August 2008, USA  

                       According to the FBI, organized retail crime accounts for about $30 billion in annual losses. Professional shoplifters, called “boosters,” steal items primarily from drugstores and grocery stores. They steal small but expensive goods, such as Braun toothbrush heads, Claritin, and diet pills, intending to resell them. Often their bags are lined with special aluminum foil that blocks alarm signals as they carry out thousands of dollars in merchandise, but sometimes they will push the items out in a shopping cart and claim a friend is in line to pay for it.

                     According to a National Retail Federation survey released in June, about 85 percent of retailers have been victims of organized retail crime, up from 79 percent in 2007. Stores are combating the crime by various means, including stocking expensive items behind the counter or on locked shelves, or in bins that require two hands, which makes quick sweeps difficult.

                     Publix has increased surveillance, hired off-duty police officers, and is limiting the number of higher-priced items on shelves.

Reference: Miami Herald.

Carl Slicer, blog editor, www.BestHire.com , “Hire Right the First Time “