I'm not a shoplifter, but I work in retail and some advice on what not to do would be great.

I've been in retail for many, many years now. I have seen a lot of shoplifters get caught, and a lot of shoplifters get away with it. My shop has a very liberal policy on confrontation- we leave it entirely up to the employees whether we want to detain someone or have the police pick them up. I have ended up in some pretty scary situations because I've detained people on my own, and I can't help but wonder what I should have done differently. If you're brave and willing, please give me some advice on what you look for and what you try to avoid. I'm not here to rat you out or anything like that- I just want to make it home safe at the end of the day.<br><br>Edit: Wow, this blew up. Thanks for all of the advice, shoplifters. I appreciate it, and I wish you the best of luck in your adventures.<br><br>And to the people who have offered me jobs, I'm seriously considering it. Thank you so, so much.