Several months ago I began working for a department store that was unlike any retail store in which I had previously worked. My previous employers all used some form of Checkpoint security system.

I was amazed when I realized that this store didn’t utilize any asset protection technology whatsoever – nothing, not Checkpoint security tags, not Checkpoint systems, not one ounce of anti-shoplifting technology. It was the perfect set-up for aspiring shoplifters.

As a result of their lack of security tags, etc. the retail theft prevention “plan” relied exclusively on apprehensions. What was most difficult about working for this store was the distinctive category of thief; one I had previously encountered sporadically in my years of experience, but never in this volume. The troubling situation I’m referring to is adult females shoplifting with their children present.

As I mentioned, I had encountered cases involving mothers and their offspring acting as accomplices and I had also detained the occasional mother with her children in tow. However, I had never witnessed the kind of neglect, endangerment, and blatant disregard for a child’s well-being as I did at this retailer.

These women committed acts of retail theft leading to situations that confused and terrified their children and frequently jeopardized the children’s safety during arrest. One subject hid a pair of denim jeans under her baby carrier in the stroller, another hid a hat in her diaper bag, and one woman even concealed jewelry in her infant’s diaper.

Upon detainment, we would have to not only deal with a difficult shoplifter, but also the terrified , screaming toddlers and the consequent question of what to do with them when mommy goes to jail with the police.

Without a doubt, this particular store’s lack of a thorough retail theft prevention policy led to the frequency of these incidents. These mothers could have attempted to steal the merchandise available at other department stores, but this retailer didn’t pose the problem of defeating the Checkpoint security system with their children in tow.

Shopping with children in tow also predisposes the thief to be at ease thinking that they don’t look suspicious and can easily deflect the attention of an inexperienced LP associate when Checkpoint security tags and Checkpoint systems  are not in place to act as anti-shoplifting constraints.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to find your Checkpoint Systems and retail anti-theft devices.

For more information on anti-shoplifting, Checkpoint Security Tags please contact us via Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547.

When investigating methods in order to implement an effective retail theft prevention program, it is critical to consider the process when attempting to understand why an offense occurs and why some measures are effective and why others fail to deter crime.

Routine Activity Theory (developed by Marcus Felson and Lawrence E. Cohen) draws on the principles of Rational Choice Theory and Situational Crime Prevention to address these issues.  

A delinquent act occurs through the interaction of three necessary conditions: offenders (shoplifters), targets (merchandise), and locations where offenders and targets intersect (retail stores). Furthermore, each condition has a controller because the controller influences each condition: handler, guardian, or manager.

Handlers are individuals with whom an offender has an emotional attachment and can shape their actions. Guardians are responsible for protecting the targets, such as Checkpoint security tags or security guards. Finally, managers are the retailers, owners, and employees who affect the functioning of the retail environment.

According to RAT, a crime is likely to occur if an offender meets a target in a place that lacks controls. For the purposes of this particular anti-shoplifting analysis, guardians are the most crucial control in establishing retail theft prevention.

Most retailers are unable to direct an offender’s actions or determine if they have proper role models in their life. In addition, managers can only manipulate the environment to a certain degree without impeding an honest customer’s enjoyable shopping experience and risking undesirable consequences in this competitive and litigious society.

Retailers can most effectively deter shoplifting by applying the guardian controller to protect merchandise when using RAT to determine retail theft prevention procedures. The most valuable guardian is Checkpoint security tags when applying this controller in terms of anti-shoplifting endeavors.

Stores have less risk of becoming places where offenders and targets meet without controls when taking advantage of solutions offered by loss prevention experts who utilize Checkpoint systems.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to find retail ant- theft devices and Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on ant- shoplifting, Checkpoint Security System and Checkpoint Security Tags or how they work with Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS system) please contact us via retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547.