BX shoplifters, military members pay price

  • Published
  • By Airman David Owsianka
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Despite numerous shoplifters being caught with the aid of electronic article surveillance and closed circuit television cameras, shoplifting continues to be problematic at the Luke Air Force Base Exchange.

"Shoplifting from the exchange affects the entire military community," said Robert Carter Jr., base exchange general manager. "Because Army and Air Force Exchange Service has a mission to return earnings to military quality-of-life-programs, shoplifting impacts everything we do, in essence, taking money directly from the pockets of military families."
From 2009 to 2010, the exchange saw an increase from 75 to 97 shoplifting incidents, but a decrease of about $8,000 in the merchandise value.

"Even though more shoplifting incidents happened in 2010, I believe our team has gotten better working together and gaining experience from every incident," said the exchange loss prevention manager, who wishes to stay anonymous.

"We used to think that it was mainly teenagers," the manager said. "But after catching numerous shoplifters, we found the range is from ages 4 to 89."

Once someone has an item in his or her possession and acts suspiciously, detectives watch on camera to see what the person does with the item.

"If the suspect conceals the item, we keep a 100-percent observation on the customer to see if the item is on him or her when leaving the facility," the manager said. "This could be a two-hour-long process."

There have been times when the suspect puts the merchandise down before exiting the store, according to the manager.

Every day detectives walk the floor and watch the cameras for shoplifters. When they see something suspicious, the detectives go to the office to observe the person by camera.
Active-duty shoplifters are turned over to security forces and deal with the magistrate. Civilians, retirees, active-duty and retiree dependants are dealt with by the Glendale Police Department.

"When Glendale police show up, they will do one of two things when a person has stolen an item," said the manager. "They either make an arrest on the spot and take the suspect to jail, or cite and release the person."


The person appears in court and has to pay at least $500 for court costs.
Throughout the year, the Exchange will provide shoplifting awareness explaining how detectives catch shoplifters and the consequences of getting caught.

"I can't really say that time spent watching a shoplifter is wasted if they decide not to take the merchandise when they leave," the manager said. "Every shoplifting incident is different and is a learning tool.

"We allow people to come into our office and see what we do. It's a way to forewarn them of what will happen if they shoplift. I think if they see how well our system works, they'll think twice before stealing, because we pretty much see everything."