The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-12

this store. another girl ana myself, and ve made
seven erreSts yesterday: But it,s . Eocd bust.
ratified on. Excuse me Just a minute. she
exclaimed, darting toward q shrewd.looking
customer ton Wesr dIn = n S%po f Td,Sh nuns from her
The reporter took this opportunity TO study
not tho suspect, but the detective horself. She
was tall and slender and Rirlish-looking. Her
features were delicate. her hazel eyes full and
well opened. and she had q pretty mouth. She
looked as 4 making em6roidery or doing fancy
tectivo work. but she talked about catching
thieves with the same zest that the average girl
discusses catching beaux. innings are seldom
what they seem and so arc people.
II Thought that was 2 professional I've had
but IL wasn't. Ali oftho stores. especially the
big ones on sixth avenue and Fourteenth street,
are full Of shoplifters now when the weather Is
cause they know that tho crowd Is not 80 great
and they arc more liable to get caught.
though rvo taken a great many this winter
ing going on in New YORK now. One store on
winter. and l hear they have more now. Then
they had some men, but they've taken on all
at Mtoif[e Following lGr ' aeaa arrestins women ) Ss sGop Siq@Ss
"Well, 10 get back TO tho subject. Shoplift-
ers 20 about their business in various ways.
slip the stolen articles in the opening, and IN a
minute they are, In the back Of the cape. Some
in the front Of t..cir dress skirts. and yester.
day | arrested a woman who had a dozen arti-
Sles concealed In tn. bosom s,,tnn OF her dress. saw
gloves, and finally some aiRrcttes. / could
not imagine where she was, putting them, and
cape. When l arrested her on the pavement 1
saw the aigrettes sticking out OF her bodice,
and and when y n.1 | took H. her :, on the , fS%ipsrint9%n n nSs
had taken from other stores hidden there.
Yesterday a Telldrcssed. white,haired
counter and put some Of her belongings down
on the show case. When she took them up she
B sISSSe gp 70 a e pG 3;lm ena made mndsr f her t Swn d th%t
When she got to the next corner l nabbed her
and asked her to comc back with me and return
book where she got it and then l took her TO
search her. Would you believe it, l found that
s the old ne creature SsSrt WI WAS t p%T!bly apS ARA zsf or sS ons
from the way she took that pocketbook that 1t
wasn't her first offence, guess in her day sho
in her own purse. somehow I couldn't have
her sent to the station house, she was 80 old and
she had signed a Confession. = NV DH''' y
1T is a very easy matter to tell when a shop
litter is a beginner; She is exceedingly nervous,
looks around furtively to see If salespcople or
customers are looking at her. and II not slips
the article she desires in a most awkward man
They often go tripping along swinging the
stolen goods boldly under their capes In a way
calculated to throw the most suspicious off
guard. i find that many amateur shoplifters
are addicted to the use OF drugs or stimulants.
and they really are not responsible. FOR their &C.
lions. A number whom we capture are about
half drunk.
% course. We never make an arrest in the
store, for the commotion created would de.
moraliZe trade and give the establishment a
bad odor. When we suspect q person we watch
her Il say her. because we rarely ever get a
man shoplifter). until we see her take some.
thing. Then we follow her until she leaves
the store, and after she crosses the street or
gets to the end of the block we quietly step up
and ask her to return our goods. We never
bother about the stuff these people take from
other shops. We bring her back, make her put
the things back where she took them from, and
then take the offender to the superintendent
office. where she is searched.
THE majority of shoplifters caught by wo.
men detectives in the stores are prosecuted
and arraigned for trial, but few Of them are
convicted. Why this is SO is beyond me, for
most Of them who are taken to the station
house deserve to he sentenced. In many cases,
those of first Offenders. very poor women and
women addicted to the whiskey habit. We let
them off when they restore our goods. When
the average shoplifter is convicted her
sentence is usually nothing more than q light
fine or a few days. They are quick and shrevd
and sharp, and always have some plausible
tale to tell when you catch EN-. Give a shop
litter a little time and she can explain any.
thing. And let me add, they are hard to catch
when they are up to all the tricks Of the trade