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This is insane,they disarmed the loser and lose thier jobs cause they tried to help Walmart?
I use to be an APA (asset protection associate) and that is a big no no. You cannot put your hands on a customer(or suspected shoplifter) for any reason. You may take a defensive stance against someone if they say pin you to a wall, or make your escape otherwise impossible. You cannot give chase to a suspect either. Wal-Mart has gotten sued in the past countless number of times. Their policy changed about two years ago. They use to tackle people and the such, but no more.
Idiots. Wal Mart has a policy, that will also reduce their responsibility in a workers comp case as well, because catching a theif could escalate...plus, these people make $7 an hour not worth getting shot over. Any store I worked at the policy was provide customer service to those who are "loitering" observe, chat with them, if they break for it, call security. That is the protocol. Wal Mart can't afford the liability of any wanna-be hero taking their own intiative on getting a criminal. Let's face it, those employees were pumped, and wanted some drama and action. "Cops Wal-Mart Style"! File for UI and get to the back of the line. They were dumb. Sorry, but Wal-Mart employees are not exactly MIT material.
And, as has been said upthread, it is not just Wal-Mart that has this policy. Most stores do, including convenience stores, for all the reasons stated. Plenty to pick on Wal-Mart for on other issues, but they are not alone here.
I understand Walmart's policy. If the employees are hurt while confronting shoplifters, then the company may be liable for the employees's medical expenses. And if the employees hurt the shoplifter, then the company may also be liable for the shoplifter's injuries.
I don't think that is 'right' but I guess Walmart's legal department probably thinks it is.
When I worked for Blockbuster Music (back when there was a Blockbuster Music), the company had a similar policy. We were not to pursue and/or confront any shoplifters outside the store. We could 'monitor' a suspected shoplifter while in the store but that was hard to do if we were busy with other customers or short handed.
I recall when when the company had new EAS (electronic article surveillance) equipment installed at the front door. It helped us catch the 'casual' thieves and it was a definite deterrent. But the amusing thing which happened from time-to-time is when the EAS equipment would 'beep' when someone with stolen merchandise would pass through and they'd keep walking out the door. We'd look and maybe sometimes say something like, "Hey, stop!" but that was futile because we could not do anything about it (because of the policy). The serious thieves eventually caught on to that really fast and eventually it got worse. After a while, we started ignoring the beeping. It happened everyday.
[who knows how much free stuff was going out the door]
Another thing is a lot of you are discussing suspected shoplifters. What if you physically acost a suspected shoplifter and he/she turns out to be innocent of the suspected crime? Then you have a problem. There is, however, a doctrine called "shopkeeper privilege" which permits a shopkeeper to detain a suspect for a reasonable period of time to ascertain whether or not they have actually shoplifted from the store. If, however, the belief is unreasonable (determined by jurors, i.e.; "reasonable people") or exercised in bad faith, the shopkeeper opens himself up to a lawsuit for false imprisonment, or assault and battery, among other things.
A store policy preventing employees from detaining potential shoplifters is a better option, as it limits the store's liability.
AZDesert - what is an employee supposed to do if s/he finds something stuffed into a shoe box, handbag, etc at the checkout?[/quote]
It's only happened to me once. I asked them if they wanted to purchase the item, they said "No" and I set it aside. It's kinda fun to watch them squirm. lol I did tell a manager but not much you can do about it. When I was a door greeter I once caught a guy trying to steal a Wii game. He had two of those flimsy styrofoam ice chests, one inside the other, and when I checked him out I removed the top one to find the Wii game between the two. I wouldn't have thought much about it except for the 'gap' between the two, which was what made me check it out. They are usually pretty embarassed but there's nothing we can really do about it.
As a former District Assets Protection Manager of Target who used to work with one of Wal Marts current AP Divisional Directors I can tell you first hand that these individuals violated company policy based on all the publicly provided information that I have reviewed.
1) It appears that the apprehension of the shoplifting suspect was made in accordance with Wal Mart's Asset Protection policies on shoplift apprehensions. However once a weapon was produced by the suspect the security officers did not follow protocol.
2) Retail security for large corporations have comprehensive training processes and manuals that require weeks of training before a security employee is released to make apprehensions.
3) A through investigation of the incident was most likely conducted by the Regional and District Asset Protection managers. Human Resources and Legal would have given the final approval on the termination of these security employees if not the actual termination decision.
4) These employees would have signed off on understanding all the rules and regs before being allowed to arrest a suspected shoplifter. As such once the weapon became apparent everyone should have backed off and allowed the subject to leave. No retail security department that I know of trains any of its employees to engage and disarm a shoplifter who has a weapon in this day and age.
5) There are no place for heroes in retail security when it comes to situations such as this. It could have easily resulted in someone getting shot. It is difficult to disarm someone if you have combat training'. almost impossible if you don't. The disarming of the suspect was pure luck. These security employees were very lucky no one was injured or killed.
6)Based on the information available it appears that this termination was warranted, legal and appropriate.
Anything else is uniformed suppositions from individuals who have no understanding of the legal complexities and ramifications involved when dealing with these types of situations on a daily basis
Ah, I know - and so do criminals...in the case I wrote about I could tell the mgr was extremely frustrated, because he was forced to follow story policy, i.e., don't ever engage a crook.
Since that incident I've moved to a very small farming community. There was a theft incident at a bar and nearly everyone in every business within earshot came out to confront the kids in their car. No one tried to physically stop the driver from pulling away or made any physical contact, but I guarantee you he was still scared to tears. (Police ended up arresting one of the group). They got the point that this was unacceptable behaviour.
I don't think anyone's picking on Walmart...but I still think it's overall an unfortunate situation we're in these days.
AZDesert - what is an employee supposed to do if s/he finds something stuffed into a shoe box, handbag, etc at the checkout?
It's only happened to me once. I asked them if they wanted to purchase the item, they said "No" and I set it aside. It's kinda fun to watch them squirm. lol I did tell a manager but not much you can do about it. When I was a door greeter I once caught a guy trying to steal a Wii game. He had two of those flimsy styrofoam ice chests, one inside the other, and when I checked him out I removed the top one to find the Wii game between the two. I wouldn't have thought much about it except for the 'gap' between the two, which was what made me check it out. They are usually pretty embarassed but there's nothing we can really do about it.
I have done the same thing. I had "irish travellers" who would put a small shirt inside of a large shirt on the same hanger and attempt to go through the register. I would stand next to the cashier and as they bagged the item, I would take it back out and say something like "I don't think this is 2-for-1, can we check on this?" and they would squirm. They would always deny any knowledge of the problem and say they didn't want it. It was hilarious when 2 or 3 products would turn up wrong and everyone in line was staring and passing judgment. They never came back after being publicly shamed, and I never accused them of anything.
I have done the same thing. I had "irish travellers" who would put a small shirt inside of a large shirt on the same hanger and attempt to go through the register. I would stand next to the cashier and as they bagged the item, I would take it back out and say something like "I don't think this is 2-for-1, can we check on this?" and they would squirm. They would always deny any knowledge of the problem and say they didn't want it. It was hilarious when 2 or 3 products would turn up wrong and everyone in line was staring and passing judgment. They never came back after being publicly shamed, and I never accused them of anything.
I always remove the hangers, even if they want to keep them. Partly because it's easier to fold the garment to put in the bag and partly because if there is one inside another it'll fall out! lol I haven't had anyone try to get two for one yet though. I HAVE had people tell me something was one price when I knew better. It was just on the wrong rack. That happened a dozen times in one day and I finally, on my break, talked to the dept. mgr. and she fixed the problem. And the lady who tried to tell me that something was $10 when I KNEW it was $19. Thing was they had the things stacked so high all you could see was part of the one and top half of the nine! It did look like $10 but wasn't. And no, she didn't want it for $19. lol
I'll tell you what has surprised me more than anything is the HONEST people out there. One lady got out to her car and found a block of cheese under her purse in the basket. Came right back in and paid for it. I've had several people do that and I thank them for their honesty because so many wouldn't do that. Yesterday I had a lady tell me that she was trying on an undershirt thing and almost forgot to take it off! But she did. I just joked that people might think it a bit odd if I had her lift her shirt and point the pricing gun at her belly! I know there are a lot of jerks out there who'll take advantage of many things but it does my heart good to know that there are also good people who WILL "do the right thing". I am always happy to meet them.
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