Do you know if the police will track you down for shoplifting? Well, you are at the perfect place to find the answer to such a question.
Police will track down a shoplifter if the store reports them and there is significant evidence to do so. The more expensive the goods and the more frequent the shoplifting, the bigger the chance that the police track down the suspect. In many cases, there is not enough evidence to track down a shoplifter.
Let’s break down the different types of shoplifting that security looks out for, when police get involved, and how likely it is that they’ll track down the culprit.
Types of Shoplifting that Security Looks Out for
According to the offices of former Manhattan prosecutor Lance Fletcher, there are different types of shoplifting that security looks out for. These include:
- Grabbing and go: This is when a shoplifter grabs a few – usually expensive – items and runs out, often to a getaway vehicle.
- Concealment: This is when the shoplifter hides the item(s) in their jacket, bag, or clothing.
- Booster bags: Booster bags contain a material that breaks the connection between the magnetic tags and the readers at the store’s exit. The bag also hides the stolen merchandise. These bags can appear to be normal purses or be put inside the store’s original bag to avoid suspicion.
- Tag switching: This is when a shoplifter puts a cheaper tag on an expensive item and purchases it at the lower price. The difference is the amount shoplifted from the store.
- Group shoplifting: Shoplifters that band together can often steal many more items and deflect responsibility if caught.
- Sweethearting: This unique form of shoplifting includes a store employee who gives the “customer” (usually a friend) a few items for free by not scanning them while charging for other items in the same pile.
Signs of Shoplifting Security Looks Out for
Now that you know the types of shoplifting there are, here are the key behaviors that security officers look for in a shoplifter.
- Avoidance behaviors: Security guards will look out for shoppers who avoid eye contact, fidget, move around with no rhyme or reason, and appear nervous.
- Layers: Another sign of a potential shoplifter includes wearing multiple layers of clothes or carrying multiple bags. Guards look out for those wearing more layers than the weather calls for, especially big coats that could hide merchandise underneath or in the pockets.
- Frequent visits: Strangely enough, shoplifters tend to visit their victim store often before they get sticky fingers. This allows them to stake out the store, taking in the different aisles, security cameras and checkpoints, employees, and exits.
- Distractions: A potential shoplifter may distract an employee by asking them to check in the back for an item they can’t find.
- Fast exits: Shoplifters want to get out of the store as fast as possible to make their escape. Security guards will look out for those who walk quickly towards the exit – especially if they have a hoodie or hat on or try to cover their faces for the cameras.
- Groups splitting: If you enter with a group and immediately go your separate ways, this could seem suspicious to security personnel who have experience with group theft.
Anti-Theft Devices and Protocols
In combination with security guards who find and track shoplifters, a store will also have anti-theft protocols and equipment that can aid in identifying and stopping theft.
- Merchandising security: This is when products are available for testing, such as when you go to a tech shop and try out different laptops or phones. These items are often on mounts or tethers that make them impossible to disconnect and steal. Others are placed in cases or locked into place.
- Mirrors: These increase visibility, making individuals more conscious of the fact that they may be being watched.
- Inventory management tools: These tools help store owners and employees monitor their stock to a T, monitoring discrepancies.
- Electronic article surveillance: This includes security tags that trigger alarms if the product passes the scanners at the entrance. They could be tags, labels, spider tags, antennas, or other objects attached to the products.
- Cameras: One of the most important pieces of anti-theft equipment is the security camera. This is key when it comes to getting the police involved to track down a shoplifter. Some cameras even have facial recognition technology.
When the Police Get Involved
Many stores have security guards either walking around or posted at the front entrance. A company’s privately-paid security guards may go after a shoplifter who is caught in the act, but they should immediately notify the appropriate authorities once the shoplifter is off the property.
Larger companies will have a group of Loss Prevention personnel that are in charge of identifying shoplifters and stopping theft.
These employees monitor items and activity in the store daily. If they notice items missing, they can run the code to see if they were sold or unaccounted for. If it is unaccounted for, they will look over the closed-circuit security camera footage to find a suspect.
Once a suspect is identified, the incident will receive a case number. Outside cameras may also be utilized to identify a suspect’s mode of transport.
Things like the make, model, and license plate number of their car may be identifiable.
Some retailers communicate with one another to find shoplifters who have stolen a product of high value. They may print out photos of the suspect, notify everyone on the team, and then look out for the shoplifter’s return to try and catch them in the act.
In rare cases, stores may be able to identify the shoplifter on their own. When this occurs, the police are notified so the appropriate arrest and charges can be completed.
If the shop does not identify the suspect but has sufficient video evidence against them and identifying information, such as their license plate number, the security team can also reach out to the police for assistance. The store will file an official complaint with the police department, which will then investigate accordingly.
How Police Track Down Shoplifters
The local police department will use its database to help track down a shoplifter. They will need evidence that is both convincing and detailed enough to know where the shoplifter lives.
For example, if the store identified an individual who participated in tag switching or sweethearting who was silly enough to pay with a credit card, that may be significant evidence to help the police track down the individual using their resources.
One of the easiest ways to track a shoplifter is if the store has their vehicle recorded on the security cameras.
Few stores have facial recognition software, although every year it is becoming more commonplace.
What Happens When Police Track Down a Shoplifter?
Shoplifters may be handed over to the police or deal with the company directly. During the latter, the company may make a deal with the suspect to pay for the item, be banned from the store, and go free.
In other cases, the police will pursue the charges the shop agrees to. These could include petit theft, larceny, or felony, depending on the amount of the goods and the situation.
Sentences could include community service, probations, fines, and even jail time.
How Likely Is It that the Police Will Track Down a Shoplifter?
Many more shoplifters get away with their crimes than are stopped in the act, and even fewer are tracked down by police.
According to the National Association for Shoplifting Preventing (NASP), every year retailers lose about $13 billion in stolen goods – that is an astounding $35 million per day! NASP also states that only 1 in 48 shoplifters tend to be caught and, from those, only half are turned over to the police to face official charges.
Even though shoplifting is an obvious problem in the U.S., tracking a shoplifter is not at the top of the local PD’s priority list. Understandably so, they need sufficient evidence to go after someone and will not waste any time on unfounded accusations.
Final Thoughts
The U.S. loses billions of dollars every year to shoplifting and retail theft. This could be anything stolen from a $1 candy bar to a $1,000 phone.
Shops have plenty of security protocols in place to prevent theft, but most shoplifters are never caught.
The stores will only be able to contact the police to track down a shoplifter if they have sufficient evidence of the crime and the I.D. of the suspect.
In most cases, the store will not have enough evidence to contact the police and will have to up their personal security measures instead.
References
https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/facts-about-shoplifting-31291