CCTV is, however, an expensive security measure and has to be monitored all the time to be effective. A sure way of knowing that a customer has paid for an item is by putting all purchases into a bag and attaching a receipt to it or sealing it to prevent it from being opened without effort. This can prevent unpaid goods from being concealed in the bag. Customers bringing purchases from other stores into the shop have to hand these in at a parcel counter and should only be allowed to retrieve it after having completed their shopping and paid for it. For this reason the parcel counter has to be located in a separate position outside the cash register area.
Staff are the eyes and ears of a business.
It therefore makes sense to ensure that they are able to do their job properly and assist in looking after the security of the shop. Staff should be trained to be alert at all times and make their presence known in the shop. It is also important that staff follow the correct procedures when dealing with cheques or credit cards, checking signatures and expiry dates and copying card numbers and ID numbers on the reverse side of cheques. Magnetic strips or buttons can be attached to merchandise. These can be programmed to allow them to only be deactivated by the cashier after the item concerned had been paid for.