Shoplifting has gone high-profile and is costing big money. Now retailers are trying to fight back.
The inventory of Levi's jeans at Mervyns stores in the Los Angeles area was mysteriously shrinking last year, and not because of hot-rinse cycles. After setting up surveillance cameras, the retailer's loss-prevention department realized why.
Organized gangs of thieves were swiping the pants from shelves, hustling them to waiting cars and whisking them to a couple of homes in the San Fernando Valley. The hot jeans were then sold in Los Angeles' garment district.
In the end, 30 people were arrested for what Mervyns estimates was more than $1 million in losses.
Shoplifting has gone big-time. Groups of thieves armed with store floor plans and foil-lined bags to evade security sensors are making off with vast quantities of merchandise.
Selecting items from a ringleader's list -- electronics, razor blades and baby food are among favored items -- a savvy "booster" can haul off $5,000 to $10,000 of goods in a single day, according to the FBI. Such theft has grown steadily in recent years, merchants and law-enforcement officials say.
"We have witnessed a steady increase in organized retail crime," says David Hill, a police detective in Montgomery County, Md. "These groups operate with the training of a paramilitary."
In response, retailers are lobbying to strengthen laws, which they say are insufficient to combat the crime.
At an Oct. 25 hearing, National Retail Federation members urged House subcommittee members to make organized shoplifting a federal felony.
Selling stolen goods online
The problem has also created a rift between brick-and-mortar merchants and online auction sites, which traditional vendors say have facilitated growth of the crime.
"The Internet has allowed a wide distribution of stolen products, whereas before, the fencing of stolen goods was limited to pawnshops and local areas," says Brad Brekke, the vice president for asset protection at Target (TGT, news, msgs).
In October 2005, the chain uncovered a ring in Houston involving five people who sold stolen Target merchandise online. According to records from the criminal investigation, the ring had unloaded $258,000 worth of goods, including electric razors, cordless phones, digital cameras and shower heads. Crooks make more selling on the Web than they do out of the back of their cars, police Detective Hill notes.
The National Retail Federation, whose members include Target, Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, news, msgs) and Safeway (SWY, news, msgs), has been meeting with U.S. Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Va., to discuss ways to clamp down on so-called e-fencing -- for example, by making vendors disclose serial numbers of items they are selling.
Web auctioneers object. "We see this as an overreach by big, established retailers," says Hani Durzy, a spokesman for eBay (EBAY, news, msgs).
Online issues aside, retailers say better laws are needed to fight the problem. "Organized retail crime is low-risk and high-profit," says Joseph LaRocca, the vice president for loss prevention at the retail federation.
One of the group's objectives is to press for stiffer penalties. Gang members are often careful to steal little enough in a single strike to avoid serious charges if they are caught.
"At any one time, these individuals won't have a huge amount of goods, but they will be making thousands of trips. So if they are caught, what should be a higher charge is bumped down to a petty larceny, which is the legal equivalent of a traffic ticket," Los Angeles police Detective Dan Nee says.
Local law enforcers are also handicapped because these thieves often operate across state lines.
Mervyns, in the meantime, reports it has ramped up its efforts to thwart the rings. Says Mike Kennan, the chain's director of loss prevention: "The magnitude of these thefts would amaze a lot of people."
This article was reported and written by Jessica Silver-Greenberg for BusinessWeek.
17th November 2007 08:47 PM
pdog
I never had the guts to shoplift... I was better @ B&E's... I was too self centered to shoplift, I thought everyone was watching me.
17th November 2007 09:22 PM
mrhipfl
The only thing I ever stole from a store was a dirty magazine when I was 13, and I only did it because I wasn't old enough to buy it. I felt so lousy and guilty afterwards that I couldn't even get a decent hard-on. I should be ashamed of myself.
17th November 2007 10:28 PM
gypsy
I get such a rush out of shoplifting. Just today, I shoplifted a Thanksgiving turkey underneath my muu muu.
But seriously, teenage girls love to shoplift...and I was no exception. I was amazingly great at it b/c I had such a babyface. Of course, back then, they didn't have all the cameras and sensor tags. I'd be scared to death to try anything like that these days.
17th November 2007 10:36 PM
tumbled
I stole candy from my dad's drug store and I got a huge spanking cuz I blamed my brother for it and to this day I can't stand to see wing tip shoes.
18th November 2007 12:00 AM
killerbitch
Use to steal teen magazines out of grocery and pharmacies
as they often put them too close to the doors.
18th November 2007 04:39 AM
corgi37
Without stealing, i wouldnt be living in a house.
18th November 2007 07:59 AM
Ronnie Richards
shoplifters of the world unite
18th November 2007 11:35 AM
tumbled
18th November 2007 11:47 AM
sirmoonie
Arson is a sexier crime. I would love to have sex with a really good looking arsonist after she got done torching something.
18th November 2007 11:52 AM
mrhipfl
18th November 2007 12:24 PM
gimmekeef
quote:sirmoonie wrote:
Arson is a sexier crime. I would love to have sex with a really good looking arsonist after she got done torching something.
Bet ya Left Eye Lopes woulda been smokin....
18th November 2007 12:29 PM
fireontheplatter
i nic all the time...got to these days..things are far to expensive
18th November 2007 02:34 PM
gypsy
quote:sirmoonie wrote:
Arson is a sexier crime. I would love to have sex with a really good looking arsonist after she got done torching something.
Believe me, it ain't easy being a nymphomaniac AND a pyromaniac. But I manage.
18th November 2007 02:53 PM
Stargroves
Oh, stores... read the lot thinking you wrote Stones... another drink called for
18th November 2007 04:04 PM
steel driving hammer
Stealing is a Sin.
18th November 2007 04:24 PM
pdog
So is posting on the internet... Yes... this goes against Gods law. It is in the bible...
18th November 2007 04:29 PM
steel driving hammer
Well, I'll just see you in Hell too!
Bring your Bootlegs though ok?
I'll try to bring mine as well.
And maybe some batteries too cause I don't know if they have an outlet.
Actually bring alot of batteries just in case.
Mick said he cased the joint and he knows it well...but he didn't mention batteries.
18th November 2007 05:58 PM
gypsy
I stole lipliner at the drugstore a few weeks ago. It was an accident, really. It wouldn't stay in the basket, as it was too skinny. So, I put it in my pocket, but sticking out, so I wouldn't forget it, which is precisely what I ended up doing. It kind of felt good - like I was "sticking it to the man." Cuz the man is a real bastard, as we all know.
18th November 2007 06:01 PM
fireontheplatter
quote:gypsy wrote:
Cuz the man is a real bastard, as we all know.
have you ever thought you might be hanging out with the wrong guy?
18th November 2007 08:24 PM
stonedinaustralia
quote:pdog wrote:
I never had the guts to shoplift... I was better @ B&E's... I was too self centered to shoplift, I thought everyone was watching me.
that's posting!!
19th November 2007 06:23 PM
_Boomy_
quote:pdog wrote:
... I was better @ B&E's...
Dude, I can make some mad B&E's. I like to make French Toast from that Hawaiian bread and mix a little cinnamon into the egg bath, too.
Mmm....B&E's....
20th November 2007 08:38 PM
Factory Girl
You can get free stuff from stores just by asking--
Lasy year, I asked Olsson's Book Store if I could buy their Willie Nelson display poster. They said NO. I then asked if I Could HAVE it? They said YES.
So, there yo go... always ask for what you want.
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