Shoplifting has become a major national issue lately. Inflation has caused prices to rise and poorer people may not be able to afford everyday items, so they’re shoplifting them right out of stores all over the place. Even before inflation, right around the pandemic (2020, 2021) certain municipalities decided to not punish shoplifters, so it was like an open invitation to anyone to take whatever they wanted from a CVS or convenience store because there’d be no repercussions!
Shoplifters Are More Brazen Today
Today’s shoplifters have been deemed aggressive and brazen. They’ll enter a store in groups and just take what they want and leave, destroying the place in the process. This is especially true in big cities like New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle and San Francisco. Shoplifting has become so bad that many retailers and chain stores are just closing up in those cities, abandoning them because they’re sick of all the crime and all the money lost.
Businesses in Many Industries Have Seen an Increase in Shoplifters
A survey by Business.org found that small business owners reported a 54% increase in shoplifting last year, with one in four owners saying they’re dealing with the issue on a weekly basis. Thousands and thousands of items are being shoplifted and police have been told, “Don’t arrest them; Let them take stuff.”
Nowadays, if you walk into a Walmart in suburban Buffalo or Rochester, you’ll notice many items are kept under lock and key because the retailer doesn’t want them shoplifted. It’s come down to that! Rochester, in particular, is quickly becoming known nationwide as a city of crime– not exactly something a city wants to be known for, right?
Security Guards Can Help
What are business owners supposed to do in order to combat shoplifting these days? Well, hiring security guards can help. Guards monitor stores. They observe customers and shoplifters and can identify people who do wrong if and when the police are called to the scene. Security guards can also watch to see if employees are stealing from a business, which, sadly, is happening more and more. If anything, if an employee knows they’re being “watched” they might not be able to get away with stealing that which they intended to take home with them.
Security guards have a presence about them, and that can intimidate would-be shoplifters and cause them to think twice before committing a crime. Guards act as a visible deterrent. They’re trained to look for suspicious people and activities. They can monitor surveillance equipment if they need to, and report anything out of the ordinary to the powers-that-be. If needed, a guard can write up an incident report and give it to the police– this info may also be used to settle lawsuits and/or in court.
If you have a small business or store in Western or Central New York and you’re concerned about an increase in shoplifting, consider hiring security guards from C.O.P. Security to keep watch at store entrances and exits. For more information, call C.O.P. Security of Rochester, NY at 585-750-5608.