The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1903-12-15
LONDON'S SHOPLIFTERS.
Methods Employed by Some of the
stores to Avoid Arrests

Methods Employed by Some of the
stores to Avoid Arrests.
1hough there is every appearance in
all the great London shops that the
public is TO be trusted implicitly, an
elaborate and carefully organized sys-
tenn OF espionage prevails to circum-
vent the designs of the pcripatetic
thief and the maraudng kleptomaniac.
The invisible detective whose office
is some unsupported gallery in the
ceiling, whence from artfully designed
peepholeS in the molding he can sur
vey the whole establishment. is the
most successful foil to the shoplifter.
But there are only few shops so
structurally designed that surveillance
of this kind is possible. Some of the
jewelers. treasure palaces are guarded
IN this manner. and to make assurance
doubly sure no attendant is without
his satellite, who keeps a wary eye on
the cases of gems exposed to the Gus
toners inspection. standing ut the
salesman's elbow while he is showing
them
AT all periods Il careful watch is kept
on those dress establishments that are
pervaded by women. but more eSpc-
cfally at sale time. for it is then that
cOvetousnrSs oVerwhclms morality most
easily, and the crowded state of the
shops favorS the picker up of uncon-
sidered tritps. A manager of one of
the largest establishments in the me
tropoliS says it is in those departments
that are not spacious that pilfering
principally goes on and that in them
detective supervision is always most
acute.
Every shopwalkcr and counter at
tendant is in effect detective. but
there are some professionals who as
sumo the guise to hide their real posi-
ton. 1t is the duty of each attendant
when he is suspicious of Il customer to
call the attention of the detective to
her. not blatantly. but by prearranged
sign. The detective then keeps the sus
pect under her immediate eye. In the
large emporiums where women chiefly
congregate the most efficient. because
the least conspicuous detectives are
women. either employed as shopwalk
ers or as customers.
When an attendant misses or thinks
he misses something or notices disturb
ing signs of thievery he speaks to the
detective, who, as an elegantly CARRIED
customer seats herself in position
commanding IL good view of the sns-
pect and makes her purchases like any
other woman. all the while gathering
data upon which to proceed. The dis
guisc assumed by the shop detective
differs day by day.
If there be one result less desired by
the shop proprietor than another it Is
to convict a kleptomaniac. Prosecutions
do not forward business The proprle
tors policy is to prevent pilferng by
every conceivable means. Hence Il blind
eye is turned to what is theft in EN-
bryo, and the wretched shoplifter
caught in the act of purloining a blouse
under cover Of her waterproof is asked
whether the article may not be sent
home for her TO the bullying umbrella
or the gaping handbag the detective al
ludes with an apology, fearing that
madam has inadvertently incommoded
herself with something that fell from
the counter.
First offenders are often cured by
narrow escapes such as this from fall
ing into the abyss that leads to the
dock and gladly pay for the experience
in coin Of the realm as if they had all
the while meant to purchase instead OF
to purloin the goods. Should leniency
Of such q kind fail to lead the trespass-
er back into the paths Of rectitude the
managers office is made the scene of
more serious negotiations. on which it
Is well to draw the veil. But as rule
It does nOt.-LOndon Mail.