Hy-Vee Creates Retail Security Team, Placing Officers in Stores Across Footprint

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bayford
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Hy-Vee Creates Retail Security Team, Placing Officers in Stores Across Footprint

Post by bayford »

https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/2021/12/2 ... ms-stores/

The press release this news is written from is kind of vague as to the job description of these new security officers, but, with food prices having risen so much, I'm guessing shrink has risen as well and this is a way to deal with the problem.
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Re: Hy-Vee Creates Retail Security Team, Placing Officers in Stores Across Footprint

Post by storewanderer »

Target has had uniformed security in stores for years, though I don't notice them as much as I once did. This looks like the same type of idea. Some people may get a more secure image out of it, others may think it takes away from the welcoming environment of a store to have a uniform like this on the security.
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Re: Hy-Vee Creates Retail Security Team, Placing Officers in Stores Across Footprint

Post by ClownLoach »

storewanderer wrote: December 29th, 2021, 7:36 pm Target has had uniformed security in stores for years, though I don't notice them as much as I once did. This looks like the same type of idea. Some people may get a more secure image out of it, others may think it takes away from the welcoming environment of a store to have a uniform like this on the security.
In SoCal there is a noticeable uptick in visibility of Target Uniformed security. Every store I've visited since November has someone in a Target security uniform by the front doors. Likely due to the wave of smash and grab mob attacks in CA. Usually the uniformed person is assigned for visibility tasks and security audits such as checking if glass cases are locked, security tags applied properly, safety policy checklists are filled out and other LP audit tasks. The Target LP agents that make shoplifting arrests are plain clothes and are professionals. Usually it is the LP Manager for the store that approves the apprehension and then handles the interrogation once the agent apprehends them (title is usually Executive Team Leader - Assets Protection, or ETL-AP and its an Assistant Manager level position). The stores normally have a small LP booking room near the front doors that is not much larger than a janitorial closet.

Target does not mess around with their shoplifters - they will try to convince them to agree to a civil demand settlement in that office in lieu of the police being called - but in the paperwork they have the shoplifter sign they will be placed on every private shoplifter database known to man. The LP person will coerce the shoplifter and tell them this is in their best interest to sign the papers instead of being criminally prosecuted (with no lawyer present of course as they would tell them to tear them up into confetti and say "go ahead then, call the cops"). One of these private databases used to be called the US Merchants Association but then renamed USMA (US Mutual Association - sounds innocuous right?) and they are a standard check on automated background check processes. An entry with USMA will show up forever on background checks so anyone in their database will not be able to get a job anywhere - even if the police are never called and the case is never prosecuted. It is very strange how this is being handled these days as the professional thieves just walk right past the LP agents and they generally are told not to engage as these are very dangerous people. But the dumb teenager who thinks it's funny to steal a pair of earbuds gets apprehended and unknowingly signs their rights away forever. Ironically they would be better off if they stole enough to be arrested and just went through the criminal process - they would be in and out of jail in a day or less and their court records could eventually be sealed. But if they go through the store LP process they will never get away from the mistakes of their past. Guilty forever without a judge, jury, trial or court. Obviously I hate shoplifters, but once I got a better understanding of what the LP departments do with them I started to feel uncomfortable. I wonder how many of these professionals in ORC groups are doing this because they started out with a dumb theft, got branded for life with these databases so they can't get a job, and then decided that since nobody will hire them they're going to take it out on the stores and loot them daily for a living? Is it a small possibility that these techniques are backfiring and creating the surge of shoplifting we see today?
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Re: Hy-Vee Creates Retail Security Team, Placing Officers in Stores Across Footprint

Post by veteran+ »

Well presented!

Looks like you did some great root cause analysis with some good critical thinking!

8-)
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Re: Hy-Vee Creates Retail Security Team, Placing Officers in Stores Across Footprint

Post by pseudo3d »

ClownLoach wrote: January 3rd, 2022, 11:00 amI wonder how many of these professionals in ORC groups are doing this because they started out with a dumb theft, got branded for life with these databases so they can't get a job, and then decided that since nobody will hire them they're going to take it out on the stores and loot them daily for a living? Is it a small possibility that these techniques are backfiring and creating the surge of shoplifting we see today?
I think that other events (unrelated to LP tactics, more in the sociopolitical/news events) have happened in the last few years that have directly or indirectly enabled criminals and shoplifting if we're talking about surges. Besides, sex offenders registries work in a similar way (basically a "no hire, life ruined" list) and we don't see exponential sex offender cases grow annually or organized "rape gangs" (at least not in the U.S.).

That being said, LPs pressuring you to sign away your life is a bit an overreach and an example of what happens when law & order of a society comes under attack...is that you begin to see privately-owned extralegal security forces do what they want with no accountability.
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Re: Hy-Vee Creates Retail Security Team, Placing Officers in Stores Across Footprint

Post by storewanderer »

ClownLoach wrote: January 3rd, 2022, 11:00 am
storewanderer wrote: December 29th, 2021, 7:36 pm Target has had uniformed security in stores for years, though I don't notice them as much as I once did. This looks like the same type of idea. Some people may get a more secure image out of it, others may think it takes away from the welcoming environment of a store to have a uniform like this on the security.
In SoCal there is a noticeable uptick in visibility of Target Uniformed security. Every store I've visited since November has someone in a Target security uniform by the front doors. Likely due to the wave of smash and grab mob attacks in CA. Usually the uniformed person is assigned for visibility tasks and security audits such as checking if glass cases are locked, security tags applied properly, safety policy checklists are filled out and other LP audit tasks. The Target LP agents that make shoplifting arrests are plain clothes and are professionals. Usually it is the LP Manager for the store that approves the apprehension and then handles the interrogation once the agent apprehends them (title is usually Executive Team Leader - Assets Protection, or ETL-AP and its an Assistant Manager level position). The stores normally have a small LP booking room near the front doors that is not much larger than a janitorial closet.

Target does not mess around with their shoplifters - they will try to convince them to agree to a civil demand settlement in that office in lieu of the police being called - but in the paperwork they have the shoplifter sign they will be placed on every private shoplifter database known to man. The LP person will coerce the shoplifter and tell them this is in their best interest to sign the papers instead of being criminally prosecuted (with no lawyer present of course as they would tell them to tear them up into confetti and say "go ahead then, call the cops"). One of these private databases used to be called the US Merchants Association but then renamed USMA (US Mutual Association - sounds innocuous right?) and they are a standard check on automated background check processes. An entry with USMA will show up forever on background checks so anyone in their database will not be able to get a job anywhere - even if the police are never called and the case is never prosecuted. It is very strange how this is being handled these days as the professional thieves just walk right past the LP agents and they generally are told not to engage as these are very dangerous people. But the dumb teenager who thinks it's funny to steal a pair of earbuds gets apprehended and unknowingly signs their rights away forever. Ironically they would be better off if they stole enough to be arrested and just went through the criminal process - they would be in and out of jail in a day or less and their court records could eventually be sealed. But if they go through the store LP process they will never get away from the mistakes of their past. Guilty forever without a judge, jury, trial or court. Obviously I hate shoplifters, but once I got a better understanding of what the LP departments do with them I started to feel uncomfortable. I wonder how many of these professionals in ORC groups are doing this because they started out with a dumb theft, got branded for life with these databases so they can't get a job, and then decided that since nobody will hire them they're going to take it out on the stores and loot them daily for a living? Is it a small possibility that these techniques are backfiring and creating the surge of shoplifting we see today?
Are they allowed to add minors to those databases, or does the person have to be over 18?

I know someone who engaged in theft as an employee at a large retailer that may or may not be being discussed in this thread, (under 18) this would have been about 20 years ago, via price overrides to friends on various items from the electronics area, was eventually caught, fired, and made to pay back the amounts of the overrides which was somewhere in the high hundreds. This retailer's policy on price overrides was reportedly to take the customer's word and there was no manager override function in place, it just let the cashier process any price override they wanted to (which I found odd, given at the time I worked at a much weaker retailer with much weaker systems and such an override protocol was in place if you tried to do more than about 20% off- particularly annoying when the .50 candy bar had a .39 sale tag someone forgot to pull and needed a manager override yet the $11.99 item that had been on sale for 9.99 someone forgot to pull a tag went right through). I remember telling this person there is no way someone wasn't watching the price overrides and monitoring what was going on, recalling the big override reports I used to see printed up from what was at the time a big huge dot matrix printer using extra wide paper that the file maintenance person had to review and would definitely ask about things that appeared unusual, but this individual insisted in their training they had been told to "take the customer's word if something scans at the wrong price and these friends are customers."

When they went after this person, the uniformed security present in the store near the doors also apprehended a couple of the friends and recovered the merchandise that had been given to them that day; a few video games for $5 each or something really stupid. This individual was also told they could not enter any stores of this chain ever again or they would be arrested. I later found this individual working at a Federal government agency that absolutely requires a background check.

If the uniformed security stops someone from doing something that will get them in one of those databases, it is perhaps for the better.
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