To not understand why TF some companies don’t employ security guards to help tackle shoplifting in retail?

It’s not cost effective.

I guess the question is does the amount of money you pay security offset the amount lost in shop-lifting?

If a security guard is paid £18,000 a year (as a £10 an hour, 150hr a month estimate) then ideally they should be preventing at the very least £18,000 leaving the store illegally. That is, for many stores, a HUGE sum. Baring in mind I'm not talking the likes of Tesco/ASDA etc here. Most shop lifters aren't taking huge TVs etc, they are swiping a cheese sandwich here, a DVD there. Also if they are tagging items then the general staff can deal with people walking out without paying.

Its hard to say because every store or business is different. Its all about cost/benefit. If a company has 100 stores across the country, that is £1.2MILLION a year on their outgoings.

The other issue is how to you measure the effectiveness of security? Often they are a deterrent, so you can't capture how much would be leaving the store without them. Unless they had to identical stores (size etc) in similar locations and have one with and one without and see the difference.

Also remember that people go off sick, often a lot. You are paying their annual leave, sickness, NI etc as an employer. You will have times where you are throwing money away for no activity.

how?

the government does not have infinite resources - putting funding into adjusting legal powers of security guards and asking police to prioritise shoplifting over other offences is going to take away resources from more important matters. I’d rather the police continue to deal with things like harassment, domestic violence, assault etc as a higher priority than shoplifting. If one of those calls came in, is it really more important that the police go Asda to apprehend a shoplifter instead?

The only way this would work if there was significantly more police officers hired so all calls are dealt with immediately, which isn’t going to happen after years of police cuts

Ultimately I’d rather the government spent their resources on better supporting the public with the cost of living crisis as there would be a wider impact for society with the bonus of less scope for shoplifting. As a parent, it’s your job to teach your kids right from wrong so they don’t shoplift or think they’ll get away with it

Because many security guards waste time racially profiling young people of colour traipsing around the store behind them using special codes as soon as they come in (friend used to work in Sainsbo’s and told me). This happens whilst the well dressed middle aged white woman is walking out with two bottle of wine in her bag or under her pram pretending it was an accident when caught.

Large supermarkets tend to have the loss of product already costed into the budget believe it or not.

I used to work in retail and the security guards were shit. Once they forgot to turn the alarm towers on (!) so our security tagging measures were worthless as the alarms weren’t activated

security acted as a deterrent, they didn’t do much to actively step in and prevent shoplifting. They had other duties eg internal theft, safeguarding duties, diffusing non-theft situations with the public, checking exits/entrances are clear, and generally stood around having a laugh with us.

They follow people that look stereotypically like shoplifters eg certain ethnicities, teens, clothing choices, people with pushchairs, or even anyone just resembling a previous shoplifter then ignore anyone else. You could probably wear a suit and walk out with a bottle of wine in front of a security guard as they wouldn’t have been watching you and would have assumed you paid.

And tbh that’s fair on them… they can’t have eyes everywhere. Even if they were stood at or were watching CCTV of the self service tills , they couldn’t ensure everyone was scanning everything as there’s probably multiple people using the tills simultaneously so it’s not easy to quickly detect

Same things being said in this thread. Police won’t come out . Security just let them go . Can’t physically stop them . Security just a deterrent. So basically the message is you can shoplift and get away with it . What message is this sending out to kids who will grow up knowing you can get away with stealing ? People will do what they think / know they can get away with . The government needs to give security more powers to arrest and detain with absolute back up from the police . Needs to be cracked down on .

And this is one of the reason things cost more .

LOL . Of course security staff can stop sholifters from leaving a store .

The security staff you mentioned would of lost their job and got arrested because they used excessive force.

There's a cost of living crisis. Some people are needing to steal to literally survive. Do you earn enough to really care this much? Is it your personal money that they're taking? I'd just let it go.

My DD works in a supermarket (not one of the big 4 but possibly one like yours) and she does chase shoplifters. She chased one on 5/4 and got back some of the alcohol they were stealing - it's always alcohol so they are now moving it. A passerby got their reg number on his dash cam and as she hurt her finger the police were called. They said they would come the next day so the chap with the dash cam duly turned up to show them and they didn't. They phoned her this week to ask if she was still hurt!

They don't have a security guard, and as someone else said what do they actually do? The ones in the bigger supermarkets just seem to stand or sit near the door looking so disinterested with the bleepers going off around them.

The staff have been told not to chase them but they do as they take it personally if someone is shoplifting from their store. They also recognise the repeat offenders so can sometimes get them out of the store before anything happens. My DD has perfected the 'mum' look so they occasionally will put the stuff back and slink off. Obviously returning when she's not there 🤣

Young lad shoplifted a huge bag of groceries from m&s whilst I was there last week (never seen it there before)
Staff chased him (he was on a bike) and got the bag back.
Probably high value stuff like steaks and alcohol...
Shoplifting has always been pretty rife especially in large stores

I think you are assuming that security guards make a difference. In many cases they have a minimal impact on shoplifting. I have heard stories from people I know working in big shops where shoplifters have literally walked straight past the security guards. The more they shoplift, the more brazen they are. Security guards generally catch the idiot teenagers / desperate individuals lifting an odd item like a lipstick or a jacket - low value losses. Because having been caught they tend to be more compliant. Those who walk out with a full basket or even a rack of clothes (one of my friends told me about a group who did this regularly at the local clothes shops) don't comply and stop. And there is absolutely nothing that the security guard can do if they won't comply. They are gone before the police can arrive.

How can they cheat the self-scanner when the items are weighed at the other side? Or is it one of those newer ones I’ve seen that doesn’t have a scale and just relies on honesty?

Uncomfortable that should be.

They could security tag more items surely. Although it makes me feel really u comfortable that they tag baby formula in my Tesco when all the alcohol isn't tagged.

My DS worked evenings in a supermarket. On Fridays and Saturdays they had a security guard stationed by the entrance. He worked for an agency and was totally ineffectual according to DS. The supermarkets don't care as the losses are already factored into the cost of the goods so it's the honest paying customers who are losing out.

A local boots store (not the main one in the town centre, one in a retail park) have had to stop putting out all their cosmetics and skin care. Instead there is an empty bottle with a sticker on that tells you to take it to the till and a colleague will fetch you one. It's the management's way of dealing with shoplifting. The lovely lady on the till told me how terrifying it is when they come in and smash the perfume cabinets but still no security guards and they are told not to approach shoplifters.

I work on public transport. Like you OP, I find that the supposedly respectable people need an eye keeping on them too. They're more subtle, tend towards fraud rather than hiding in the toilet, but they're at it all the same.

There are plenty of petty thieves who are not in the least bit desperate, often the people who are the most desperate would rather starve than steal. The thieves may be greedy, or doing it for the thrill.

Shops will be seeing an increase in shoplifting I imagine. Our local supermarket does have a secure guard now (small rural town).

I used to work in a small high end outlet shopping place and it’s amazing the amount of posh wealthy (or seeming wealthy) people who will shoplift. We had one lady stuffing 2 designer clutch bags into her coat on cctv. Police did nothing.

I worked until recently for another major retailer. They employ security guards. The guards are employed to stand there as a “deterrent”, a very ineffective one. They will do nothing, even when staff members are assaulted, because they could lose their jobs if they touch a shoplifter.

It's pointless. The thieves go to the places in the store where the guards aren't.

I managed shops for years. The best and safest deterrent to shop lifters is really friendly customer service. You get to know your regular shop lifters. Following them with an accusing look will result in confrontation. Approaching them with a big smile and chatting to them usually makes them get fed up of you and leave. Works in 90% of cases in my experience. You'll never eliminate it. When you get the nasty ones who threaten violence it needs reporting to police as although a single instance will not likely result in anything a picture of bad character gets built for future court cases. This relies on the shop staff who witness the theft be willing to give a statement and go to court though. Which most won't. Hence the nasty shoplifters know they'll get away with it. A security guard doesn't stop these ones.

Factor in the training costs, certifications and what you could be faced with on a very low wage - it's not worth risking life for.

I must live in a really dodgy area - all of the stores near me have security guards, possibly evenings only for some.
Except waitrose, but they have uniformed staff to stand at the door.