ASHCROFT, B. C. detective and each one of his staff; any one detective with another. Contact with the operatives is effected through a series of coloured lights high on the walls of every floor. Each member of the detective staff is given a colour. When an operative is wanted his light flashes and an automatic gong draws his attention to it. He takes the message (incidentally, all such messages are handled by the store’s chief telephone operator) through the nearest phone, then hastens to the point where his assistance is required. Cord-operated bells also are used to sum- mon any detective within ear-shot to a I, T. STAGES Daily Service Ashcroft to Prince George ® ASHCROFT, BRITISH COLUMBIA MARK DUMOND HARDWARE McCormick-Deering Farm Implements CHEVROLET CARS and TRUCKS e ASHCROFT, B.C. HARVEY BAILEY LTD. General Merchants We Specialize in INDIAN BASKETS, BUCKSKIN GLOVES, Etc. Established 1886 ASHCROFT, BRITISH COLUMBIA Kwong Yuen Shing Co. Wholesale and Retail POTATOES and VEGETABLES e ASHCROFT, B.C. | SUMMER EDITION Registered Office and Plant: MgSO,.7H,O EPSOM SALTS ASHCROFT Salts LIMITED Refiners of Magnesium Sulphate Winnipeg Office: 116 Market Ave., WINNIPEG, MAN. designated place on that floor—usually a pillar marked with a big red cross. Another measure of protection against boosters is a system of peep-holes in those departments that are exceptionally vulner- able to predatory patrons. Located in store space that is forbidden to the public, the peep-holes veiled with dark blue cheese cloth and placed high above eye level so that it is almost impossible for any customer to see the watching operative who has an unob- structed view of the serving counters. Such an ‘arrangement gives rise to the question: how can the detective leave his hiding-place, find the booster in a crowded store and be one hundred per cent sure that the article is still in that person’s possession? Such a situation calls for tact, good judg- ment, and expert use of the eyes. Having actually witnessed the theft, the operative is usually justified in using his hands to ascertain if the goods are still in the pos- session of the suspect. Apart from the few aids mentioned, the detective’s eyes are his main asset. First, however, he must master the primary funda- mental of good store-detecting. He must know whom to watch. Experience teaches him to distinguish between the person who “paws over” the goods before buying and the one who paws them over before stealing. After a few minutes’ observation the sea- soned detective is usually able to single out the booster from a crowd. The store detective must also be adept at “tailing” a suspect from counter to counter and even from one floor to another for long and trying periods without arousing sus- picion. As a consequence, a good operative has a perpetual “dead pan” look, and appar- ently never directs his glance at anything or anybody in particular. In tailing, he never centres his attention on his quarry’s face. He merely takes up a position from which he can watch the suspect’s hands, bearing in “Gateway to the Great North Country” ASHCROFT HOTEL Established 1883 Operated by Ashcroft Hotel Co. Ltd. AL JOHNSON, Manager Headquarters for Commercial Travellers, Tourists and Miners FULLY LICENSED ASHCROFT, BRITISH COLUMBIA mind that he himself may be followed by an accomplice of the suspect. Shadowing the shadow is a method frequently employed by beosters working in pairs, and unless the detective realizes in time that he is being followed, and calls for assistance, he may discover that the accomplice, not the sus- pect, has done the boosting. When an arrest is made the suspect must always be taken to the chief detective’s ofhce to be searched. If a woman, the search is conducted by a matron. The stolen merchandise is seized, and the suspect is given the usual warning that he (or she) does not have to say anything. A printed form is then handed to the culprit. It reads: I (name and address) did this day ofan [Ob steal trom thems Company the undermentioned articles to the value of $1.0... , and agree, should I be found on the premices again, to hold myself liable for trespass. The clause, “to hold myself liable for CITY CAFE SODA FOUNTAIN Good Focd. Quick Service in Connection. oa LYTTON, B. C. THE CLINTON HOTEL Modern in Every Respect The Oldest Hotel in B. C. Established in 1861 Fully Licensed -:- Excellent Food CLINTON, B.C. BOYD'S GARAGE Dodge, Plymouth Sales & Service ROAD SERVICE @ CLINTON, B.C. TOWING Page Ninety-one