If you’re fond of fashion, Forever 21 is a great place to go, with the latest clothing, beauty products, and more. Of course, any time a place is popular it’s going to attract shoplifters, so what is Forever 21’s shoplifting policy to nab those folks and keep prices low for the customers?
Forever 21 employs a fairly standard strategy of surveillance cameras, security tagging, in-store security guards, and staff may even follow shoplifters out of the store to help ensure their arrest. Once caught, Shoplifters will be prosecuted, and you might even receive a bill for damages later which could mean more legal headaches!
It’s an effective strategy and worth a closer look, so if you’re curious about Forever 21 and their shoplifting policy, then read on and we’ll tell you what we know about it!
Forever 21 – Loss prevention and security policies
Forever 21 has a fairly standard security array, but like most companies, they’ve added some personal tweaks of their own to keep shoplifters on their toes. It makes sense – American retailers lose billions every year to employee theft and shoplifting and when that happens, customers have to pay more for their goods and then everyone suffers.
Let’s take a peek at how Forever 21 combats this particular pitfall of retail.
Store surveillance
Security cameras are everywhere and Forever 21 is certainly no exception. Whether or not they will be monitored at a particular time is a gamble for shoplifters and they know it, so just having them in the store acts as an active deterrent.
Aside from providing a live feed, all footage is going to be saved and retained for an amount of time based on Forever 21’s data retention policy. This will not be disclosed to the public, but on average surveillance of this sort is kept for a period of time between 3 months and 1 year.
If someone is spotted shoplifting and they’ve been seen in the store quite often, then there is a very real chance that security personnel will be asked to review previous footage to see what a shoplifter was doing the last few times that they visited the store.
If someone is found shoplifting, it will be copied and sent to the police to add to a current or new case so that the shoplifter may still be identified and charged in absentia.
Security tagging
Security tags are another standard loss prevention strategy and the idea is simple. A hard-to-remove plastic tag is clipped onto random or even just high-end items, which is removed by the cashier on checkout or otherwise deactivated.
If it is NOT, then attempting to pass the security arches or even a proximity-based detector that sees how far the tag is from the store, will cause an alarm to sound.
This brings us to the next facet of Forever 21’s security – in-store security guards!
Read also >> Do Stores Post Pictures of Shoplifters? (Do This Now…)
Read also >> How Long Do Stores Keep Shoplifting Records?
Read also >> How Long After Shoplifting Can You Be Caught? (Do This Now!)
Read also >> What Happens If You Get Caught Shoplifting Under 18?
Security Guards
Security guards may be in uniform or in some cases, may even be wearing plain clothes. Most commonly you’ll simply see them standing by the exit, where they might also check receipts or simply stay ready in case an alarm goes off so that they can check your bags.
At this point, a shoplifter will probably attempt to run, although this isn’t wise – running will be caught on security cam and if the guard also happens to be an off-duty officer, then the shoplifter might also get charged for evading an officer, resisting arrest, and more.
While these guards can talk to you, they aren’t going to lay hands on you and if you attempt to leave, they will likely let you unless it’s an off-duty officer.
Like many stores, Forever 21 is very careful about ensuring that their security does not go over the line or invite a scenario where a panicked shoplifter might hurt someone while attempting to make their escape.
Speaking of making their escape, Forever 21 is believed to have a ‘no chase’ policy, so let’s talk about that next.
No chasing — but following is allowed
While not expressly advertised, employees will definitely not chase you out of the store, with the possible exception of a security guard who also happens to be an off-duty police officer.
This is something that just about all large retail stores do – usually if you see someone being chased, it’s from a smaller store that is not going to be insured against shoplifting at the same level as a retail giant.
From a corporate perspective, chasing shoplifters is dangerous and also considered bad business. Someone could get bumped, struck, or worse when a shoplifter attempts to flee and this could result in someone getting hurt or even in lawsuits.
A guard may ask to see a shoplifter’s bag but if the shoplifter bolts, then the police are going to be the ones to arrest them.
Now, while a guard is not allowed to chase you, they ARE usually authorized to follow from a distance so that they can tell the police where you are and help to ensure that you get arrested before you leave the premises.
While that doesn’t sound so dangerous, keep in mind that security guards advise that stores like these get a quick response from the police and that at least 75% of shoplifters attempting to flee get caught.
Keep in mind that getting home doesn’t mean a shoplifter has gotten off scot-free, either, and we’ll tell you why.
Security footage-based cases and civil charges
Those security cameras and their retained footage mean that a security guard who is out to catch a shoplifter might have a very good chance of doing exactly that.
If someone is caught but makes a run for it, or even if a person is at the store often but never seems to buy anything, then a security guard may start looking at saved footage.
If a suspicious activity or outright shoplifting is caught on cam, then it’s a simple matter of sending that evidence over to the local police, who may then press misdemeanor or even felony charges based on the value of what was concealed or outright taken.
Furthermore, even with items of smaller value, there have been reports of shoplifters receiving letters from Forever 21 where they are being billed for the item, and sometimes even with costs involved in reviewing security footage and helping to track down the shoplifter.
This is called a ‘civil demand’ letter and it may be sent to a minor or adult who is suspected of shoplifting. This letter usually states that if a fine is not paid, then charges will be pressed and the police will become involved.
So, as you can see, while a shoplifter might well make it home with items from Forever 21 that they didn’t pay for, there’s no guarantee that charges won’t be pressed anyway.
It’s an effective deterrent for the simple fact that we live in the information age, and with cameras everywhere and social media pages, there’s no guarantee anymore that you’re going to be anonymous – even a customer could spot you shoplifting, find you on Facebook, and report you to the store or police!
Some closing words
In today’s article, we’ve explored the Forever 21 shoplifting policy and while it’s fairly standard for retail stores, it’s got a few twists of its own that make it stick out a little from the rest.
They have the usual security cameras and tags that can set off alarms, as well as security guards by the exits, but there’s also a chance you’ll be followed from a distance or simply informed by mail of a civil proceeding with heavy fines.
Failure to pay those fines just leads to what usually happens to shoplifters – arrest – so while it’s not an aggressive shoplifting strategy, it’s certainly an effective one for Forever 21.
Reference Sources
https://www.businessinsider.com/security-officer-reveals-how-to-get-away-with-shoplifting-2012-4