The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-06-14

HARD D Fill
Work of Woman Detective
in Department Store
CATCHES THE SHOP LITTER
Her Duties DiSagreeabIe and
Dangerous
CATCHES THE SHOP LITTER

fis a thief. may have had q national ten
| dency towards exaggeration, or he may
| have had personal reasons for his sweep
| ing denunciation of humanity 1t was
probably case of, Il said in my wrath,
| but nevertheless the Incorporating in
| stinct is so strong in all classes of So
ciety. and manifests itself so often in
people who apparently have not the
slightest excuse for stealing that we are
forcibly reminded that civilization is as
yet incompleteiy evolved. The realiza-
ton Of other peoples property rights is
| still imperfect
| The temptation to steal is easily awak-
ed in many, and it is not TO be wondered
at that department stores, with their
brilliant displays their counters piled
with apparently unmatched goods, and
their sheltering crowds, not only attract
| professional thieves, but are the means
| of making new ones. For this reason
no department store is without its train
| ed detectives, men and women. who are
| paid good salaries. not to prevent thefts
altogether for that is impossible, but to
keep the losses down to a minimum.
| 1t is hard to get women for this work.
! in spite of the fact that it is well re-
warded and not particularly arduous.
Women in general have prejudice
against their profession, associatng it in
/ their minds with an unpleasant type of
women, whose usefulness is derived from
her acquaintance with the seamy side of
| life. On the contrary, the demand is for
refined women to do detective work, and
| these are especially wanted in the large
shops. The detective must dress and APP
pear well be keen-eyed, and worldly
| wise in judging human nature. She must
| be quiet and unObtrusive in her bearing,
and she mustShave a fund Of patience,
| for detecting is often slow work.
In every store, near the main entrance,
| there stand persons who have every APP
pearance of shoppers, waiting for some
| friend to arrive, or for the rain to cease,
| or for their change to come. They see
| every newcomer without appearing to
| look at anyone The faces OF professional
shoplifters are perfectly well known to
them, and if such a person enters the
/ shop, or if anyone comes in whose dress
or manner is in any way suspicious,
| detective follows her until she leaves the
| store Professional shoplfters are so
clever at their work that it is hard to
detect them in the act. One may be
convinced that articles are being taken
but yet unable to actually see 1t done.
| The detective must be certain, for an err
ror might have serious results. Some
| times the detective walking very close
| to the suspected thief. is able to have
her suspicious confirmed by the appear
ance of bulges in the clothing where bulg-
es would not actually exist. The shop
| lifter's gown has as many pockets as a
| shooting coat. and it IS astonishing the
quantity and the bulk of the articles
| they are able to stow away in them. 1t is
not uncommon to unload one of these
gowns of several dress patterns. hat
or two quantities of undertaking. and
| half a bushel of small articles.
| Arrests are rarely made in the store.
| There is reason for this. IN the first
place it isbad policy to create an I'M
pleasant disturbance. 1t drives away
customers and interferes with the order
and routine Of the establishment Then,
the offender may successfully claim that
| she had no intention OF taking the goods
away from the shop. She may declare
that she was simply trying to match the
! color in trimmings or Innings. She may
| say that she wanted 10 see il in broad
! light.
The shoplifter is followed 10 the street
and there quietly spoken to. The words
| are ordinarily request TO accompany
the detective to the superintendent Of
fee Professional shoplifters nearly al
ways go quietly. but the occasional thief
makes a scene. She first demands to
| know why her presence is required at
| the office. And when the detective pc
! litely replies that she has goods IN her
| possession which she has not paid for.
she becomes indignant indeed. II is rare
w that one OF these women refuse finally
TO go to the Office Once in a great while
they attempt fight and the woman de-
| tective has occasionally met with a show
Of violence. She assumes a fearlesss front
in any case and her prisoner is not al
lowed to escape.
In the office it is not often necessary to
do any searching. The prisoner is told
that she has such and such articles, and
she usually gives them Up. Painful scenes
occur. and it is in dealing with these
that the tactful woman detective proves
| her worth. Any shop girl or clerk may
| detect a theft. but especially adapted and
| trained people are required 70 deal with
the offenders in proper manner It Is
not an unheard OF thing IN the shops to
discover a thief in a wealthy customer
Such a person is called kIeptomaniac.
Of course. ard she is sometimes allowed
to go her way with her loot; the detective
follows and interviews her family, a
delicate and disagreeabie business. but
much more polite than obtaining the
woman in the shop
Not all shoplifters are women They
are more numerous than the male vsri-
ETY.. their dress lending itself more easily
10 the work But number of men are
arrested In the shops. the arrests often
being made by the woman detectives.
This requires courage and physical
strength Net long ago a detective in
4 Broadway store saw a man leave the
place with Rs coat. bulging suspiciously
and she followed him 20 the sidewalk
and caught him by the arm He raised
his umbrella IS II 70 strike her but sew
eral shoppers. men and women. rushed
instantly 10 her assistance. and The man
vas held He afterwards received a Sc
we're sentence
Not al shoplisters sre prosecuted. l.
they were the detectives would have %
spend = great deal q time n court This
would 10, do. since they are anxious
above al things rot 20 become known as
! detectives In a large store 81 Is I'm
probable TIA; the detectives are knoSn -