The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-01-30
LoNDoN's sHoPLlfrERs.
HethOds Employed by Some of the
stores to Avoid Arrests.

Methods Employed by Some OF the
stores to Avoid Arrests.
Though 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 peripatetic
thief and the marauding kleptomaniac.
The invisible detective, whose Office
is some unsusp2ctcd 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 a 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 Il wary eye on
the cases of gems exposed to the Gus.
toners inspection, standing at the
salesman's elbow while he IS showing
them.
At all periods a careful watch is kept
on those dress establishments that are
pervaded by women, but more espe-
cialv at sale time. for it is then that
covetousness overwhelms morality most
easily, and the crowded state of the
shops fayors the picker up or uncon-
sidered trif1es. A manager of one OF
the largest establishments in the me-
tropolis says it is in those departments
that are not spacious that pilferlng
principally goes on and that in them
detective supervision is always most
acute.
Every shopwalker and counter at
tendant is in effect a detective, but
there ere some professionals who as
sumo the guise to hide their real posi-.
ton. It IS the duty of each attendant
when hp is suspicious of a customer to
call the attention of the detective TO
her, not blatantly. but by prearranged
sign. TIE detective then keeps the sus-
pect unGer her immediate eye. In the
large enporiums where women chiefly
congregate the most efficient, because
the least conspicuous, detectives are
women. either employed as shopwalB-
ers or as customers.
When an attendant misses or thinks
he misses something or notices disturb
ing signs of thievery be speaks TO the
detective. who, as an elegantly garbed
customer, seats herself in a position
commanding a good view of the SIls-
pect and makes her purchases like any
other woman, all the while gathering
data upon which to proceed. The dis
guise assumed by the shop detective
differs day by day.
If there be one result less desired by
the shop proprietor than another 1T il
TO convict kleptomaniac. Prosecutions
do not forward business. The prop1e-
tors policy is to prevent pilfering hy
every conceivable means. Hence a bhId
ere is turned to what is a 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 bulging 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 al
| the while meant to purchase instead OF
| TO purloin the goods. Should leniency
| of such a 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 il
| is we'll to draw the veil. But as rule
i it does not.-London Mail.