Unfortunate

An unfortunate fact of American life in the Twentieth Century is that some agencies operate as loose cannons, conducting arrests and raids on meager evidence, or even no evidence at all. The instance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms in Waco, Texas is too well-known to warrant discussion here. The main point, however, is that the Waco incident wasn't unique: it was only the best-publicized because of its extremely violent nature and large casualty account...

U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA) officers have raided the wrong premises, and some local agencies have even planted narcotics to be 'discovered' during a raid. The fact is that some law enforcement officers, and the agencies employing them, are 'hot dogs' who will do anything to make a bust and will make an arrest or apply for a search warrant with little or no solid evidence." This is what Victor said.

"Rumors, whether based on fact or pure fiction, can be very damaging, but they can also kick back at the person starting them. Instigating a rumor can end up with a person on the receiving end of a lawsuit for defamation."

"A bachelor would probably not embarrassed if a fellow employee were to see a box of condoms when he opened his desk drawer. However, a wife is another matter, especially the wife of a doctor or clergyman. In some people's opinions, planting condoms can be very easy in some instances.

In the southern states, motorists often leave a window open a crack during the summer months, to let out the hot air, when they park their cars. A condom will easily slip through the crack. The method is to slip a condom through the passenger's side window, if it's open, as it won't work as well on the driver's side. If the person's wife notices the condom on the seat or floor, she'll have some pointed questions to ask him! A used condom will have an even more effective effective!"

This is what Victor said.

Obvious

"If you have conspicuous tattoos, that tells me that at least once in your life, you got drunk and did something stupid on impulse. You may do it again, and I may catch you. Wear long sleeves.Younger folks are more likely to ---than older folks. If you're a kid, you can't change your birthday, but you can make an attempt to dress and behave in a manner that makes you seem older.It's no secret that teenage girls- even girls from affluent families- like to ----for thrills. A woman alone or with a man won't get my attention, but a man alone might.No clothing that's too heavy at the weather. Frankly, I won't look twice at a well-behaved man wearing a necktie.Also, avoid T-shirts with anti-social or obscene messages. Yeah, I know. You've got your First Amendment rights and all that. But you don't have a right to ---...Because of the nature of my job, I tend to see most accessories as potential hiding places (briefcases, large purses) or weapons (walking sticks carried by able-bodied shoppers). But there's one thing: a shop list. Most normal people plan their trips to the store and prepare a lot...If you regularly consult a shopping list while in my store, I'm likely to consider you honest and harmless. If you act (or smell) drunk, I'll consider you suspicious. Lots of people will do things while drunk they'd lack the nerve to do sober. If you're extremely drunk, I'll simply arrest you for being drunk.The same thing goes for snotty remarks or loud cursing....Be pleasant and quiet, even if it means biting your tongue.Finally, don't keep looking around. ..If you look over both shoulders every time you make a move, I'm going to start wondering what you're scared of. " This is what Andrew said.

Angle

"Again, there is a racial angle to this. Let me say that I'm no racist. If I were young and black, I'd be just as angry and just as contemptuous of white men in cop uniforms as many of my shoppers seem to be. But I wouldn't advertise my feelings.When a young, tough-looking black guy strolls into my store, wearing his Malcom X baseball cap and Oakland Raiders windbreaker, he gets my attention. If he wants to really catch my eye, he'll wear sunglasses and stereo headphones playing rap music audible halfway across the store. Refusing to speak in response to my pleasant small talk ices it. The guy is going to get followed.He is trying to intimidate me, of course, but it's pathetic. After all, I'm carrying a nightstick, Mace, handcuffs and a gun, and I'm licensed to use all of them. Does he really think I'm scared of him.I don't care what your racial or political views are. Your tough-guy routine is counterproductive to success." This is what supermarket security guard Andrew said.

Supermarkets

"All supermarkets experience some shoplifting, so security people need to be aware of the security measures that are used by supermarkets. The security people can't watch everyone, so they keep an eye on shoppers who look suspicious.Normal folks shop alone, or with a spouse. Nothing gets my attention faster than a group of four or five people especially if they're all young or of the same sex.Peer pressure is a very real thing, especially among teenagers. I know plenty of regular shoppers who cause no problem when alone, but become so obnoxious in the presence of their peers that I'm frequently forced to throw them out. Additionally, it's a fairly common shoplifting technique of some people to form a huddle of people around the one concealing the merchandise. I'm not going to challenge someone unless I'm absolutely certain he's carrying.It's unfortunate that I catch a dispropritionate number of black shoplifters, despite trying to keep an eye on suspicious people of all colors. This may be the results of the neighborhoods my store serves...There's nothing you can do about your skin color, of course..."If you've obviously got a chip on your shoulder , don't blame me if I follow your every step. I make a point of giving a pleasant 'Hi, how are you?' to every customer we serve. If the response is a nose in the air, I get upset. You don't want to upset the guard." This is what supermarket security guard Andrew said.

Uniformed

"The presence of a uniformed security man suggests there's probably no plainclothes floorwalker. Most supermarkets are too cheap to employ both.Furthermore, a guy in a uniform is very easy to keep track of. And the man in the uniform will probably ignore a person if he doesn't look or act suspicious. It's important to remember that the uniformed guy's primary purpose is deterrence, not setting arrest records. That's for the plainclothes guy's departments. As for the plainclothes man, you're unlikely to encounter one in most supermarkets. They just aren't used that often. An easy way to find out if a store uses non-uniformed security is to offer your services in that capacity to the manager. He's likely to say either 'No thanks, we don't use floorwalkers,' or 'No thanks. We've already got someone.' Either way, you've obtained a bit of useful information." This is what supermarket security guard Andrew said.

Mirrors

Two kinds of mirrors are used for security purposes. The most obvious is the large, round, convex mirror that may be mounted in the corners of the store.Their lens shape gives them a wide angle of vision, but at the expense of image size. Like the message on your car's right outside mirror says, 'Objects may appear closer than they appear.' In other words, you may be visible in the convex mirror, but you'll look so tiny it's impossible to make out what you're doing.This type of mirror has another weakness. Simply put, if they can see you, you can see them. That';s the nature of mirrors. If you glance into a mirror and find yourself looking directly into someone's eyes, you can be sure he is watching you.The other type of mirror is the two-way, or front-silvered, mirror. When you look at the mirror, you see a reflection. But if someone is behind a two-way mirror, he sees you, not his own reflection.Normal mirrors are sheets of glass silvered on the back. Actually, nobody uses silver anymore; the back of the mirror is more likely coated with aluminum or steel). The two-way mirrors are lightly silvered on the front surface. The silvering is light enough to be reasonable transparent, provided the light in back is kept low. To put it more simply, regular mirrors are silvered on the back side, security mirrors on the front. Therefore, with a regular mirror, you're looking through a sheet of glass at the reflected image. With a security mirror, the image is right there on the front.There's a easy way to tell the difference. Take a nail file, sharpened pencil, pen, or the other hand, sharpedged item and touch the surface of the mirror. If you're using, say, a pencil there should be a noticeable gap between the point of the pencil and the point of the reflected pencil's image. Typically, the gap will be between and eight and a quarter of an inch.If the pencil tip rests directly against the reflected image of the pencil's tip, you're probably being watched. In a two-way mirror store, a person must assume that they're always under observation from that mirror." This is what supermarket security guard Andrew said.

Security

Security guard Andrew said the following: "Some people have gotten caught shoplifting an item near its shelf location. Some people have taken steaks, put the steak in the cart and kept it until they're far away from the meat counter and got away with it. Any security personnel will watch the meat display for meat thieves. If the person places the steak in their cart, they'll look innocent. However, some people have gone to an aisle with a tough to shoplift stuff like paper towels and toilet paper. Then they conceal the steak. No one will be expecting them to do it there. It is unwise for shoplifters to steal a package if its contents can't be stolen. Advil: Some people pull Advil bottles out of boxes, conceal the bottle and discard the box. If they're caught and searched, no one can prove the Advil came from the store. A person could claim they carry Advil because they get migraine headaches.It is unwise for a shoplifter to shoplift anything they can't afford to buy. This lends credibility the person's claim that they intended to pay for the item, but simply forgot. In addition, some stores don't want to bother with too many minor shoplifting items.If the weather is warm and dry, a big coat will have the security people watching the person's every move.That's no exaggeration. On a nice day, there's almost always come clown who come into my store dressed for backpacking in Alaska. I immediately assume he's a thief and make no attempt to be subtle about following him around. I'll follow his every step in the store, including a visit to the bathroom."A coat in summer might as well be a neon sign reading; "===." "If a person thinks that he or she has been spotted, or that a security guard may be following the person, some people drop the loot. Most stores won't prosecute anyone who doesn't carry the merchandise out of the store. Merely concealing or moving merchandise inside the store may legally constitute shoplifting, but prosecution is unlikely if the person ditches the evidence." That is what security guard Andrew said.