What if You Could Text the Police? Shop Owners in New York City are Testing it.
Retailers have a new tool to speed up police response - WhatsApp
When you work retail and someone steals something right in front of you, skates out the door, and jumps in their car, making a clean getaway - it sucks. My team used to get so frustrated because we weren’t allowed to do anything and recovery statements don’t work during grab and runs.
We couldn’t chase these thieves, call mall security, or call the police if the price of the item they stole was less than $500. “But that’s not fair!” My sales associates would cry. It’s not fair. But our safety was worth more than any item shoplifters were stealing.
Also, if someone steals from your store, you chase them, and end up hurting them, they can sue you. Talk about super sucky and super not fair!
Drug stores have turned to locking items behind plexiglass cases. But that’s creating another problem - customers loathe it.
We’re all tired of everyday items like toothpaste being locked behind plexiglass cases. This answer to prevent shoplifting hasn’t even been around very long, but we’re all done with it. I’ve written about it several times on The Voice of the Frontline, and many readers have jumped in to commiserate. Loss prevention experts also chime in:
“If this stuff wasn’t locked up, the shelves would be empty.”
I know they’re right. What to do?
Some retailers in The Bronx are trying a new approach - texting or messaging a WhatsApp group of police officers when a shoplifter is in the store. The response has been good so far.
The police were there “in five minutes,” one merchant claimed.
The response is quick and can go undetected by thieves as shop owners can easily communicate via a messaging app. Calling 911 was getting a slow response, and thieves were getting away. Not anymore.
The WhatsApp chat group lets store owners upload photos and videos in real-time. Getting this information to the police quickly is essential to arrests.
“The idea is to aggregate these crimes [so we know] when someone has exceeded the misdemeanor threshold.” - Carlos Collado, store owner. “We saw the fastest response ever.”
I would’ve caught so many thieves!
I wish the shopping center I used to work in had officers roaming around that I could text. I would’ve caught so many thieves! But this solution also requires shop owners to really know who is stealing and who just has a backpack. These bodega shop owners know, no doubt, but this solution may not work with newer retail leaders.
I’ve worked in many stores as a visiting manager, and the team would be suspicious of the wrong people. “Keep an eye on that person; they have a backpack!” they’d say over their walkie-talkies. But that’s a student shopping after school. They hadn’t done anything to warrant the suspicion.
Understanding the behaviors of possible shoplifters takes a lot of training and practice. A WhatsApp group won’t work in every case, but what New York is doing is interesting. It’s giving some power back to shop owners and building a more cohesive community.
Solving retail crime is going to take all of us. Yep, all of us.
It’s a problem that’s soaring due to many factors—too many to address here. However, if the police can get more involved and partner with shop owners, that’s a winning start.
If this continues to work and rolls out in more cities, shoplifting will decrease. Maybe someday, our toothpaste will be free of its plexiglass jail.
We can only hope.
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Based in Southern California, Kit Campoy is a former retail leader turned freelance writer. She covers Retail, Leadership, and Business. Contact her for blog posts, articles, or LinkedIn content.
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Great information! With people like you and others actually on the scene, this crime problem will one day be solved! Keep at it!
I love when technology catches up and is instrumental to solving this nagging retail problem. We need to get on top of it if we want small business especially to survive.