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?

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.

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.

And this is one of the reason things cost more .

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 .

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

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

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.

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

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.

It’s not cost effective.

Most of them don’t seem to care anyway. Once, I was in Tesco Metro and a guy had an overflowing basket with a lot of the things the OP described. Anyway, he scanned it all (I assume) and just walked off!! I called out to both the security guard and the lady on the till but nothing was done and he was just allowed to stroll off. The lady on the till just cancelled the transaction and I went ahead with my scanning. I didn’t see the amount but judging by the amount and type of food I wouldn’t be surprised if it was at least £50 worth 🤷‍♀️ Made me so annoyed!

I used to work in retail and can tell you that shoplifters are getting more violent, before I left a member of staff was punched in the face, another was kicked several times, Ive been spat at and ive cant count the number of times my colleagues have been called all the names under the sun.
Its easy to say let it go but when your working your socks off to keep the shop running and yet you get the same people day in day out nicking stuff its hard not to take it personally - company policy was to not get involved but honestly that makes its worse as they know they can walk in take everything they want and walk out ..... often to the amazement of customers who expect you to do something about it....... I left at the start of the year and with the current cost of living crisis it will only get worse, I honestly feel sorry for all the staff that have to deal with it, and the Police have no interest whatsoever

I bought an expensive pillow from Dunhelm yesterday. There were 4 different security things on which had to be deactivated. But the assistant said thieves just run in, grab a load and run out again. The alarm isn’t a deterrent.

I agree the wealthy will also steal (if they’re that way inclined), we’ve had shoplifters who’ve been recognised by staff or customers as living nearby in bloody big mansions!

Exactly

most of them aren’t desperate I don’t think, they’re just greedy, entitled, selfish bastards who want things for nothing.

They sure do, yes they’re more subtle but still just as low as the ones that openly steal.

We must be a rare breed that dont racially profile.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen but I know or a fact nobody on my team racially profile customers .

But you right about the items put into a pram by "accident" that happens often

We have the newer ones without scales and no cameras either to deter. We do have a screen we can watch it check which transactions are going through, but the excuses we get when we point out that something has t gone through or their payment hasn’t been accepted are always the same.
‘Oh I must’ve forgot to put those nappies, wine, steaks through’ , ‘oh I didn’t realise m6 card didn’t accept’ …. Like fuck didn’t they know!

The ‘less obvious’ thieves must be loving these self service scanners, but like I said, they may get away with cheating the scanners for a while, but are usually eventually v
caught when we recognise the same people who ‘make mistakes’ on the scanners.

I've worked with Profit Protection in a retail chain, security guards are a very blunt tool, there are far more accurate and sophisticated methods available. Most of the shrinkage in food retail is down to the staff by value.

I need to explain that last sentence!
Staff theft across the board accounts for 25 - 30%, but in the worse performing stores the majority is staff theft, either stealing or collusion with customers.

Yes I do care, and so should you as shoplifting affects us ALL. Don’t you realise that prices go up to also allow for losses through shoplifting?
So imagine if there were no shoplifters at all, everyone would be a few hundred pounds better off a year.

I know there’s a cost of living crisis, but you often find that the shoplifters always have enough money to buy tobacco and scratch cards ( these can’t be lifted generally)

You seem to condone shoplifting, but there’s never an excuse for it.

I was using the scanner on my phone for M&S the other day, already had a trolley full of shopping from another supermarket. I scanned the bits I needed, paid through the app and walked out. It never ceases to amaze me that no one checks you've paid. In fact when I first started using the app and went to show staff I'd paid, none of them were in the least bit interested.

I said in a previous post that in my large superstore our biggest loses are due to waste not theft. We waste a huge amount of food due to dates and damages. We have a security guard (multiple) however I'm not front of store so don't really know how much they prevent theft but I do know that theft isn't our biggest problem. The cost of waste is also past onto customers I expect.

I don’t think they are a particular deterrent. I frequently see obvious shoplifters going into my local supermarket or leaving with goods right under the security guards nose. Security guards don’t even seem to see ‘dodgy’ characters.
The staff members are much more on the ball really. Having a guard in uniform standing at the door is not helpful, might as well just have a greeter doing the same thing.