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Store post shoplifters name to ward off others www.privateofficer.com
Store post shoplifters name to ward off others http://www.privateofficer.com
Wilmington NC NOV 8 2008
David Reynolds
StarNewsOnline.com Occasionally, people get out of their car at Party Suppliers, take a look at the door, then turn around and leave. It’s not because the store off New Centre Drive in Wilmington is closed, only that they’re no longer accepting the kind of business they’ve been getting from some customers.
The store has taken numerous steps to stop shoplifters – everything from installing clear-image surveillance cameras to hiring staff to patrol aisles, said owner Michael Davis Sr. But their newest step has people on notice even before they enter the store.
Party Suppliers has posted a banner by its entrance with surveillance pictures of customers who have left without paying. And while a falling economy may spur some to steal, store staff said it also has prompted other customers to identify them in exchange for a reward.
“We probably get 100 people stopping a day,” to look at the surveillance photos posted by the front door, Manager Jennifer Meadows said. “It’s not only helped with identifying people that have shoplifted, but it has deterred people” from stealing.
Problem and solution
Davis, the owner, said shoplifting was so bad in recent months that it was hurting business and he had to act. Some shoplifters, which he called “boosters,” are so brazen they’ll load up a cart with paper products and party favors and head for the door, not stopping even when employees confront them.
Store employees have been insulted, hit and shoved while trying to stop shoplifters, he said.
“I think it’s driven by the economy,” he said. But he also said, “Some steal for recreation, or for a friend who is having a party. They go in with a shopping list.”
So the store is helping the Wilmington Police Department by identifying suspects for detectives.
Detective Craig Melville said he and other property-crime investigators have hundreds of cases each year, and in many cases they have little to go on.
Surveillance cameras and store clerks who write down the license plate numbers of suspected shoplifters help, he said, but Party Suppliers offering rewards to customers who identify thieves is going a step further.
“It’s great,” said Detective A.S. Heflin, adding that it’s always helpful when crime victims help police help them.
After a customer identifies someone in the pictures, a Party Suppliers staff member calls police. Detectives run the name through a database and if the person has been arrested before, police have a mug shot to compare to the surveillance image. When there’s a match, Party Suppliers gives a reward.
Heflin said she’s recently charged two people with misdemeanors, either with theft or assisting theft, based on tips from the store’s customers. Others have been identified and charges are pending, she said. Not only have suspects been arrested, but the surveillance footage increases the chances the charges will stick in court, Heflin said.
But in one case, Meadows said, she didn’t even need to pass a tip along to police. After one shoplifter saw her picture posted by the store’s entrance, she was so embarrassed she turned herself to police so the store would take the picture down, Meadows said.
“Definitely since we started this, it’s slowed down a lot,” she said of the shoplifting problem. “I can’t believe how well it works.”
David Reynolds
StarNewsOnline.com Occasionally, people get out of their car at Party Suppliers, take a look at the door, then turn around and leave. It’s not because the store off New Centre Drive in Wilmington is closed, only that they’re no longer accepting the kind of business they’ve been getting from some customers.
The store has taken numerous steps to stop shoplifters – everything from installing clear-image surveillance cameras to hiring staff to patrol aisles, said owner Michael Davis Sr. But their newest step has people on notice even before they enter the store.
Party Suppliers has posted a banner by its entrance with surveillance pictures of customers who have left without paying. And while a falling economy may spur some to steal, store staff said it also has prompted other customers to identify them in exchange for a reward.
“We probably get 100 people stopping a day,” to look at the surveillance photos posted by the front door, Manager Jennifer Meadows said. “It’s not only helped with identifying people that have shoplifted, but it has deterred people” from stealing.
Problem and solution
Davis, the owner, said shoplifting was so bad in recent months that it was hurting business and he had to act. Some shoplifters, which he called “boosters,” are so brazen they’ll load up a cart with paper products and party favors and head for the door, not stopping even when employees confront them.
Store employees have been insulted, hit and shoved while trying to stop shoplifters, he said.
“I think it’s driven by the economy,” he said. But he also said, “Some steal for recreation, or for a friend who is having a party. They go in with a shopping list.”
So the store is helping the Wilmington Police Department by identifying suspects for detectives.
Detective Craig Melville said he and other property-crime investigators have hundreds of cases each year, and in many cases they have little to go on.
Surveillance cameras and store clerks who write down the license plate numbers of suspected shoplifters help, he said, but Party Suppliers offering rewards to customers who identify thieves is going a step further.
“It’s great,” said Detective A.S. Heflin, adding that it’s always helpful when crime victims help police help them.
After a customer identifies someone in the pictures, a Party Suppliers staff member calls police. Detectives run the name through a database and if the person has been arrested before, police have a mug shot to compare to the surveillance image. When there’s a match, Party Suppliers gives a reward.
Heflin said she’s recently charged two people with misdemeanors, either with theft or assisting theft, based on tips from the store’s customers. Others have been identified and charges are pending, she said. Not only have suspects been arrested, but the surveillance footage increases the chances the charges will stick in court, Heflin said.
But in one case, Meadows said, she didn’t even need to pass a tip along to police. After one shoplifter saw her picture posted by the store’s entrance, she was so embarrassed she turned herself to police so the store would take the picture down, Meadows said.
“Definitely since we started this, it’s slowed down a lot,” she said of the shoplifting problem. “I can’t believe how well it works.”
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Categories: loss prevention
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