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"
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, SERVICES
WE DO MORE THAN I
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PH: 713-779-FAST |
P.O. BOX 3862
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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
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I
I
I
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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