Never Strip Search A Person In Public View...

It was reported in the Oregonian last week that a Portland man has been awarded $35,000 in damages for being forced to strip off all but his pants in view of customers in a Wallgreeens store. Wallgreens employees believed that Henry Peth had stolen batteries and hidden them under his clothing. They insisted he remove his shirt without first taking him to a private area. Mr. Perth had not stolen anything and was humiliated by the experience. Hailing from Ghana Mr. Perth is especially sensitive to allegations of theft as it is considered a disgrace to the entire family in his native land. In some cases it has been reported that the theft of a chicken would result in the chicken being tied around the thief's neck for the purposes of parading the thief through the marketplace where he will be embarrassed and beaten. Henry has been vindicated and Wallgreens employees have learned a valuable lesson about proper loss prevention procedures. Never force a customer to strip in public view!

RFID and EAS...

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) will forever be linked in the new world of loss prevention. This hybrid of informational security technology will allow retailers to sell more while simultaneously lowering shrink. RFID is not yet common place, but as the technology progresses and costs are lowered it will inevitably become as ubiquitous as todays RF and AM security tags. The decision that retailers face is when to embrace RFID. The answer is obvious. When RFID can do everything your EAS system currently does plus a whole lot more for a reasonable price retailers will have no good reason to say no.

Shoplifting with a stroller...

Shoplifting with a stroller is a common practice. Less common is the case of 24 year old Reginald Wilson who abandoned his baby along with a stroller full of stolen goods when confronted by police on January 25th. Reginald is out on parole and is now wanted for multiple warrants. Reginald's willingness to abandon his own child should serve as a reminder to retailers how desperate shoplifters can be. The deterrence provided by a visible security tag system can save employees the grief of having to deal with shoplifters by stopping shoplifting before it happens.