Should Feel Good About Three Easy Grabs Right? ...I Don't.

Sitting before the monitors in the office, I just happened to be scanning through cameras in the Health and Beauty Department, when into the aisle walks three young girls. The Red Flag painted on these girls was the fact that they were hustling quickly down the aisle, and turning back looking behind them, as if they wanted to see if anyone was watching. Two of the girls were carrying items already in their hands, while the third was carrying a back pack and a shopping bag from a different store. They all turned behind the end of the counter, out of view of the camera, and paused, as if hiding from view. At this point I left the office and headed toward their location. Just as I walked into the adjacent aisle, I could hear the girls, and one actually encouraged the others...

"Here, back here, there are no cameras here."

Although she was right, no cameras were mounted in that aisle, there was a camera a few aisles over pointed right at them. Not to mention, the Loss Prevention Manager was standing in the next aisle watching their every move through the overhead mirror. And it was in this aisle that they decided to place all of their newly selected merchandise into the shopping bag from the mall nearby. They left this department and scurried to the rear of the store into the stationary department. I left them alone briefly and called for the Assistant Manager and advised her what I had seen, and that I was planning on stopping the girls when they try to leave. I quickly slipped behind the Service Desk and picked up a security tag, which activates the alarms at the exit, and slipped it into my back pocket.

After a few minutes of hiding behind the Easter flower display, with one eye on the girls, they started their move toward the front of the store. I looked to my right across the front of the store, and saw the Assistant Manager, as well as the service desk employee awaiting my signal. I waved to them to tell them the girls were coming toward us, and turned toward the register as if I was checking out.

Just as they approached, the three girls split up, and two went to a register while the third, carrying a back pack and the shopping bag, turned toward the exit. I quickly walked through the register line and got to the door just as the girl did. As soon as I stepped into the doorway, the tag in my pocket tripped the alarms, and everyone came to a stop. I turned to the girl carrying the bags, who's eyes were now the size of silver dollars.

"Oh that must be something they forgot to deactivate, we'll have to check that bag, have your receipt?" I said to her so fast she had no idea where I even came from, or who I was.

"This bag isn't mine! I found it! I was bringing it up here to give to somebody!" the girl rattled off nervously. I responded just as quickly...

"Oh cool! You found it in here somewhere? Thanks!"

I took the bag of stolen merchandise and handed it to the sevice desk employee and asked him to look through it to see if any of the merchandise was ours...knowing without a doubt there was. As I was talking to the first girl, up come the second two, trying to walk around us with their purchases. I put out my arm and told them to hold up. They stopped, but not without an argument.

"What? We bought this stuff, look here is our receipts! We have money!" To top it all off, one of the girls began yelling at me...

"I am not a thief! I'm not!"

I scooped them all together and had them follow me to the detention room. There I began recording their information. As usual, the first round yielded three false names, two false date of births and two false phone numbers. I chuckled when the third girl had trouble spelling "Crutchfield" as her own last name. After I explained that the police would be called if I couldnt notify their parents, the information changed a bit. I then got real names, and real phone numbers.

I pulled all of the stolen merchandise from the shopping bag and placed it out on the desk. I asked if anyone had any more that belonged to us. The answer was no from all three.

As I was walking the first girl out to meet her parents, she advised me that the girl with the back pack still had stolen stuff in her bag, specifically, three more large packs of chewing gum. I thanked her for being honest and hustled back to the office.

"Okay, I just reviewed the video," I advised the remaining two girls. "I will ask one more time... Does anyone have ANYTHING else on them, or hidden somewhere, that belongs to this store?"

Slowly, the first girl's hands reached for her backpack, and pulled out three large combo packs of chewing gum.

"Is there anything else you haven't shown me, I need the absolute truth here... keep in mind, I saw the video, I know the answer to this question already."

Again, the girl reaches deep into her back pack and pulls out a make up kit, slowly handing it over to me. When it was all said and done, I had collected a loot worth a total of $45.00. I explained to the girls that had they stolen just five dollars more, I would be forced to contact the police department, and they would all be in handcuffs by now.

Waiting for the parents to arrive, it soon became apparent that these girls were more afraid of their parents, and their near future punishments, than what me or the police department would do. They even asked if I had kids, and what I would do to my kids if I got a phone call about them stealing. I muttered something about being grounded and having their phones taken away. They seemed shocked that my punishment was so easy to them.

"Would you beat them?"

I explained I would try never to beat my kids and that there is usually a better solution. They didn't understand that. One little girl looked up at me shyly...

"Wish you were my dad."

I wondered what was in this little girl's past that would make her think like that about a stranger, let alone a stranger who just caught her stealing.

"I'm gonna get beaten!" the two scared girls said in unison.

I was almost saddened that this was what these kids had to look forward to. Yes, they had done wrong, they admitted it, eventually, but was beating them the answer?

I grabbed the phone. It was the grandmother of one of the girls. She had received a message to call me and wanted to know what her granddaughter had done. After determining that she was the legal guardian of the girl, I explained the situation. Her response...

"You got a belt at that store?"