* SHOPLIFTING

*By CONSTABLE E. C. NUTTALL, R. C. M. P.

Shoplifting is an evil which has caused
the formation of small police forces whose
members never “walk a beat’, but who,

before making an arrest, must be 100 per
cent sure that their eyes have not deceived
them.

SHOPLIFTING, or “Boosting” as it is often
called, is a common offence in large cities.
Rarely a day passes without the arrest and
conviction of one or more boosters. All
offenders do not, however, reach the police
courts; many escape court proceedings
because of the policy of the store where the
offence was committed, or because of ex-
tenuating circumstances.

Most large department stores have their
own policemen. Called operatives or store
detectives, they are members of the com-
pany’s investigation department who have
been sworn in before a magistrate as peace
officers with power to arrest any person
committing an offence on the company’s
property —or beyond in case of “fresh
pursuit”.

The work is a great responsibility, and
extreme caution must be exercised, for when
a person is arrested, or even detained, he
must be taken forthwith to the chief detec-
tive or store superintendent. If the arrest
cannot be substantiated by production of
evidence the company is usually liable for
false arrest, and the operative is “behind
the eight ball”.

*Reprinted by courtesy of the Editor, R.C.M.P. Quarterly.

P. O. Box 54

L. M. McKINNON

HOTEL AND GENERAL STORE

Trucking Freight Line Between Quesnel
; and Barkerville

BARKERVILLE, B.C.

Island Mountain Mines

Co. Ltd.

WELLS, B.C.

ee

SUMMER EDITION

However, the experienced store detective
makes few mistakes. He knows that in
making an arrest he must be one hundred
per cent sure always; ninety-nine per cent
sure is not enough. Naturally many offend-
ers are given the benefit of the doubt, but
this often leads to their eventual arrest; for
boosters who have tasted success will in-
variably try again, and the detective, recog-
nizing them, will be doubly watchful.

The average company investigation de-
partment is composed chiefly of men with
previous police experience, who prefer
steady hours in an air-conditioned building
where there is no “pounding the beat”. The
work, though, is far from easy. In large
department stores a record of each detec-
tive’s activities is kept and compared with
those of eight or ten other capable detec-
tives. Thus keen competition is engendered,
and the beginner, even if he has had previous
police experience, must exercise great dis-
cretion lest in his zeal to make good he
blunders. For the old store slogan, “The
customer is always right” goes for the in-
vestigation department also, unless the de-
tective has a “cinch” case to the contrary.

cece

Boosting is the easiest rung to climb on
the ladder of crime, and it is not confined to
any particular sex or strata of society. As
a result of it many criminals suffer their
first conviction. In time they become ac-
quainted with drug addicts who are eager
to explain their theory that a “shot” makes
one boost better. In reality addicts are com-
pelled to boost in order to keep themselves
supplied with drugs. Strange to say, if a
person “graduates” to more lucrative forms
of crime such person invariably stoops to
boosting if pushed for ready cash. This is
apparent from the large number of criminals
who are arrested for boosting within a few
days after their release from custody.

Drug users are regular offenders; the
habit drives them, for it takes money to
procure the constant supply they crave.

Some persons, however, are boosters all their
lives, plying their miserable trade from city
to city in the same way as “rubber cheque”
artists. These travelling criminals become
exceptionally adept. For long periods they
prey upon a city’s department stores, becom

ing familiar with the floor plan of each—the
entrances and exits, back staircases, loading
platforms, escalators, elevators and all con-
venient hiding places. With such knowledge
the boosters hope they will be able to enter
the store without being noticed, steal with-
out being followed and get out without
being “pinched”. At their leisure they
wander around the store, sizing up the sit-
uation in preparation for future hauls. By
fraternizing with other boosters they learn
the identity of the company detectives and
obtain information about the various booster-
traps used in that particular store.

The average booster’s technique is to
approach a display counter (one on which
are socks, ties, silk stockings or any other
articles which can be disposed of easily)
and, under pretext of examining the goods,
fold them into a neat pile. He does this care-
fully, making sure that he is not under
observation. Leaving the coveted articles
on the counter, he retires and walks around,
checking to see if there is any person near
who might arrest him. When satisfied the
coast is clear he closes in on the pickings.

The booster employs various subterfuges
to gain possession of the goods, such as
pushing them up his sleeve or into a dummy
parcel or into one of the company’s own

Compliments of

PRINCE GEORGE CLUB

BRANCH No. 1

J. C. PIDGEON, Manager

x

Wells, British Columbia

The Cariboo Gold Quartz

Mining Company Limited

(Non-Personal Liability)

*
Mine Office:
WELLES. B.C.

Page Eighty-nine

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