Shoplifting has become a huge problem, and in some areas, it has increased by over 30% in the last couple of years. So, what are stores doing to combat this problem? Shoplifting at grocery stores is especially common, so what is Stop & Shop’s shoplifting policy?
Stop & Shop will question a person who they have witnessed taking an item and removing it from the store, provided they are sure a theft occurred. If a situation gets out of hand, security and the police will intervene.
This article provides a general overview of Stop & Shop’s policy when it comes to shoplifting and general information about shoplifting.
It isn’t legal advice, however. If you need legal advice, you should contact a local attorney.
Table of Contents
What is Stop And Shop’s shoplifting policy?
Stop and Shop’s shoplifting policy is no longer listed on its website, so you will need to contact the manager of your local store to determine how it handles shoplifting.
It’s tricky for grocery stores, because they don’t want to falsely accuse anyone of shoplifting. The store we talked to in Norwalk, CT has a policy of questioning shoplifters if they can see the person take the item and leave the store with it, and if things get out of hand then security or the police will be called.
Stop & Shop wants to be 100% sure someone is stealing before they confront the person, which means they will try to watch very carefully to be sure.
Stop & Shop stores do have security cameras in place, which can document a theft, though Stop and Shop will still try to observe every moment of a theft without the use of cameras before they confront a suspect.
Do other grocery stores have shoplifting policies?
By some estimates, shoplifting causes losses of billions of dollars a year. In addition, shoplifting losses are passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices.
Shoplifting policies vary greatly depending on the chain of stores, the region of the country, the neighborhood, and store security. In many cases, shoplifting enforcement policies may be left up to the manager of an individual store.
With grocery store theft occurring more than ever, grocery stores are trying to determine how best to stem the tide of thefts while still making sure they provide a safe and pleasant shopping environment and keep their customers and employees safe.
Some stores do not confront or question customers at all, though keep in mind that there is security footage of everything that goes on in a store, and they don’t need to confront you to press charges.
Some stores will post their shoplifting policies online, but others (like Stop & Shop) do not. If you want to know what a store’s shoplifting policy is, you should contact the manager of the store.
How often do shoplifters get caught after leaving the store?
This is a difficult question to answer since it is hard to know exactly how much shoplifting goes on and to connect certain perpetrators to trends in shoplifting. Some studies estimate around 5-10% of people get caught.
This is complicated by the fact that many shoplifting is done by repeat offenders. Trends indicate that once a person gets away with shoplifting once, they tend to do it repeatedly until they are caught.
In some cases, shoplifting is done by store employees as well, so it is difficult to know with certainty how much shoplifting is attributable to customers.
Will they track you down for shoplifting?
Possibly. There are security cameras in every retail store, some of which are visible and many of which are not.
In many cases, stores might wait until they see you shoplifting more than once, and then use all the footage to show a pattern of shoplifting.
They don’t have to do this, however. They can track you down for theft if you steal once.
Many stores may use facial recognition software as well, so if you stole something once but didn’t get caught, you may notice that the next time you enter the store security is watching you.
That said, if you stole small things, it may not be in the store’s best interest to press charges. Many stores report that if a person is a known shoplifter, they will not let that person shop in the store going forward, rather than trying to prosecute shoplifting.
What happens if you run after getting caught shoplifting?
This probably depends on what store you are shopping at, what its policy is, and what decisions security makes about whether to pursue you.
In most cases, security will not pursue you because there is a safety risk to them and to you when pursuing. If you were to run into the street and get hit by a car, there may be liability for the store or the security service.
Plus, they don’t have to catch you at the store to press charges. If they have evidence of the theft and who you are, they can use that to press charges or ban you from the store.
Even if you aren’t arrested for shoplifting at the scene, you can still be charged later.
Why do stores not go after shoplifters?
Stores often want to be 100% sure that a theft occurred before accusing a customer, for this reason they need to have eyes on a theft every moment, which is somewhat difficult to do.
Many stores have thorough security camera coverage, however, so it may not be difficult to piece together all the moments of a theft from the moment an item is taken to the moment it is removed from the store.
In addition, many stores don’t want their employees confronting shoplifters in order to protect the safety of their employees and the shoplifters themselves. If a shoplifter got hurt during a confrontation, potential liability might arise.
Can I get caught for something I shoplifted 3 weeks ago?
Generally, yes, if there is adequate security footage of you making the theft. Just because you got out of the store with the item doesn’t mean you can’t be prosecuted later.
You can be prosecuted for shoplifting at any time within the statute of limitations, which varies depending on where the shoplifting occurred.
In many states, the statute of limitations varies depending on the value of the goods stolen. It could be anywhere between 6 months to several years, and it may start on the day the theft was discovered.
It may also take weeks for a store to file charges against you while they are reviewing security footage.
What are Loss Prevention Agents in Shoplifting?
It is true that stores don’t want their employees to be making decisions about shoplifters or have to take the law into their own hands to confront a suspect.
For these reasons, sometimes a store will instruct its employees not to confront customers but will instead use loss prevention agents to deal with shoplifters.
Loss prevention agents are specialized security agents that only deal with shoplifting. For this reason, they can be fairly effective when trying to monitor for shoplifters, get evidence, and press charges.
Not all stores use loss prevention agents, though if shoplifting continues to be a significant problem for retail establishments, they may be used more and more.
Does Stop & Shop monitor customers with robots?
If you shop at Stop & Shop, you might see (or have to dodge) Marty the robot, a tall goofy robot whose purpose is to monitor the store for spills and cleanliness.
Recently, however, a former Stop & Shop employee claimed on TikTok that Marty is actually a surveillance droid that is filming customers.
Stop & Shop denies that Marty has video capability, and states that all Marty can do is take photos of the floor to locate and document any potential spills and hazards.
No other Stop & Shop employees have come forward with info about the robot being a droid.
Conclusion
Stop & Shop has a shoplifting policy that is similar to many other retail establishments. There are security cameras and security agents, but employees and managers are not expected to confront customers unless they know for sure that a theft has occurred.
This is to protect employees and customers from harm and also to avoid additional liability. That being said, there are still ways you can be caught shoplifting, and significant penalties if you are caught.
If you were caught shoplifting, it’s a good idea to contact legal counsel as soon as possible.
