prob lem in defeating shoplifting because if after a person has been detained for shoplifting it cannot be proven that he has shoplifted, embarassment and even a lawsuit against the business may result. In his opinion, he said, it is best to wait for a suspect to get through the check-out line before attempting to stop him. Riggs said this way, a person will not be able to say, “I was going to pay for it,” having already gone through the check-out. The policy of each store usually determines what action is taken against a shoplifting suspect, Riggs said. Several of the people interviewed agreed shoplifters have nothing to gain by stealing items from stores. One merchant said, “It just doesn’t pay for someone to shoplift.” Riggs said even though shoplifters usually have money to pay for the y of Media organization ,ASMEna8« neers in Bra stain their al rsity medni rman; Dried ■erjandDr.H er, regional «;| roup is a parti on, prescnldi YOU ARE OUR NUMBER ONE ASSETS For over 40 years we have based our business on fnendship with you, the students of Texas A&M. We have tried to run our business to best serve you, the way you would like us to run it. Our business has grown by one Aggie telling another, year after year. Thanks for continuing to do business with Of Army Lou and telling your friends to do the same. MERRY CHRISTMAS! from Loupots Bookstore items they steal, they steal them anyway. Riggs said penalties for shoplifting can be anything from a Class C mis demeanor to a third degree felony. Shoplifting of under $5 worth of merchandise is a Class C misde meanor, and shoplifting of $5-$20 and $20-$200 worth are Class B and Class A misdemeanors respectively. Any shoplifting of over $200 worth of merchandise is a third degree felony. 17liRb5RNE~l Penalties for all of these offenses range from $200 fines to $5,000 fines and/or from 180 days to ten years in the Texas Department of Correc tions. 2*4 , < ;>s; ' if ^’ "THE DIFFICULT WE DO IM MEDIATELY, THE IMPOSSIBLE TAKES A LITTLE LONGER" AGENT AERO AIR FREIGHT , SERVICES WE DO MORE THAN I k DELIVER \ YOUR PACKAGE k OVERNIGHT > WE GUARANTEE IT! < 150 CITIES , $22.11 UP TO 2 LBS. I 'The freight problem solvers PH: 713-779-FAST | P.O. BOX 3862 BRYAN, TX. 77801 I SWEnsen’S h-* FLAVORS ^ OF CHRISTMAS PAST Pumpkin, Hum Raisin, Egg Nog& Divinity Fudge are available at Swensen’s Ice Cream Factory Culpepper Plaza College Station 693-6948 i_ I I I I I I I I I YESTERDAYS “A flue entertainment establishment” BnUABDS—BACKGAMMON—DAIHS Next to T.uby's 846-2625 HOUSE DRESS CODE O) b S< 2 N ON o a Lunch Special — good only between 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. $2.00 off any large 2 or more item pizza or $1.00 off any small 2 or more item pizza. Coupon expires 12-19*80. One coupon per pizza. Free Delivery within limited area. 1504 Holleman. 693-2335. Keep Christmas j \V anrl Lrnnn What an eyeful early Christmas morn! Glittering star, dazzling toys, and all the bright trim and tinsel in between. This year, capture all the child like magic on KODAK Color Film. Ask us for the film you need, plus quality KODAK Color Processing. Make this Christmas a keepsake. Discount with this coupon good Dec. 26- Jan. 31 and keep this coupon for super film processing prices! CAMPUS PUCTC CENTER INC. 401 University Dr. 846-5418 Q-histmas Carols in the Lobby. Please join us for carols and refreshments on Thursday, December 18 at 12:15 in the bank lobby. Music by the A&M Consolidated High School Choir. Bank of A&M REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 111 University Drive Member fdic College Station