MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should Vinnie chase the robbers?

Keeley_P

Just as a thought, when I satrted my new job at a supermarket, we did training on what to do if you saw someone shoplifting, and basically got told "leave well alone, it's not worth it."
Now, having seen some of the people who do shoplift (32" plasma screen, anyone?) ihave to say that i would tackle them, mainly because you can pretty much guarantee that their mates will be round the corner, and you'll come off worse.
Interesting side note, we also got told that if someone is being aggressive in store (fighting, arguing etc) to send over the smallest female member of staff. 9 times out of ten, that's me, as i'm usually the *only* female member of staff. Unfortunately, i'm also 6'2....

esthomizzy

Interesting. I would tend to agree that it isn't his job and that it is unfair to place him by the door in the hope of deterring shoplifters. It should be up to him as to whether to try and stop someone shoplifting but at the end of the day if he stands there with his arms folded saying not my job guv. That's really not going to impress his boss who probably has lots of other people who look like they have a bit more of a can do attitude (in the bosses eyes) and if it came to a choice of who to promote or who to fire being a "can do" rather than a "wont do" will certainly help. If he really doesn't want or feels unsafe having to tackle shoplifters (which would be perfectly reasonable) then he should look for another sales job which would probably not have this undesired sideline in security.

nykamps

Vinnie values his health and safety long before saving a paltry few clothes that would have made the shareholders richer - if he wanted to be a policeman he would have joined the force..... :A

Trooperman123

Absolutely not - not his job, leaving both himself and store open to accusations of wrongful-arrest / assault etc. Years ago I used to be a Store-'Tec:cool: for HMV & crucial sequence was that a) you actually saw the offence taking place (ie. concealment about body or belongings/pram etc of store goods); b) leaving the premises without any attempt to pay for said goods; c) restraining individual in most efficient/least-embarrasing manner (for individual 'and' store) and escorting them back inside the shop to await arrival of Police and statement-giving. On at least two counts Vinnie would be in the wrong - he had to rely on someone else's word that the act took place, and then to grab-him/pin-him-down (?!) which would really do wonders for Store PR. Yes, occasionally the individual would 'chance' it by either legging asap or else start throwing themselves about, but that's where the distinction between 'looking hard' and actually being a) fit enough to engage in a chase and or b) able to perform a well-executed arm/wrist lock to achieve the desired result comes into play. Even then (and with my martial arts training) you could be in for a surprise - I recall rolling about the street with this yobbo once (got him and goods, some paltry CD's;) ) and was frogmarching him back to the shop when a passerby came up and daintily handed me a 6"-bladed sheath-knife and 'I think he dropped this...'. The Store should be employing properly-trained /co-ordinated Store Detectives (or overt uniformed guards) to perform this function, not relying on Sales Staff.
Rgds
GK

weegie.geek

SRS wrote: »

Yes, he should! It should be nothing to do with the amount he gets paid. It's should be about a citizen's duty to society. Where on earth are we heading, if people just stand back and let criminals get away with acts like this, using the excuse that it's not 'their' job to do anything about it, or they don't 'get paid enough' to do anything about it? What does that teach others, especially our young people? Come on, wake up, smell the coffee! We all have a responsibility to shape our society and take it in the direction we want to go. That involves setting examples and upholding standards, doesn't it? Otherwise we will get the society we deserve. And it won't be pretty. Remember, a wiser man than me once observed that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing ...

Ah, an armchair have-a-go hero. Never actually had a knife pulled on you, have you?

vampiretribble

I worked in a betting shop and had to take the shop takings to be banked. I was told in no uncertain terms that if someone tried to take them off me I should let them and not fight back - this was by my employers.

The fact is, these days if you do try and stop someone you are just as likely to be facing a gun as you are a knife - Things are just not worth a life, no matter how valuable they may be.

I was trained how to avoid being attacked, and how to avoid my staff being attacked, I would never have expected any of them to put themselves in harms way, no matter how hard they looked, or what might be stolen. Imagine how that manager would feel if Vinnie was attacked and killed by the thief, knowing that he was the one who told him to grab him.

Anyway, the police are paid to catch thieves, not shop staff - they do their bit by giving the police a good description etc (and they should have been trained how to do that, even if they are on minimum wage).

wombraider1

NO he shouldnt I am a security guard & I wont chase after anyone,mainly because the vast majority of security guards are on the minimum wage,or very close to it.Also they DONT get any overtime rates or shift premiums, eg same rate for nightshift as for dayshift.PAY PEANUTS ATTRACT MONKEYS,MINIMUM WAGE MINIMUM EFFORT.I HATE MY JOB.Security firms charge the retailers up to £32 per hour per guard,in turn they pay that guard the minimum wage or a few pence over it.Did you also know that ALL security guards actually have to pay to go to work !!! Strange but true,they have to be licenced & vetted by the SIA at a cost of £250 every 3 years,and the Security firm that your working for makes YOU foot that bill.What the guards need is a decent union to take them under their wing. Just my opinion.

Dave.:mad:

foreversomeday

Vinnie could chase the robber, in the hope of startling him into dropping the goods, but should not attempt to tackle him. If he is running out with obvious armfuls of goods he probably is a bit of an amateur anyway!

Vinnie and his manager should take a good look at the robber so that they can give an accurate description to police, who they should be in radio contact with anyway in a department store.

In my experience of working in retail, when a shoplifter was spotted in the town all the shops would be on alert with their radios working with the police to track him or her down, catch them in the act and let the community support officers deal with them. This was on a Saturday though, it might not have happened in the week.

weegie.geek

wombraider1 wrote: »

NO he shouldnt I am a security guard & I wont chase after anyone,mainly because the vast majority of security guards are on the minimum wage,or very close to it.Also they DONT get any overtime rates or shift premiums, eg same rate for nightshift as for dayshift.PAY PEANUTS ATTRACT MONKEYS,MINIMUM WAGE MINIMUM EFFORT.I HATE MY JOB.Security firms charge the retailers up to £32 per hour per guard,in turn they pay that guard the minimum wage or a few pence over it.Did you also know that ALL security guards actually have to pay to go to work !!! Strange but true,they have to be licenced & vetted by the SIA at a cost of £250 every 3 years,and the Security firm that your working for makes YOU foot that bill.What the guards need is a decent union to take them under their wing. Just my opinion.

Dave.:mad:

If that's the situation, I agree. I wouldn't have the first idea how to go around starting a union, but instead of being !!!!ed off about it why not go for it? And start a security firm who pay the guards a better wage while you're at it.

PhiltheBear

weegie.geek wrote: »

Ah, an armchair have-a-go hero. Never actually had a knife pulled on you, have you?

I have. I also used to teach self defence. But would I tackle a fleeing thief? Not a chance. In fact, I had someone burgle a garden shed. I shouted at him but I wasn't going to 'have a go'.

Why? One reason is the sort of treatment that the police hand out to people who do intervene - you may have read of the shopkeeper who was attacked, stabbed and then arrested for murder after the thief got killed. Another is that I suspect (rightly or wrongly) that most people who shop lift or mug or undertake aggressive theft are armed and although there's a theoretical better than 50-50 chance that I could disarm them there's also a chance that I could get killed or injured.

When it's for property (mine or someone else's) if some one wants it enough to take it then they can - because you can replace property whereas you may not be able to mend an injury properly.