One of my jobs is being a Lost Prevention Officer at a department store, and my main job is to prevent shortages in my store & this is by apprehending shoplifters and retrieving the stolen merchandise. Our favorite thing to do is exchanging shoplifting stories with each other and with other Lost Prevention Officers in our district. There’s just something about going after a shoplifter that gets our adrenaline pumping,. 

When I first got hired for this job, I was scared that I would not intimidate anyone to come back inside with me to return the stolen merchandise. I soon learned that the only thing I can control is what I say, how I say it, and my body language when I am apprehending someone.

There is not one type of person that is a shoplifter; a shoplifter could be any race, any gender, any age, dressed in any way,  etc. Sometimes, I may have to involve the police if a shoplifter refuses to return to the store and give back the stolen merchandise, but I try not to call them unless I absolutely have to.

This past weekend, I was by myself watching an older Caucasian male steal. When I went outside to approach him, he scoffed at me, did not even give me a second look,and drove off, almost running me over. I won’t even lie, I was pissed off because he didn’t see me as a threat. So, I called the police, gave them his license plates, and they went to his house and knocked on his door. One hour later, I got a phone call from one of the officers saying that the guy is coming back to return the stolen merchandise.

When the man arrived back at the store, my male coworker had clocked in as well. He did not even hesitate to scoff at me when I approached him by myself earlier, but as soon as he saw my male coworker, everything about him changed. He stood up straighter, was more respectful, and basically only spoke to him. It’s unfair though that he respected my male coworker more than he respected me when I am just as qualified to do my job as he is.

But then, my male coworker has also experience trouble with shoplifters because of his gender and skin color. There was one time where he had to call the police because his subject had ran away. He described to the police that the subject was a “bald, white middle-aged man”. When the police arrived at the shopping center, they tried to arrest my coworker.

Not only did the police not catch the actual shoplifter, they acted upon a very racist thought. Simply because my coworker is a young, black male, with his hood up, they thought he was a shoplifter even AFTER being told the subject looked NOTHING like my coworker. Ever since then, he has refused to call the police for help. Honestly, I do not blame him.

Regardless of what color or gender of body you are in, there will always be certain stigmas that come along with it – both negative and positive.