Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1909-08-14
STEALING IN STORES.
The Ingenuity That Is Shown by
the Woman Thief.
TRICKS OF THE sAopLIFTER.
The satohei With a False Bottom and
the slit In tho Dress Near the Belt
Some Schemes Successful Because Of
Thsir Very Simplicity.

AS numerous as they are ingenious
are the tricks of the modern shoplift'
ers, declare store detectives. II keeps
the detectives busy to get ON" 10 the
devices OF the men and women who
live by theln wits In stealing from
stores. For tricks that are canny few
classes of criminals, II is said, APP
proach them.
The method of stealing by using the
satchel with n false bottom Is one of
the cleverest of the tricks.
Well disguised, the shopllfter enters
store. Her eyes run over the coun-
terss She perceives the object she
Enthusiastically something small and
valuable, sometimes purse "A custom
err has left lying on the counter
Over the object the shoplifter places
her satchel. Pretending to delve into
the satchel to extract purse or hand
kerchief, the thief lifts a false bottom
in the bag, reaches under 1t, draws In
side the desired article. adjusts the
false bottom. closes the satchel and
walks away.
"But this is only one of many clever
ruses employed" declared a detective
the other day. THE women especially
are ingenious. Their dress, Of course.
helps them.
"One of the methods of stealing Is
for the shoplifter to have a slit In her
dress near the belt AS she stands near
the counter she can deity seize the
articleN desired. be II piece of lace
or costly fabric or bit OF jewelry,
and slip 1t into the skirt. The folds of
the skirt are vouminous and conceal
the thing stolen.
''Some tricks are successful because
Of their simplicity. fashlonably
dressed woman may walk into the
clothing department., look over coat
suits, pick UP one. fold 1t neatly up,
place It under her coat and walk
away.
IF she Is detected she will indig-
nantly declare that she bought the suit
some time before and that she has
brought 1t back to be altered.
"Or a woman. her hands glittering
with rings and dressed in the latest
style. may walk into the store some
winter day. She wears only rich
coat of dark fabric.
I'm the coat department SHE will ask
to see some fur lined coats. Oh. she is
very particular and tries on one after
another. Other customers-come up, and
the saleslady gets busy with them
while madam is trying to suit herself.
while tbe saleslady Is turned she
puts on one of the richest sable trim
med coats. turns on her heel and
walks away. Perhaps the salesgirl
may not notice the loss until there is
an account of stock.
Each month from fifty to sixty ar
rests are made In the average large
department store. The detectives must
be extremely careful. for false charge
would precipitate suit for damages.
which would mean many thousands.
Certain departments hold especial-
lures for shoplifters. The jewery de.
partment Is invariably guarded. When
the furs come IN we have sleuths who
keep their eyes open for the woman
who likes to take fur to the window
TO examine 1t, then running for the
door; the woman with the false skirt
and the woman who puts fur on and
audaciously walks away
Although the sales departments and
the detective departments work to-
spirit of justifable rivalry. If de-
tective perceives some one getting
away with goods,i casts discredit on
the person behind the counter from
which the goods were stolen. There
fore the snles folk keep an alert watch
for shoplifters.
One might imagine that goods are
dumped pelimell on the counters Of
the big stores. AS a matter of fact, the
efficient saleslady will have everything
so arranged that she will notice the
disappearance of an article almost i'm
mediately.
If saIeswoman suspects q person
she Immediately notifies the head de-
tective. II 1t is d woman. woman
detective is usually put on the job. 1t
is said store managers usually find
women more efficient than men
Few arrests are ever made in the
stores. as an arrest gives only unde-
sirable publicity. The detective usual
ly follows suspected persons from the
store and arrests him or her outside.
1t Is said that arrests for shoplifting
In New York exceed 1000 year. In
that city a full description of ali shop
filters caught are sent to the Retail
Dry Goods association. which in turn
distributes the information to the va.
rious members
Only by concerted action and with
highly organized stats OF detectives
can the stores cope with the ingenious
shoplifters
The detective system of the big
stores. however is now SO perfect
that 1t Is dangerous to attempt shop
lifting. Even the cleverest shopiifter
faces long jail term in the pursuit of
her nefarious work.
More than that. II shoplifter for
any reason should escape paying the
penalty of crime In one city she may
not he so fortunate In another. De.
scriptions of all suspected persons are
sent out broadcast. and arrest In an
other city may mean a jail term. even
though the thief may have escaped
punishment previously. : Philadelphia
North American.