Tuesday, December 4, 1984/The Battalion/Page 3
Tis the season of theft,
shoplifting on the rise
e
By ANN BRIMBERRY
Reporter
shopping is
| Only 20 days remain until
Christmas, and area department
I stores are crowded with people try-
) (N ingtofind the perfect gif t. But since
II rofr Christmas also is the time of year
when shoppers spend more money
v than they have, some people decide
1 the easiest method of shopt
' ou Mstealing.
d byDfl>M;‘‘Most people shoplift because
tual loclj they feel the store is charging too
lential t muc ^ an< ^ this * s their way of getting
vaste( j even,” said Lt. Bernie Kapella of the
, \College Station Police Department.
eril,; Shoplifting results in the retailing
industry losing millions of dollars
1 clou' annually-
fStore manager for Dillards De-
, cl 11 j partnient Store in College Station
led a pit g ov Phillips sajd shoplifting is in-
wadtt creasing on the national level,
upportj 1‘Those who are unemployed are
U see® forced to find money and this seems
to be the easiest way,” Phillips said.
"However, the majority of shoplift-
d politii ers we apprehend are females be
ts, butai tween the ages of 18 and 25 years
an( ] old who are doing it to supplement
w ’ their income. This is unusual be
cause other markets usually appre-
hend juveniles between the ages of
Reagan: l2to 15 years old.”
thanoliy/Many local stores have doubled
nt, he I their security in order to protect
^Tinst shoplifters.
“We try to educate all the mer-
pts on what to look for in the sto
re,” Kapella said. “During this time
of year, the odds are greater that
shoplifters will operate.
c “ W jl“The best thing to do to cut down
the problem is customer recognition,
st: Mon . Saying to the customer, ‘Do you
cdunat need any help? If not, then I’ll be
g people latching you,’ will combat the prob
lem."
> Phillips agrees the best way to de-
lablyDt crease the number of shoplifters is to
>r whale P ve better customer assistance.
rWwJBf’We work with our employees and
• alert them a little more so they are
. j 1 ‘ aware of the problem,” Phillips said.
hl "If we recognize them in the depart-
have intent, and they know we are there,
was in then the customers who are inclined
achines to shoplift are a little more reluctant
* iustba know l f iere is someone watch-
'act that® them '”
f I A strong in-store loss-prevention
one to[;|p r0 g ram j s en fo r ced by Walmart as
are the well as a door greeting service.
p “Going in and out of mall doors is
an easy access,” Wal-Mart Co-Man
ager Diane Hume said. “Greeters
notice what the people are walking
in and out with, plus we have an un
dercover guard that acts as a shop
per and circulates throughout the
store. At this time, we are appre
hending about six to eight shoplift
ers per month.”
K Mart Discount Store Security
Manager Willie Lewis said shoplift
ing picks up the first day after
Thanksgiving, when K-Mart aver
ages four or five apprehensions per
week.
“We tell all employees to watch
the people who are alone and offer
to help them,” Lewis said. “A lot of
merchandise is out now and the
overheads will not be down until af
ter Christmas.”
Hume said, “Some (shoplifters)
stuff the merchandise into large
C urses or suitcases. Others open big
oxes on the shelves, conceal the
merchandise and then try to reseal
it. If the checkers see that a box has
been opened, they are supposed to
check inside; however, some shop
lifters get away with it anyway.”
Kapella said women with long
dresses can easily conceal stolen
merchandise underneath their gar
ments.
“Also, shopping bags containing
trap doors at the base allows the
shoplifter to conceal merchandise,”
Kapella said. “However, the more
times a person steals from the same
store, the better the odds are that
they will be caught.”
The prime hours for shoplifting
are morning, noon and closing Ka
pella said.
“When the store first opens, the
shelves are being stocked, and the
less likely a shoplifter will be noti
ced,” he said. “During the lunch
hour, the sales force is cut down a
great deal, and in the evening the
people are in a hurry to get out of
the store and are not paying much
attention to customers.”
Wal-Mart prosecutes all shoplift
ers.
“We make sure they do have the
item in their possession and they are
outside the store,” Hume said.
“Then we ask them to take out the
item they shoplifted, fill out all the
appropriate forms for prosecution
and call the police to come pick them
U P” . . , ,
Lewis said they approach the
shoplifter after they nave left K-
Mart and ask if the snoplifter forgot
to pay for the merchandise.
“You always want to have a wit
ness so they won’t run,” Lewis said.
After filling out a report on the
shoplifter, the decision on whether
or not to prosecute is determined by
K-Mart’s store manager. His deci
sion is sometimes influenced by the
shoplifter’s behavior.
“If they are prosecuted,” Lewis
said, “they are really embarrassed
when they exit the store in hand
cuffs.”
The techniques used at Dillards
when apprehending shoplifters
vary, Phillips said.
“Some months we apprehend 15
or 20 shoplifters and some (months)
three or four, but needless to say, we
don’t catch everyone,” he said.
Habitual shoplifters are usually
very hostile when apprehended be
cause they want to make a scene,
Phillips said.
“With these people, we try to calm
them down and get them away from
a public place,” he said. “We take
them to a private area until the law
enforcement people come and pick
them up.”
“We get a lot of different reac
tions,” Hume said. “A lot of times
the shoplifter claims he didn’t take
the item and it takes the police to
convince him to tell the truth. How-,
ever, some continually deny it,
thinking they can get a lawyer later
on to get them off.”
According to state law, if the theft
is for less than $>20, the shoplifter is
fined $219. An item priced between
$20-$200 results in a fine from
$125-$500 and one day in county
jail, pending bail. The penalty for a
stolen item greater than $1000 could
result in six months in jail.
“It’s really not worth your reputa
tion to shoplift,” Phillips said. “What
you’re going to get is relatively small
change compared to your reputation
if you are caught and prosecuted.”
>ul
ies
A&M aids starving Ethiopians
with donations to buy food
By TRENT LEOPOLD
Staff Writer
More than 200 million people
in Ethiopia are facing a serious
food shortage. To help combat
widespread starvation in the
country, several organizations at
Texas A&M are collecting dona
tions for those affected.
Tina Watkins, international
student advisor at Texas A&M,
said students wishing to donate
funds to help ease the food short
age can do so at two locations on
campus.
“The stands are in the Memo
rial Student Center and the Pavil
ion and should be set up until at
least the end of this week,” Wat
kins said.
Students, faculty and staff
members donated $242 last Fri
day and she said she is hopeful a
lot more will be donated this
week.
“The initial drive, which
started last week, was expected to
last through today, but since nu
merous organizations have joined
the effort, the drive will continue
through the week,” Watkins said.
“The money being collected
here will go directly for food costs
in Ethiopia,” she said.
Recent drought conditions in
Africa are responsible for the
critically low food supplies.
The current drought is the
worst of the century, affecting 24
grain supplying countries includ
ing South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Without outside help, it is esti
mated 2.5 million people will
soon die of starvation.
Current estimates indicate
more than 200 million people
have already been affected by the
current drought and at least
150,000 Ethiopian children have
died from starvation.
The United States government
recently allocated $45 million for
food to Ethiopia and other Afri
can countries while the Catholic
Relief Services of New York is
planning to distribute 40,000 tons
of food for its emergency nutri
tion program.
A spokeswoman for the Catho
lic Relief Services Beth Griffin
said more money is needed al
though a cooperative effort
among four private agencies is
expected to reach 1.5 million peo
ple in 13 of the most severely af
fected provinces of the drought-
stricken country.
“The most pressing need right
now is cash assistance to move
grain arriving in Ethiopia,” she
said. “The food needs to be
moved from ports to inland areas
where it is needed.
“The joint action group has de
signed a plan calling for the im-
K ortation and distribution of at
:ast 200,000 tons of food during
the upcoming year.”
Griffin said commitment is re
quired in Ethiopia so those now
helpless can be able to help them
selves.
“Immediate action is needed to
stabilize the food situation and
slow death and malnutrition in
the country,” she said. “Beyond
that, rehabilitation measures will
be necessary so those now facing
starvation can return to their
farms and villages where they can
begin to lead productive lives
once again.”
Aggies outbleed UT again
By TRENT LEOPOLD
Staff Writer
Texas A&M has outscored the
University of Texas again. This year
2,060 pints of blood were collected
here during the recent blood drive
compared to 1,800 collected in Aus
tin.
“We are proud of the amount of
blood Texas A&M has given to Wad-
ley (Institute) this year,” Pete Smith,
coordinator of blood donations at
Wadley said. “We are looking for
ward to coming back in the spring to
collect more blood.”
For the past 26 years Wadley In
stitute of Dallas has been collecting
blood on the Texas A&M campus.
About 30,000 pints have been col
lected during the past 26 years.
Smith said a shortage of blood
usually exists during the spring
months because people postpone
their surgery during the holidays.
Elizabeth Hill, coordinator for the
blood drive at Texas A&M, said
Wadley will be coming back to collect
Aggie blood again this spring.
“Texas A&M has an agreement
with Wadley allowing the Institute to
collect blood on the Texas A&M
campus for their use,” Hill said. “In
exchange, all faculty, staff and for
mer students can receive free blood
whenever it is needed.
“Wadley Institute appreciates our
efforts and Texas A&M is proud to
be able to provide such a vital serv
ice. It is really amazing to see how
the students and employees at Texas
A&M react to such a project.”
Hill said during tne recent drive
some people had to wait in line for
more than two hours to donate a
pint of their blood.
Student Y to host Christmas service tonight
The Student Y Association is host
ing its annual Christmas Service in
the All Faiths Chapel at 7:30 tonight.
Kathy Ingram, Christian pro
grams director for Student Y, said a
Christmas tree in front of the cha
pel, decorated by different student
organizations, will be lit at 7 p.m.
The Singing Cadets will perform
and Father Bill Brooks will give the
Christmas message at the hour-long
candlelight service.
“We’re (Student Y) encouraging
everyone on campus to come to the
service,” Ingram said.
Brent Boyd, Singing Cadey vice
president, said, “We’ve been doing
this for many years.
“It’s always an honor to be able to
sing at functions like these. In the
past, people have had to stand in the
aisles at the Christmas Service.
f
but pit:
to bt s®
run over
jCunch cHour Christmas Concerts
ti sometjl
ssthefa