INDUSTRY NEWS

Shoplifting History— Worth the Read

by Robert L. DiLonardo

DiLonardo is a well-known authority on the electronic article surveillance business, the cost justification of security products and services, and retail accounting. He is the principal of Retail Consulting Partners, LLC (www.retailconsultingllc.com), a firm that provides strategic and tactical guidance in retail security equipment procurement. DiLonardo can be reached at 727-709-6961 or by email at rdilonar@tampabay.rr.com.

Sometime in late 2009 a woman called asking if I knew anything about shoplifting. She was doing research for a book, and after we talked I pointed her toward some of the “lions of the industry.” The end result is Rachel Shteir’s recently published book entitled The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting (The Penguin Press), which is an exceedingly well-researched, interesting, quick-paced overview of shoplifting’s cultural positioning over 4,500 years of recorded history.

The first quarter of the book quickly recounts the history of society’s attitudes toward theft, beginning with the “ancient” view that stealing from the rich should carry a smaller punishment than stealing from the poor. Written instructions on successfully “lifting” merchandise from shopkeepers first appeared in a pamphlet written in 1591 by Robert Greene, a friend of William Shakespeare.

Of interest is the history of punishments for shoplifting, including thumb branding (rather than hanging) for thieves who could recite verse 1 of Psalm 51—“Have mercy on me O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your unfailing compassion blot out my transgressions.” Other punishments included banishment to the colonies and even capital punishment, as authorized by the Shoplifting Act passed in England in 1699.

My favorite chapter, entitled “Abbie Hoffman Meets the Chinese Handcuffs,” chronicles the early histories of the three “fathers” of the electronic article surveillance industry—Art Minasy of Knogo, Ron Assaf of Sensormatic, and Ted Wolf of Checkpoint. These men were hell-bent on finding a technology that would either catch or deter the likes of anarchists Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, who both wrote books glorifying shoplifting as “ethical.”

Much of the middle of the book is devoted to describing the pathological behavior for which socially conscious people presumably project sympathy. Examples include “Robin Hoods” who…you guessed it…rob from the rich to give to the poor,

Celebrity shoplifters (who knows why they steal?), and

“The Shoplifting Addict” who cannot help him or herself.

While interesting reading, these examples are ensconced on either end of the “bell curve” of theft types—too small a sample for the space allocated. Shoplifting as a “business” is covered in a chapter called “Boosters.” Sadly, there is only a single, oblique reference to the growing, and decidedly modern problem of organized retail crime.

The historical vignettes captured my attention and educated me on rich and changing historical contexts. For me, though, the glorifying, sensationalizing, and excusing of wrongdoing serves to showcase a point of view that may be pervasive now in society at large, but is not necessarily shared by the retail loss prevention practitioner audience.

In her conclusion Ms. Shteir muses about a global trend toward “high-tech anti-shoplifting vigilantism,” the proper forms of punishment for shoplifters, and the impossibility of trusting stereotypes. While we would argue that we are not taking the law into our own hands, her larger point is that we are using technology to take a much harder line against thieves—immoral, misguided, faultless, enterprising, or desperate as they may be. That’s a good thing.

RFID Targets Draft Beer

Five years ago in this space, I reported on a revolutionary new application for RFID—eliminating liquor theft and sweethearting via over-pours or unauthorized free drinks in bars and restaurants. According to a recent article in RFID Journal, a variation of this technology is being used to facilitate “self-service” draft beer in a couple of Latino restaurants in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. Thanks to ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) EPC Gen 2 RFID hardware, patrons are able to obtain an RFID-enabled card or wristband that allows them to help themselves to their drafts of choice. The card is linked to the patron’s credit card, and enables up to 32 ounces of beer each. Instead of pouring, restaurant employees, known as pour tenders, provide the cards, explain how they work, and keep an eye out for over-consumption or unauthorized usage by minors.