When Crime Pays

Recently my husband and I were shopping at Best Buy. As we were exiting our car, we heard a commotion at the front doors.

A young man came flying out the door with a large box in hand and was followed by several employees. The man ran through the parking lot and the employees gave up their chase. As the man got to the street, he casually hoisted the box on his shoulder and slowly headed toward the mall.

My husband asked the employee if the Police had been called. He answered, “No, there’s no need. The response time is slow and he’ll be long gone before they get here.”

Sadly this is more the norm today than the exception. Retail theft has risen dramatically over the past few years.

The National Retail Federation reports that large scale store theft has become a significant problem. This is described as organized crime in which shoplifters go into stores and clear whole shelves. They take targeted items that are then resold. The NRF stated that on average, retailers saw a 26.5% increase in this type of theft over the previous year.

A California Sheriff has pointed the finger at other reasons for the increase in theft. Sacramento Sheriff, Jim Cooper, gave some details, according to a report in the Epoch Times. “We don’t tell retail how to do their jobs, they shouldn’t tell us how to do ours.”

He went on to explain how his office has tried to help Target. “Our property Crimes detectives and sergeant were contacted numerous times by Target to help them with shoplifters, mostly who were known transients. We coordinated with them and set up an operation with detectives.”

He further stated that Target’s head of regional security told his office that deputies could not contact or handcuff suspects inside the Target Store. Target further required that if they arrested a perpetrator, they had to be processed outside and behind the store.

“We were told they didn’t want to create a scene inside the store and have people film it and put it on social media. They didn’t want negative press. Unbelievable.”

He claimed that his deputies, saw a woman on camera, “go down the body wash aisle” and then proceed to Customer Service to return the items.

“Target chose to do nothing and simply let it happen. Yet somehow, locking up deodorant and raising prices on everyday items we need to survive is their best answer.”

Meanwhile Target announced the closing of nine stores in four states, claiming that theft and organized retail crime created this necessity.

“We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests and contributing to unsustainable business performance. We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all.”

We’ve probably all seen the videos of many people going into stores, breaking showcases and taking whatever, they want. They then leave the store with merchandise in hand with no repercussions.

The cost of this retail theft is $113 Billion a year. That’s money that we all pay in the cost of increased prices in the stores. We also suffer the inconvenience of having everyday items locked up, creating a need for more employees to handle the customers’ needs.

As long as Crime pays, it will continue to increase. Retailers must not ignore the crimes committed in their stores.

I agree with the California Sheriff. Retailers must allow law enforcement to do their jobs without interference. When consequences are harsh and crime no longer pays, we’ll see the crime dropping significantly.