Organized Retail Theft Research Paper

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My article that I found it coinsieds with what I do at my job and it has out-comes that do affect us. Im a Supervisor for a security company and what I do is dealing with organized retail theft. Organized retail theft is an ongoing problem that we have in this county. The amount off lose that retailers a year lose is $77 million a year. In order to become secefull in getting these people that are involved in costing the stores all this money there are some steps that you must go threw to make sure that you have probable cause to stop and make an arrest for some who is trying to steal out of the store The first step is you must see a shoplifter either when they enter your store or approach a display and that he/she does not have any merchandise…show more content…
If your store policy is to detain and apprehend all shoplifters, then you must adhere strictly to this step. Experienced shoplifters will try to dump the concealed merchandise, without your knowledge, if they believe they have been observed. Many states have adopted merchant statutes to protect the retailer against this trick. If you followed steps 1-3 and then lost sight of the shoplifter for several minutes you may be surprised when you detain them and they are no longer holding your merchandise. The best approach, if you loose sight of a shoplifter, is to make your presence know to the shoplifter and give them a chance to dump your merchandise and leave your store without a word being said. Sometimes, loss prevention personnel will walk nearby and turn up their mobile radios to alert the shoplifter that they are plain-clothes security. Another technique is to make a storewide P.A. announcement for security to come to the Children's department, for example, which is where the shoplifter happens to be standing. They will usually dump your merchandise immediately and may never…show more content…
Although not technically necessary, following this step eliminates all possibility that the shoplifter still intends to pay for the stolen product. A few courts have held that detaining someone for shoplifting inside a retail store does not establish the criminal intent of theft. However, in several states shoplifters can be detained once they have concealed the merchandise. When approaching a shoplifter outside of the store always have a least one trained employee as a witness. There is safety in numbers and most shoplifters will cooperate if they believe fighting or running is futile. When you approach a shoplifter outside it is important to identify yourself clearly and your authority for stopping them. Plain-clothes loss prevention agents carry badges or official looking ID cards so the shoplifter has no doubt who they are. Most shoplifter apprehensions should be accomplished with no force or if necessary, minimal force like touching or guiding. Professional loss prevention agents sometimes will use handcuffs to take someone into custody, if they are first trained how and when to legally apply them
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