Archived Does AP turn cases over to LEOs

[TM657]

I told one of our AP guys that I thought a lady may have not paid for everything in her cart when she was doing self-checkout. He said they could check the cameras and turn over to the local police. Can they actually go after some after they've left? And do they keep AP in the loop so they know if they actually get busted!

I've only been with Target for 7 months and that was the first suspected shoplifter I've actually seen. Though she may have just swiped when I didn't see and put back in her cart.

 

[Badjedidude]

Generally depends on how much the person got away with. Did she fail to scan/pay for $10 worth of items? AP might write a Known Theft Report for it (depending on how busy the team is), but won't contact police. Did she fail to scan $400 worth of items? AP is far more likely to call or contact police, especially if they got a good shot of her car, got a license plate, etc. If your AP team has a good relationship with the local police department, then they probably see/talk to officers often enough to get reports back about current/recent cases.

 

[TM657]

Wow, you guys are on top of responding. If they do report any idea how long until we hear something? Though I'm sure they won't actually tell the TMs about it. And what do the cops do? Make them pay for the stuff or do they actually go to jail? I'm not sure if anyone actual know since that's more on the police side. I'm just nosy haha!

 

[Hardlines 4]

My old store was in a very busy metro area so nothing ever happened after I filed a PD report. However, the chances of that person coming back since they got away with it was extremely high, therefor when they did come back and I caught them I have them for two theft charges now.
In my experience most people don't go to jail for that type of thing, they usually will go to court, have a very in pleasant conversation with a judge, pay a ton of fines, maybe even pay restitution to Target if the prosecutor is feeling good that day, and lastly they'll be on a probation status for a year.

 

[TM657]

So they probably won't get caught until they come back? That sucks. I thought maybe if she used a credit card we could identify for her easily enough they'd go after it. Does anyone ever get caught after the fact then?

 

[TM657]

And our store is in a nice area and this was probably some soccer mom haha! I think we have a good relationship with the local police but no idea for sure.

 

[redeye58]

If there's a timestamp & video, AP should be able to pull the EJ & check the method of payment.
Between that & a couple still shots would be a good start to build a case.
A lot of AP does rely on case-building; it's not always about tackling a first-time theft at the door.

 

[TM657]

That sounds so exciting! Maybe I should have applied for that position. I'm only 5'3 so I didn't figure they'd hire because I wouldn't be able to take someone down. I never knew we could go after people after they got away.

Do you guys prefer to catch someone at the door or build a case?

 

[redeye58]

They can't & they're slowly getting stripped of tools & processes needed to do their job.

 

[TM657]

They can't catch someone at the door or build a case? Cause that seems like a big deal. Isn't that going to result is the store having huge losses to theft?

 

[redeye58]

Their directives & their dept are in a state of flux right now.
I don't think corp knows what they expect of them ATM.

 

[HRZone]

My old stores AP used to chase people into the parking lot and stuff but that is more and more discouraged.

When people get away with stealing something they are highly likely to come back, thats just how it goes.

 

[anathema]

It's...more than discouraged, I would say.

LE wouldn't really get back to me on my cases most of the time. I would only ever get follow-up if I saw the officer again. Depends on your area, but I'm in a large market so LE doesn't really care for shit besides concrete evidence.

 

[callmetaylor]

So they probably won't get caught until they come back? That sucks.

I thought the exact same thing when I first started at my store, but if you stick around long enough you'll learn that people are really, really stupid and absolutely cannot resist trying the same scheme over and over and over until they're prosecuted.


Honestly, it seems like the only way most of them move on to something else IS if they're caught, because they can't resist the "easy" method that's worked for them once, twice, ten times before, and most people are too dumb to realize that just because they left the store doesn't mean they weren't caught.

 

[HardlinesGuy]

They can't & they're slowly getting stripped of tools & processes needed to do their job.

Their directives & their dept are in a state of flux right now.
I don't think corp knows what they expect of them ATM.

Coming from someone in a fairly decent store/area, AP is a mess right now. Don't have the equipment, powers, or hours I need to get things done anymore. @redeye58 hit the nail on the head.

 

[theanimal]

At my store, they still do apprehensions (at least one a day lately) on a good week for them.

 

[HardlinesGuy]

At my store, they still do apprehensions (at least one a day lately) on a good week for them.

Does your store have an APS?

 

[theanimal]

Does your store have an APS?

yes

 

[HardlinesGuy]

yes

That's why, lol. We don't have an APS, so we're kinda screwed.

 

[theanimal]

That's why, lol. We don't have an APS, so we're kinda screwed.

We just have the ETL-AP and APS, no TPS

 

[redcardroy]

We're busy enough as it is chasing after people pushing $200 Dysons out the door. If you're in the city, PD won't care even if youve identified them. They'll get caught eventually. Ap work can really test your patience at times, but there's no doubt these people will keep at it until caught.

 

[redeye58]

Or until you've thrown up enough roadblocks for them to go to another store.

 

[redcardroy]

That sounds so exciting! Maybe I should have applied for that position. I'm only 5'3 so I didn't figure they'd hire because I wouldn't be able to take someone down. I never knew we could go after people after they got away.

I'm 5'5'' and I've done all sorts of LP/AP/security work. If you have a passion for this line of work, your height won't stop you. Your words/body language play a much bigger role in your command presence than your height.

 

[HardlinesGuy]

We just have the ETL-AP and APS, no TPS

It's just me, solo TPS and my ETL, soon to be APTL. I'm alone all the time and can't make apps. Kinda sucks.

 

[Tessa120]

Honestly, it seems like the only way most of them move on to something else IS if they're caught, because they can't resist the "easy" method that's worked for them once, twice, ten times before, and most people are too dumb to realize that just because they left the store doesn't mean they weren't caught.

I know what you mean about doing the same thing over and over. One day I found a shirt with a switched tag in our Knox Rose section (which is so tiny that the entirety of the line covers about 2 feet on one bar that it shares with another line). I was off the next day, came back the day after, found another shirt with a switched tag in exactly the same spot.