Many department stores now have cameras everywhere and the pictures are fed into a computer. So even if you get out of the store with your booty, security can review the tapes later and if you are spotted, they will try to track you down. By far the most effective way to stop store thieves is still posting armed guards around the store. The Kings Plaza Mall in Brooklyn, N.Y., hired dozens of off-duty cops to walk around looking mean. Shoplifting there has fallen 40 percent this year.
Security experts say to hide the stolen goods thieves often use babies.
Little Shelley or Brendan is sitting in a stroller and underneath their little bodies lies purloined merchandise. Elastic girdles under baggy shirts and pants are also popular and also problematic for store security. The problem with shoplifting in America is that it is not considered a big deal anymore. Like cheating in school, it is socially acceptable in some areas. Even when caught, police say, many shoplifters act indignant.