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

[Pebblesandshells]

I work in retail in just one store of very well known nationwide chain of supermarkets, and although the stores tend not to be superstores, they are still a fair size in general and are extremely busy.
As in the title, I can’t understand why the stores don’t have any security staff to help reduce the shoplifting. (Some of the much larger stores may have security, but in all the stores I know in my vicinity, including mine, there are none)

As you may imagine, shoplifting is extremely rife, and in our store alone we are dealing with shoplifters on a daily basis. Most of them just blatantly steal a basket of steaks, joints, cheese, alcohol and coffee (although anything that isn’t nailed down is a target) and often walk out with a ‘couldn’t give a fuck attitude’ if they’re seen.

It’s also not just a ‘stereotypical look’ of a shoplifter who will help themselves, (even the wealthy who pull up in their 4 x 4’s are almost as likely to steal, it seems, if they can get away with it, although they tend to try to hide their theft by being more discreet and accidentally on purpose not scanning all their items into the self scanners, then acting all innocent when you point out that they’ve actually got four bottles of wine instead of one)

Our store alone must lose AT LEAST a few hundred pounds a week because of the light fingered brigade , (and that’s only the thefts we know of) so surely if there was constant security, what the store would save in reduced theft would pay for the security guard to be there!

So basically, where’s the sense in having no security, which would in effect pay for itself?

A security guard would earn around £10 per hour. If we assume the shop is open from 7am to 7pm Mon-Sat then that's 72 hours, so £720 per week to pay a security guard. On top of that, there's the cost of uniform, training, recruitment, pensions, holiday pay, parental leave etc. Even if they're losing a few hundred pounds a week, it would cost them an awful lot more than that to hire security - even just one person, and one security guard won't prevent all shoplifting. So, the reason they don't hire security is because it would cost them more than they lose to shop lifting - so it doesn't make sense to do so.

It's very difficult and time consuming to tackle shop lifting, sadly most retailers know this and build in a 'margin' in prices to cover what they call 'shrinkage'. Our local supermarket does have a security guard but mainly as a deterrent I assume or to deal with anti social behaviour (DC on scooters for example).

I get that it might not be cost effective to employ security for every hour the store is open, but to maybe employ one person for say a full time week (and continuously rotate the days and times worked, so the thieves never know if the security will be there or not) might just help a bit.

They should, to protect the staff if nothing else. My dd talks about tacking shop lifters at work, I don’t think teenagers should be put n that position

It cuts into their profit so they don't want to.

I just don't think it's worth the hassle for stores. There's the cost of employing a security guard, but also what happens if the shoplifter gets violent when caught? Presumably prosecution is time consuming and resource heavy for shops also.

if it's only a few hundred a week, I get why they don't bother.

That’s another reason for having security, we occasionally have to put up with abuse from thieves who threaten us, the lowlife scumbags that they are.

I was recently in a small M&S with food part at back and they noticed someone trying to shoplift who then legged it. They had security as part of the store had clothes in it.

It was a bit worrying as this person had left a bag there and it had a staff pass etc but they'd definitely been trying to shoplift and possibly had mental health issues. I was being served next to this occurring.

I've noticed in a small Tescos near where DB lives (Wells Street, Hackney) that they have a big issue with shoplifting but can't do much about it.

Twice now I've seen a woman (looked fairly well dressed) and a man use the self service checkouts with a big basket of shopping and then leg it without paying.

I've even seen a supermarket see someone leaving with some meat they'd managed to get the security sticker off and the security guard letting them off as he thought they looked poor.

Then the shoplifters would target when the security guard isn't there - so they'd lose just as much to shoplifting and be paying for security. That'd be a double loss.

Because they hope the staff will step in and do it . Don't .

It's like everything. Cost vs benefit.

Someone in a head office somewhere will have calculated that they would lose more money paying for security than they lose in stock. Bear in mind the underlying cost or value of the stock is lower than the retail price they charge.

I can quite believe it re the self scanners! These scanners are a massive pain in the arse I think, as we not only have to watch our tills but also the self scanners at the same time.
People who I would’ve never dreamed of them being thieves have shown themselves to be so on these scanners. I get that, yes, it can happen that someone may have not scanned something properly, but when the same people continuously ‘forget’ to scan all of their items, they show themselves for what they really are.

In my experience though, they are mostly caught out eventually (no one can ‘forget’ to scan a number of times!) and so are eventually barred.

Exactly that! It’s not worth it, as whilst some thieves may drop their loot and run, others will be abusive and make all sorts of threats.

And I just hope that they get a big dose of karma one day and someone steals from them.

I’m not convinced that the security guards in our local Sainsbury’s are much use, tbh. They mostly stand at the front of the store and totally ignore or wave through the vast majority of customers who set the door alarms off. I also suspect they have shoplifting mates who they cover for in return for some of the spoils, is the only explanation I can find for some of the very obvious dodgy characters they clearly seem to know and let pass.

It’s not a case of helping a bit. Businesses operate on pure math. It is more cost effective for the business to lose money in theft than employ security.

In cities the big stores all have security guards, so stores do employ security guards when it makes sense to do so. It's probably not worth it for shops in small towns / villages etc.

I do get that, but our particular store takes anywhere between 65,000 to 80,000 a week, that’s how extremely busy it is! So considering there’s so many customers actually paying for their goods, I could’ve underestimated the amount of theft we have, and that may be around £1,000 a week possibly.

We have a couple of plain clothes security

They are brilliant!! Catch all sorts of scum

Duty of care lies with shops to try to at least prevent theft. We sell blades for example... they are a fave with thieves ...

It’d be better from a safety aspect at least if we could have security, and I agree that shops should try to prevent theft, but maybe if we had a better judicial system in the first place that actually punished prolific shoplifters (such as chopping their thieving fingers off ) , instead of letting them getting away with it, then it might not be so rampant.
I’ll check in later as off to work now. wonder how many steaks will be pilfered on my shift

I used to work in a department store, we had security, but they could only intervene if they or a shop floor member of staff could see what was happening. We had a security blind spot behind a pillar, and that was where we had older boys branded coats. Most of them went. This was pointed out, but we weren't allowed to change the layout to have something cheaper and less desirable there. Eventually a camera was put in.

We also had branded shirts by the doors. Somebody came in, shoved an armful of them into a holdall and legged it. Again, couldn't be moved because we had a layout plan to follow and couldn't deviate.

A lot of stock went missing from the loading bay as well - electronic mainly. That was quite a big problem.

But even employing a security guard won't eliminate shoplifting. They can't be everywhere and watch everyone. You'd need a team of them to actually make an impact.

There's also the issue of what happens when a security guards sees a shoplifter. Will the police even bother to attend? If they do, will they arrest? If so, will CPS press charges, and should it actually get to court, will there be any punishment or will it be a slap on the wrist.

There's a lot more to it than just "catching" them.

Yeah we have successfully prosecuted a few actually

Most of them are scared.

Part of the problem as well is perception, I've seen posts on here and witnessed in person in shops when security guards or shop staff stop someone or are walking around generally watching people and someone kicks off because they feel they're being falsely accused, watched, followed etc - some of these are going to be people who are just pissed off at being clocked and therefore less likely to get away with what they plan to do, but the complaints, scenes caused and inevitable fall out on social media when staff or security guards are doing their job and trying to prevent theft (and shoplifters don't wear a badge to identify them and as said on this thread, aren't easy to identify by looking - they could literally be anyone) but may get it wrong, or may have even got it right and stopped it before it happened, therefore there's no proof, is probably another headache that is avoided by just accepting what is stolen.
And then as already mentioned, there's the lack of punishment past having the stuff taken away and being barred - even if the police attend and arrest then will there actually be a conviction or anything to deter it in future.
Also the human element, I'm not saying that theft is right but especially now and in the coming months, some people may shoplift out of desperation and the staff/security guards might genuinely feel bad to prevent someone getting something they really need but can't afford, they also have to face dealing with the concequences of someone not 'coming quietly' if caught too and weighing up if a good hiding or being jumped on their way home from work is worth it.

£65-85k per week is a very, very small amount of money for a supermarket to take.

I've managed supermarkets in a previos career, and even those making £750,000 plus a week struggled to afford guards. They're very expensive - you pay agency fees, often have to have 2 guards to cover hours etc - it can end up costing upwards of £100k a year. Retail just can't afford that at the moment - a lot of businesses are hanging on by a thread!!