Many of us have seen the shop owner on television who caught a shoplifter and then forcibly tied his hands. Much to everyone’s surprise, the owner subsequently was arrested for using excessive force, but later the judge later acquitted him.
While some dismiss shoplifting simply as a cost of doing business, that is counter-productive as it grows exponentially unless it is stopped. Too, shoplifters have started to work in organized gangs.
So what is to be done about shoplifting? It has been estimated that losses from shoplifting, theft by employees or even casual “light-fingered” individuals, account for about three per cent of sales.
Shops have tried various means to reduce losses. Most stores now tag their merchandise so alarm bells will ring unless there has been a checkout. Others have placed surveillance cameras at a few strategic locations or stationed a detective on the premises.
It has been estimated that thieving staff pinch more times than ordinary pilferers. When it comes to thwarting culprits, stores seem unable to be innovative. When the shoplifter is caught, that person usually is sent away with a warning, or for repeated offenders, a jail sentence of say two months is imposed.
Retailers usually review potential employees’ records very superficially before they are hired, and hope that surveillance cameras will catch a shoplifter.
Clearly, different methods need to be adopted. First, new employees must be carefully screened, with a detailed, very thorough investigation. Police records must be searched.
Then too, severe punishment has to be available. Perhaps there should be a four-month jail term for the first offense, and a mandatory one-year imprisonment for a second one. The offender then would have a prison record, which would limit employment opportunities and credit ratings. That certainly would scare off some from shoplifting.
Then stores should offer customers a $100 reward for anyone seeing and reporting shoplifting. Lawbreakers would not know if anyone observed their misbehaviour: customers, another pair of “eyes,” would help law enforcement, and customers would be keen on trying to win a $100 bonus for monitoring activities.
Those innovative suggestions certainly should help to curb the staggering losses caused by shoplifting.