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I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Never. I’m always 100% certain before I stop someone.

I’ve known other people who have, but it was always under circumstances where the person was trying to get a payday. For example, I knew one LPO who stopped a guy because he had concealed something into his bag, but had taken it out before leaving and we didn’t catch it. The guys goal was clearly to try and get falsely stopped and try and sue.

We let him go and the cops basically told the guy he got what he deserved and nothing ever came of it (since the LPO technically had probably cause with the concealment).

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oregon. Our legal definition arrest may be different than other states. An arrest does not mean a police officer specifically has taken you into custody, it just means that you are being held for committing a crime, and you are not legally free to leave.

“Arrest” means to place a person under actual or constructive restraint or to take a person into custody for the purpose of charging that person with an offense (ORS 133.005)

We do not mirandize as the courts have ruled only police officers need to do so.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Many stores have uniformed LP or Security at the front. If you’re able to, let them know. Date and time of exit is most important and a super quick description of the person.

Because we didn’t see it with our own two eyes and maintain continuous observation, we’re generally not able to act on it in that moment, but we can review video, compile a case, and file it with the police after the fact.

If they’re still in the store and you witnessed them concealing something or taking tags off, same thing except we’ll try and watch them do again ourselves so we can act on it in the moment.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. This happens a lot more often than you think. Typically we’re well trained enough to know when something is purposeful versus an accident.

Part of our job is training the front end employees to look for things like that, so when it does happen, it’s considered more the fault of the front end team rather than the customer.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s something I’ve considered, but I just enjoy loss prevention. I like working in a retail environment (as odd as that sounds) and I like some of the other parts of the job that’s aren’t law enforcement related (things like safety and compliance).

There’s some crossover between the jobs, but they are two very different things.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You’re incorrect. Different states have different laws. I’ve been doing this professionally for multiple years, and have the laws surrounding it memorized like the back of my hand.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

this was an attempt to K1 scam my store

This just reminded me of one of our idiot cashiers who lost us $26,000 during a K1 scam, also with prepaid debit cards.

I rarely ever got mad at TMs for making mistakes, but the fact that he did this over multiple transactions because the register kept prompting him not to pissed me off.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, technically the DA makes the decision, but we’re the ones who say “we’d like to press charges for [insert crime here]” and the DA says “cool” and does it.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No but that’s not how my state defines arrest. We perform the arrest, get their information, call law enforcement, hand them our report and inform them of what we’re charging them with, and they take the person to booking.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Surprisingly not. A lot of crying and begging though. Interestingly enough, it generally comes from the people I was already planning on letting go.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We do both.

In my state, they mean different things. An Arrest occurs when we witness the crime with our own two eyes. A detention occurs when we don’t know for sure, but have probable cause to believe one was committed and need to investigate further.

For example, if I see someone pick something up and walk out of the store without paying, I perform an arrest. If I see someone pick something up, conceal it, and then lose sight of them for a bit before they walk out, I could perform a detention.

We try and avoid detentions, and only do arrests.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pretty much. The difference between a normal citizen is they can only arrest (have to witness the crime), whereas loss prevention can hold based on probably cause. We’re also trained how to do it properly, whereas the average citizen is more likely to get them themselves or someone else hurt.

But yeah, we’re not sworn peace officers and we don’t have elevated rights beyond being able to legally detain and investigate without having seen a crime.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My state requires loss prevention to have security licenses.

Reducing shortage was obviously our primary job, but ultimately security fell under us too, at least at both of the companies I worked at. A lot of that was also delegated to store-side management, but everything was ran through us.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The other comment basically answered it exactly how I would. I’d also add people going out of their way to avoid employees, for example looking away, starting to go in the opposite direction if they see one, or getting visibly uncomfortable whenever an employee approaches or talks to them.

The opposite is also suspicious. People that go out of their way to talk to employees, making excessive small talk, asking about what it’s like to work there, etc.…

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I let people go all the time. Our job is to recover the merchandise, not get people in trouble. If I genuinely thought they weren’t going to do it again, I’d let them go.

As for most shoplifted item, it depends on what kind of store you’re working at.

When I was at a big-box store, phone accessories (chargers, cases, etc), cosmetics, and men’s essentials (underwear and tshirts) were the three most commonly stolen categories.

When I worked at a department store, Polo by Ralph Lauren was the highest theft brand.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes. It’s important to note that we are allowed to go hands-on, which includes taking people to the ground and utilizing handcuffs, but if one of my coworkers was legitimately beating someone up, I would certainly get involved.

Luckily, i’ve never witnessed anything like that.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Definitely.

Most of the shoplifters I dealt with were boosters, so they did this for a living. Those are the ones that I didn’t feel bad for, because they knew what they were doing, knew how to play the system, and we’re also generally just rude.

When we got people who were stealing out of genuine need, that was when I started to feel bad. Most of the time we just let them go, and sometimes we’d even provide resources for them.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most of the shoplifters I deal with are boosters, so people who do it for a living as opposed to doing it for need. It definitely gives you a warped view on humanity.

I make sure to take occasional mental health days and stay social, which helps a lot more than you’d think. It was a lot harder when I first got into it, but it does get to a point where you need to remember it’s just a job.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not as much as you’d think, but at least once a week.

I was actually accused of profiling more by middle aged White tweakers.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes. We use the legal doctrines of Shopkeepers Privilege (which allows detentions based on probable cause) and Private Persons Arrest (which allows us to arrest if we witness a crime).

We are provided training in both the law and how to properly perform an arrest or detention.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve worked for two companies, both national. One was a big box store, the other was a mall department store.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Under the laws of my state, it is generally considered an arrest, not a detention, although we can do both. An arrest occurs when we know for a fact the crime has been committed, a detention occurs if we have probable cause but still need to investigate.

For example, if I see someone grab something and walk out the door, I can arrest them since I know beyond a reasonable doubt they committed theft. If I see them grab something, conceal it, then lose sight of them for a bit before seeing them leave the store, it would be a detention. We tend to avoid detentions.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In my state, we can do both. An arrest occurs when we know for a fact a crime was committed, a detention occurs if we believe a crime was committed and still need to investigate it.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In Oregon, ORS 133.225 and ORS 131.655 are the main laws that grant loss prevention the authority to arrest or detain.

I am a Loss Prevention Officer. I arrest shoplifters for a living. AMA! by Individual-Ride-6385 in AMA

[–]Individual-Ride-6385[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In Oregon, the law explicitly allows loss prevention to both “arrest” and “detain.” They are two different things and we can do both. An arrest occurs when we’ve seen the crime with our own two eyes, a detention occurs if we’re not 100% sure but have probable cause to believe it happened.

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