Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-10-05
STEALING IN STORES.

STEALING IN STORES.
The Ingenuity That 10 Shown by the
Woman Thief.
AS numerous as they are ingeni 'us
are the tricks Of the modern shoplift-
ers, declare store detectives. IT keeps
the detectives busy to get on" to the
devices of the men and women who
live by their wits in stealing from
stores. For tricks that are canny
few classes Of criminals. 1t Is said, ap-
proach them.
The method Of stealing by using
the satchel with q false bottom Is one
of the cleverest Of the tricks.
Well disguised, the shoplifter en-
ters a store. Her eyes run over tho
counters. She perceives the ob1ecr
she wants-usually sometimes small
and valuable, sometimes purse a
customer has left lying on the ccun-
ter.
over the object the shoplifter places
her satchel. Pretending to delvs Into
the satchel to extract a purse or hand
kerchief, the thief lifts a false bott ,m
to the bag, reaches under 1t, draw in
side the desired article. adjusts the
false bottom, closes the satchel and
walks away.
But this is only one Of many clf'r-
er ruses employed" declared detec-
tive the other day. "The women es-
pecialIy are ingenious. Their dress.
Of course, helps them.
"one Of the methods Of stealing Is
for the shoplifter to have slit In her
dress near the belt. AS she stan ds
near the counter she can deftly seize
the article desired, be 1t a piece OF
lace or costly fabric or q bit Of Jewell
ry, and slip It into the skirt. The
folds of the skirt are voluminous and
conceal the thing stolen.
Some tricks are successful because
Of their simplicity. A fashionably
dressed women 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.
III she is detected she will indiy-
nantly declare that she bought The
suit some time before and that she
has brought It back to be altered.
"Or a woman, her hands glitterjng
with rings and dressed In the latest
style, may walk into the store so'ae
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 custom :rs
come up, and the saleslady gets bury
with them while madam is trying 10
suit herself.
while the saleslady is turned she
puts on one Of the richest sable trim
med coats, turns on her heel and
walks away. Perhaps the salessirl
may not notice the loss until thers ~
an account of stock.
Each month from fifty to sixty
arrests are made in the average latEs
department store. The detecd res
must be extremely careful. for false
charge would precipitate a suit fHr
damages, which would mean many
thousands.
Certain departments hold especial
lures for shoplifters. The jewelry de-
partment is invariably guarded. When
the furs come in we have sleuths "no
keep their eyes open for the woman
who likes to take fur to the windo"
to examine 1t, then running for the
door; the woman with the false sEiit
and the woman who puts fur on and
audaciously walks away"
Although the sales departments
and the detective departments work
together, there exists between them
a spirit Of justifiable rivalry. II
detective perceives some one getting
away with goods 1t casts discred' "n
the person behind the counter from
which the goods were stolen. There
for shoplifters.
One might imagine that goods are
dumped pellmell on the counters OF
the big stores. AS a matter or fart,
the efficient saleslady will have every
thing so arranged that she will notice
the disappearance Of an article almos.
II a saleswoman suspects a peran
she Immediately notifies the head de
tective. II 1t Is woman, a woman
detective is usually put on the job. T.
Is said store managers usually and
women more efficient than msn.
Few arrests are ever made III TIT
stores, as an arrest gives only riide-
sirable publicity. The det= ;:ive usual
ly follows suspected persons from the
store and arrests him or her outside.
It Is said that arrests for srop!;t-
ing in New York exceed 5000 wear.
In that city a full description cf all
shoplifters caught are sent to the Re-
tall Dry Goods association, which IN
turn distributes the info .mation TO
the various members.
Only by concerted action and with
highly organized staffs Of detectives
can the stores cope with the ingenious
shoplifters.
stores, however, Is now so perfect that
1t is dangerous to attempt shoplift-
ing. Even the cleverest shoplifter
faces a 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 be 80 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.