Debunking some shoplifting misconceptions

Debunking some shoplifting misconceptions<br><br>Something I noticed a lot about redditors in r/shoplifting is how they tend to believe a ton of misconceptions about shoplifting. Here's what I've seen<br><br>* **You don't hear a beep every time a shoplifter walks by the security cameras at the entrance.** At least not for me, and not for most people. Sure, the alarm will go off once or twice even if the person is not shoplifting, and it's usually because they're wearing a metal-coated belt or backpack that triggers the alarm. The reason why you hear a beep is because the sensors in the alarm system detect the metal inside the backpack or clothing and mistakes it for unremoved security tags. So, don't assume that a thief can just simply walk through the entrance and not trigger the alarm.<br><br>* **Not all shoplifting alarms on clothing are beepers.** For example, there are these tags that are usually rectangular in shape and have a sharp plastic corner at the bottom. There are usually two parts on the tag: one part is sewn into the clothes, the other part is stuck in. You need a special device to disengage the tag, which usually looks like a grey metal piece of plastic with two parts that are spaced out by about 1.5cm. Sometimes, there are tags with just the security piece attached, and no clothes.<br><br>* **For some stores, the tags don't even need to be removed in plain sight.** If a thief tries to steal something that has a red tag, and it doesn't go off at the entrance, that's because the cashier didn't remove it. Sometimes, tags will be hidden away in the inside pocket of the jacket, close to the bottom, and you wouldn't find them unless you're suspicious enough to want to search the item for security tags.<br><br>* **Not all thieves are shoplifting for money.** Sure, a lot of people do steal out of desperation, but many others steal because they're addicted, or bored. I have a friend who claims to have shoplifted because she's bored, and that's the only reason.<br><br>* **If a thief is successful at shoplifting, then the loss prevention team will usually assume that the cashier messed up at their job.** So the cashier will be scolded and punished, even though they did nothing wrong. It's really shitty, because if the thief is caught, they'll get the police called on them, and the cashier will get a slap on the wrists.<br><br>* **If a thief tries to steal something expensive, the alarm will usually automatically contact the loss prevention team.** If the item the thief is stealing has a tag in the same frequency as the alarm at the entrance, the alarm will usually contact the security team automatically if the tag passes a certain distance from the entrance. You won't hear the alarm go off, but a message will be sent to the security team alerting them that someone is trying to steal something. Of course, they usually won't act on it unless someone is a repeat offender.<br><br>* **Even if a theft is successful, the company will usually just punish the cashier and loss prevention team for being lazy and incompetent.** A lot of companies see shoplifting as an opportunity to punish the loss prevention team for messing up, even if the thief was honestly just really clever and the loss prevention team did nothing wrong. What the company cares about is that their goods are being successfully stolen, and they don't care if their employees get punished unfairly. So the loss prevention team and cashier will get punished in some way, even if they did nothing wrong.<br><br>* **Not all thieves are lazy and stupid.** Some thieves will actually steal a bunch of stuff and hide it somewhere in the store for weeks or even months before they actually steal it. Some thieves will also hide a small item in a bag of chips that's legal.<br><br>* **Unfortunately, some thieves will also steal out of spite.** Yeah, I hate this too. But it's true, some people will steal out of spite, and they will do it anonymously without any way to track them. This is also why loss prevention teams will usually punish the cashier, because the thief can't be caught and punished.<br><br>* **If a thief is caught, it doesn't always mean that they get arrested.** If a thief is caught, a lot of the time the store will usually let them off with a warning and a ban, which is usually useless because the thief is stolen under a fake name. So, a lot of the time, shoplifting is still relatively easy and consequence-free for the thief.