They know Chris is an able professional, and they aim to steer clear of him..

Chris has a reputation as "the best in the industry”. The reasons are clear. Chris
reads people. He seems to know exactly who is doing what in the store, yet goes

unnoticed by most. As one store employee says, “He's like the wind." Chris disappears
among the shelves and displays, watching and waiting for his moment.

He walks his beat in a constant state of awareness. Whispered conversations, odd
glances and body language — Chris almost seems to pick up vibrations from potential
shoplifters. His in-depth training and five years’ of experience have polished his skills,
but Chris says, "Most of it’s instinct. Sometimes a person walks into the store, and you
just know something’s gonna go down." That super-sensitivity to his surroundings

’ follows Chris through his off-duty hours.
From a carefully chosen vantage point, Chris watches a couple of shoppers in the
next aisle. They can’t see him, though he witnesses every move. "People do it for all

“- sorts of reasons," he says, not taking his eyes off the two. "Some people get a ‘high’ out

~.. of it. Others have gotten away with it before and figure they won't get caught.” |

s Chris says that the typical shoplifter is no stereotype in age or social class; that
... is,:"nice guys" shoplift too. “It’s anybody and. everybody. Ninety-five percent of the

. people caught have the money in their pockets." | :

| \ hile some shoppers take offense at. the idea. of a detective e watching them,
Chris replies that the magnitude ¢ of the problem requires store surveillance measures.
"It proves that there’s a real problem. Besides, if you’re not doing anything suspicious,
I won't be watching you. It’s a really tough job to accuse somebody. When it happens,
there’s a reason for it.” Most shoppers are not even aware of a detective’s presence.

RCMP statistics show March to be a busy month for Chris, competing with May
and November in peak numbers of apprehended offenders: But shoplifting is a year-

~ yound activity. According to Chris, one local store attributed a $50,000 loss to theft last
year. Another store’s loss was even higher. Chris apprehended more than 500

_shoplifters in 1990; and in 1989, Chris claims to have recovered $26,000 worth of
cosmetic products alone, for a number of Northwest retailers.

. Despite these numbers, many people feel shoplifting is not a serious crime.
"Shoplifting is just a nicer name for theft. Nobody kriows how serious it is until they
get caught," Chris says. He often finds, ironically, that the apprehended shoplifter
blames the arresting store detective rather than admit to having a problem. “But we
don’t look’ to accuse people. We'd rather not
catch them shoplifting — we'd rather that they
stop doing it."

Today, most stores prosecute every
shoplifter. Whether for a 49-cent pack of gum

. or an $800 piece of electronic equipment, the

_ charges are theft and possession of stolen
property. The store detective makes the arrest
and the RCMP are called in.

From there, the fate of a shoplifter is in the
hands of the court system. The RCMP turn the
case over to Crown Counsel, where individual

cases are examined and treated accordingly.

Often, going through the justice system is
enough of a deterrent to prevent a repeat
offense, according to Kerrie Reay, a probation
officer and local director for the Minister of the
Attorney General. Reay says that the embar-
rassment of arrest and the hassle of seeing a
probation officer is an effective preventive

Terrace Review — March 20, 1992