I read this article recently and it had me thinking back to our experience with Target’s problem with mass theft of simple items. In this article, it is explained that Tide laundry detergent is now being found as one of the most stolen items in several states. While big ticket items like iPads, flat screen televisions, and cell phones can be sold on the black market for a lot of money, simple goods like face razors, cosmetics, baby formula, and detergent are becoming the best items to steal, both for the ease of the robbery and also the potential monetary gain that can be made by selling these items to people that needs these types of goods on a regular basis but can’t afford the steep prices that stores try to get for them.
People will come into a store such as CVS, fill a cart full of the bright orange Tide bottles, and just book it out the store, normally with someone waiting just outside to help with the getaways. I wondered when I first started reading the article why it seemed that Tide was the only type of detergent that seemed to be getting stolen at these stores, but it makes sense that with the popularity and recognition of this bright orange Tide containers, possible buyers would be much more likely to purchase a name-brand item than some knock-off brand. With each bottle being able to be re-sold for upwards of $20, stealing a cart full of 15-20 bottles could yield hundreds of dollars in profit for those willing to take the risk of getting caught. I couldn’t believe that they finally caught a man and found him guilty of stealing over $25,000 in just Tide detergent!
Most likely this was probably going to feed a drug or alcohol problem, and if you don’t believe that, take a good look at the picture of the man at the bottom of the article.
I am interviewing for Target’s Asset’s Protection department right now and for the last few months have been amazed at how many people are unaware of the simple items that are stolen in huge quantities by people who are able to resell them for a great profit. I was in a Target over Spring Break with my father and was showing him the razor section, where all the items are now in huge, clear plastic Target boxes that must be taken off upon purchase and also which greatly reduce the number of these items they can hold on the shelf at once (the only way that
they are able to at all combat the problem of razor theft). I told my dad that by looking at these items, I was 99% sure that somebody was watching us on the camera at that exact moment. Then, suddenly, the entire store went completely dark, possibly caused by a power surge. I only thought about it later of how easy it would have been to have cleared out their entire stock pile of razors, had I only been a cold, hard criminal looking for financial gain.
When items like this are being stolen now as a way to pay for people’s drug addictions, there is a huge problem. This article mentioned that there was a drug raid and more Tide was discovered than drugs, and even that many of these robbers are using the Tide as currency for heroin and Meth on the streets. Even the cops are calling Tide “liquid gold” now and witnessing
many occurrences of exchanges of the detergent for drugs right in front of patrol vehicles. There has to be something done at the store level to prevent as much of this theft as possible, but this seems to be a huge issue when many of these items do not even have traceable barcodes or tracking numbers. This is truly one of the main reasons I am interested in getting involved in private surveillance such as Target’s Asset’s Protection and Loss Prevention program. There are obviously social and economic issues that are driving this huge surge in petty theft, but while many people thought that simple theft like this would be dealt with in minor court, prosecutors are now able to bump recidivists into much more serious charges that could really ruin a person or a family’s life. As much as it is going to be my job to prevent people from stealing items like razors or detergent, it is seriously sad that some people have no other way
of getting these items than by robbing stores like Target and CSV and hoping to get away with it.
My boyfriend works at Kohls and he recently told me about an incident in which a supervisor stole upwards of $30,000 in Levi jeans. She would return to the store around 3 AM when no staff was working and load up carts of the jeans then take them to her car at the loading dock entrance. What shocked me most about this story is that she got away with this for a few months before anybody realized the inventory was not matching up and decided to check the security tapes. Of course she was proven guilty and thrown in prison for a bunch of years with a bail so high that it would be impossible for anybody to realistically pay. What interests me most about this story and the recent trend in Tide laundry detergent thefts is that 1) even with such high end security, law enforcement is still in a cat and mouse game in which the crooks always seem to be one step ahead and 2) WHO is doing the stealing. In the case of the Levi jeans, it was an internal affair -- someone who had a leadership role in the company and abused her position to steal product. As for the Tide detergent, anybody who enters the store and is quick can get away with the theft.
ReplyDeleteI am slightly critical about HOW these thieves use the money they gain from their thefts. The article adamantly cited drugs as the reason for such a high degree of Tide stealing incidents. Thinking about the situation in El Dorado with increasing gentrification and people basically losing their homes due to the rise in living costs, I think the people that are in need of cheaper laundry detergent are also the people that may be willing to go great lengths to steal it. For anybody that has trouble getting a job in such a competitive economy, stealing may seem like the only option just to make ends meet every day. Admittedly, the woman that stole jeans at Kohl's already had a job. Still, situations are complicated. Maybe she was a single mother struggling because she has no additional form of income. Or maybe she was just trying to gain extra money for her own personal fulfillment. For some people, stealing is their job and it is justified in their minds because they have no other choice--corporate America is basically exploiting them with astronomically high prices anyway. I think the rise in thefts can also be viewed as a narrative showing the lengths people will go to exploit a system that promises to keep them down.
-KR
I am also critical of how the article views and connects the problem solely toward criminal behavior. The article ignores or avoids connecting the problem with broader social issues. It fails to mention that perhaps more people are unable to afford such necessary household items; consequently creating a greater demand on the “black market.” Thus, it is not only the needs of the “criminals” that are being met but the needs of law-abiding citizens that are struggling to make a living, having to rely on purchasing their household items via other markets. As more people face financial difficulties the demand of cheaper products via other markets such as craigslist increases.
ReplyDeleteThe other day I passed by CVS to purchase some deodorant. To my surprise the deodorant shelf was renovated with sliding shelves that only allowed one deodorant to be obtainable at a time and that were also pretty difficult to slide. I was shocked in how much strength it took to slide the shelf to obtain the deodorant I desired. It got me thinking: Am I that weak? Should I hit the gym more often? I was annoyed of how difficult it was to get a single bottle of deodorant, an expansive single bottle of deodorant! I’m not at all surprised that more people are purchasing their items on craiglist and increasing the demand for cheaper markets.
This may be the case in Eldorado as poverty proliferates. As affordable housing and public services diminish, the demand and purchase of cheaper household goods will increase, increasing the illegal sales of stolen name-brand goods. Thus, more and more marginalized people who steal or purchase such items will be criminalized for attempting to satisfy their needs through non legal methods.
-jelizondo
This blog post immediately sprung to my mind the cliche, "desperate times calls for desperate measures." I agree with the response above in that I believe the article largely ignores the broader cultural, economic, and social contexts in which the practice of stealing Tide detergent is taking place. After all, given the recent downturn in the economy both nationally and globally, it is simply misguided to assume that only hardened criminals or drug dealers are partaking in such activities. Nonetheless, Detective Harrison makes the bold claim, "these are criminals coming into the store to steal thousands of dollars of merchandise", suggesting that he believes that those who steal are doing so purely out of self-interest and/or malicious intent, as opposed to doing so out of economic necessity. Thus, as the city of El Dorado and Target begin to develop strategies to combat such behavior, they must bear in mind the larger societal issues at play. Rather than simply arrest and convict Tide thieves, the police department must work to address underlying problems such as poverty, unemployment, and the like--which I assume, at least to some degree, is contributing to increasing crime rates.
ReplyDelete-TM
KR (the first blog commenter’s) point about WHO is doing the stealing and the motivations behind the action is definitely an important one to make. Although the article did focus on Tide and related that theft to the drug trade, I think that policing theft in general is the bottom-line. Perhaps the consequences for theft aren’t as punitive in order to deter theft. Then again, KR also makes a good point about corporate America and their astronomically high prices. Both could be factors to the problem but out of the two, the former can be addressed by law enforcement.
ReplyDeleteMy best friend was caught stealing multiple outfits from Kohls a couple of years ago and although she seemed to have learned her lesson to never do it again, in terms of the policing aspect, all she got was a slap on the wrist (i.e., a fine and theft school). In addition, she was caught by an employee who was cleaning up the parking lot of shopping carts and noticed that some of the clothes she carried still had the “anti-theft” plastic thing attached to it. In other words, she walked right past security and she only got caught because she lowered her guard once she reached the parking lot.
Basically, she wasn’t the best thief. But in the story, policing didn’t really do much. In El Dorado, people from all walks of life have the capacity to steal. It could be a high school student or a mother on welfare. In this society, there isn’t too large of societal disapproval implemented towards theft. A large part of law enforcement also comes from society and its norms. While a Target is going to be built in El Dorado’s commercial district, the neighborhood is filled with street sex workers and a rising homeless population. I doubt these groups would go into policing each other against theft. Target may have its own security precautions, but the norms of theft and the severity of the consequences (even if the theft is on a base level) need to be addressed as well. They shouldn’t have to wait until someone steals $25,000 worth of tide or $30,000 of Levis jeans before the culprits are caught and punished.
-- JCAlcaraz
In economic terms, a product's inaccessibility can make it a commodity, creating a market not initially intended. So as surprising as it seems that Tide (or any other laundry detergent) would be considered liquid gold, it makes a lot of sense. Cleanliness is such an important factor upon which people are judged that to go without laundry detergent is to risk social and economic suicide. That people would go to such great lengths to meet a demand, not just for detergent, but also for social conformity, speaks to the importance of social sanctions as they relate to the inability to provide in this day and age.
ReplyDeleteThe rising gentrification in El Dorado has increased real estate prices and thus the cost of living for those who call it home. As such, many who were already unsteady financially have lost or are close to losing everything. And as another poster mentioned, desperate times call for desperate measures. If to make ends meet people need to steal bottles of Tide or buy them on the street in black market-style dealings, then so be it. Stealing may seem, in their eyes, to be a crime without a victim, especially where large corporations are concerned.
- IT