ON A BUSY DAY, DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF YOUR STORE, THERE MAY BE 50 TO 100 CUSTOMERS IN THE STORE AT ANY GIVEN TIME. HAVING 1 LOSS PREVENTION AGENT TO MONITOR THIS MANY CUSTOMERS FOR SHOPLIFTING ACTIVITY WOULD NOT BE VERY EFFECTIVE. THIS IS WHERE PROFILING AND BODY LANGUAGE COMES INTO PLAY. THE WORD "PROFILING" HAS BEEN GIVEN A BAD WRAP FROM THE NEWS MEDIA IN PREVIOUS YEARS. THE REASON FOR THIS BAD WRAP IS BECAUSE OF TERMS SUCH AS "RACIAL PROFILING" WHICH WAS "BAD PROFILING" DONE BY POOR INVESTIGATORS THAT WERE PROFILING BASED ON A PERSON'S RACE. THE TRUTH IS, PROFILING IS A VERY IMPORTANT TOOL THAT IS USED BY VIRTUALLY ALL CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES SO THAT WE CAN EFFECTIVELY DO OUR JOB. PROFILING IS THE TOOL THAT WE USE IN ORDER TO PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH OF THOSE 100 CUSTOMERS ARE POTENTIAL SHOPLIFTERS.
TO EFFECTIVELY PROFILE A SHOPLIFTER, YOU NEED TO FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON BEHAVIOR AND BODY LANGUAGE. ONCE YOU HAVE BEEN WALKING THE STORE FOR A WHILE, YOU WILL LEARN WHAT NORMAL SHOPPING BEHAVIOR LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT SUSPICIOUS SHOPPING BEHAVIOR LOOKS LIKE. THE CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE SUSPICIOUS SHOPPING BEHAVIOR ARE THE ONES THAT YOU WANT TO FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST LIKELY TO SHOPLIFT. A SHOPLIFTER CANNOT HELP BUT TO TELEGRAPH WHAT THEY ARE PLANNING. THE MOST COMMON AREAS TO LOOK FOR SUSPICIOUS SHOPPING BAHVIOR ARE "THE EYES" AND "THE HANDS". "THE HANDS" DO THE STEALING AND "THE EYES" TELEGRAPH THAT THE SHOPLIFTER IS PLANNING TO STEAL. WHY IS THAT? BECAUSE ALL SHOPLIFTERS NEED TO KNOW IF SOMEBODY IS WATCHING THEM BEFORE THEY STEAL. AMATUER SHOPLIFTERS WILL USE THEIR WHOLE BODY AND HEAD TO LOOK AROUND A STORE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE NOT BEING SPOTTED. THIS PRACTICE USUALLY TIPS OFF A LOSS PREVENTION AGENT OF THEIR ACTIVITY. THE MORE EXPERIENCED SHOPLIFTERS WILL LOOK AROUND THE STORE WITHOUT MOVING THEIR HEAD OR BODY. ONLY THEIR EYES, AND IT WILL PROBABLY BE A QUICK LOOK BEFORE THEY MAKE CONCEALMENT. THIS IS WHAT THE EXPERIENCED LP AGENT NEEDS TO BE LOOKING FOR.
IN ADDITION TO LOOKING AROUND BEFORE STEALING, A LOT OF SHOPLIFTERS WILL USE THEIR EYES (WITHOUT REALIZING IT) TO OBERVE WHERE SECURITY IS AT. SUPPOSE YOU ARE A SECURITY AGENT THAT IS WATCHING CAMERAS OR IS BEHIND A 2 WAY MIRROR AND YOU SEE A CUSTOMER LOOK UP AT THE CAMERAS/MIRROR AND THEN KEEP WALKING IN THE STORE. AN EXPERIENCED LP AGENT WILL THINK 2 THINGS AT THIS POINT. EITHER THIS CUSTOMER HAS A GENUINE INTEREST IN SECURITY MONITORING DEVICES THAT ARE USED IN THE STORE, OR, MORE LIKELY, THEY ARE CASING THE STORE TO FIND OUT POTENTIAL THREATS BEFORE SHOPLIFTING. AS AN EXPERIENCE LP AGENT, I WOULD FOLLOW THIS PERSON. WITH THE SAME SCENARIO, SUPPOSE YOU ARE A UNIFORMED LP AGENT ON THE SALESFLOOR AND YOU ARE MONITORING CUSTOMERS IN PLAIN VIEW. AS A CUSTOMER TURNS THE CORNER TO HEAD UP AN AISLE, THEY MAKE A POINT OF TURNING THEIR HEAD AND LOOKING AT YOU. WHY IS THAT? WHAT REASON WOULD A CUSTOMER CHECK OUT THE LP AGENT BEFORE THEY HEAD UP AN AISLE? WHILE THIS PRACTICE DOESN'T PROVE THE SUSPECT GUILTY, IT IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF SUSPICIOUS SHOPPING BEHAVIOR THAT THE EXPERIENCED LP AGENT WOULD FOLLOW UP ON.
OBVIOUSLY IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO TEACH YOU ALL ASPECTS OF SUSPICIOUS SHOPPING BEHAVIOR. THIS IS NOT A PRACTICE THAT CAN BE TAUGHT IN A CLASSROOM. THIS PAGE IS DESIGNED TO HELP YOU, AS AN LP AGENT, TO LEARN WHAT TO LOOK FOR. GOOD LUCK.
