Usually our shoplifter stories focus on being detained illegally or held at knifepoint by a rabid senior greeter who demands receipts*, but Target in Milwaukee toes the line when it comes to dealing with suspected theft. That’s why they fired a retired cop (warning: video) who stopped a teenager he saw stealing liquor for the second time in a month. He told her he’d seen her take rum a few weeks before and asked her what was in her bag this time. She showed him. He called her father. Target fired him because the store policy is that only certain managers can intercept shoplifters. We admire his attention to detail and desire to help, but we’re glad to see a Big Box retailer following its own policy.
Babcock seems like a nice guy, and we hope he finds a more suitable job soon. We also hope that when Babcock was on the force, his partner’s name was Goobcock, because that would make any reasonable criminal have a good laugh.
*Claim might be slightly exaggerated.
“Target Security Guard Fired After Stopping Shoplifter” [Fox 6 Milwaukee] (Video) (Thanks to Nicholas!)
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Well, the girl was sure dumb for showing some two-bit rent a cop what was in her bag. Unless he saw her take something that particular time, he had no right to detain and search her. Perhaps they fired him out of fear that his overzealousness exposed them to too much liability.
I’m certainly anti-harassment when it comes to checking receipts and stuff, but when you’ve stolen something and they KNOW you’ve stolen something you should be glad they called your dad instead of the cops. WHY did they hire the security guard if he wasn’t supposed to stop shoplifters?
This story annoyed me more than the Home Depot one some months back. I understand store policy and not wanting to endanger employees, but this guy was a security guard; isn’t stopping shoplifters basically their main job responsibility? If wonder if this is Target’s policy only when the shoplifter is still around, and not when she’s running out of the store.
@Alex Chasick: Actually, having worked retail, it is the job of employees and security to discover shoplifting, and take notes as to the circumstances (description of person, car, item taken, how they saw it being shoplifted, etc.) It is generally not their job to “stop shoplifters.” That is the job of sworn police officers, based on the information that staff provide.
I do hope this guy gets a job. But I hope he better understands what his job is next time too.
I’m going to do all my shoplifting at this Target!
Target sells rum?
Any rum Target would sell would not be worth stealing. Headache in a bottle I’m sure.
So why do they even hire security guards if the only ones who can actually do anything are “certain managers”?
What exactly is the point of a security guard OTHER than to detain shoplifters?!?
@humphrmi: Exactly. This is for the safety of the employees.
@morganlh85: Take description of suspect. Take down plates or means of escape. Report said information to the police.
@humphrmi: Well I see a solution to this problem. When they hire security guards, train them so they can detain people if the time calls for it.
And act as a deterrent.
this is dumb. there is a difference between letter of the law and spirit of the law. The rule is there so every clerk isnt stopping people for no reason, or by mistake. Its also there so jobs are defined. When you have an ex-cop working there, especially as security, how can you bust his chops for this? Maybe take him aside and remind him every time just for show or something, dont fire him. Morans!
@humphrmi: I get you, that just seems weird with security guards too. If a store associate and a security guard have the same restrictions in dealing with shoplifters, why not get replace the security guard with another associate who can do retail things too?
On a different note, when I lived in New Orleans, I was surprised that many/most of the store security guards were strapped. I wonder if their guns are just for decoration (I hope so).
@Alex Chasick: When I used to hang out in the (Pitt) University District in Pittsburgh, all the hang-outs had off-duty cops carrying heat too. I always wanted to ask why, but never had the guts, for fear that I might get a live demonstration
.
It does seem counter-intuitive, but the rules are there for a reason. The courts change the rules of evidence and standards for arrest and detention all the time. Even a retired cop is not getting up-to-date information on new arrest procedures and rules, but sworn police officers get updates every day. One minor mistake and the suspect goes free. The store wants to recover, they don’t want their case thrown out of court on a technicality. Also, as others said, it’s a safety issue.
When I worked retail in the 80′s we were suppose to call security to the area to watch the suspected shoplifter. The rule at the time was that security or the cameras had to catch the shoplifter in the act. Nothing could be done because an associate saw the crime. It had to be security that witnessed the crime. Seems odd that they now require managers to be the one to do the work that security is suppose to do. The only problem I see in the description is that the security guard didn’t wait for the girl to leave the store before apprehending her for theft.
Stupid, the girl was shoplifting. Part of what is wrong in america, we are so concerned about political correctness that we can’t even be who we are anymore, sickening.
They took this VERY seriously.
I have to side with target on this one. The guy is an idiot for taking a job as a security guard and thinking he actually needs to provide security. You can’t let employees run wild like this. Next thing you know you’ll have cashiers who actually think they need to ring me up. Thanks target for putting your foot down and letting them know that going that extra mile is never a good idea.
I’m all for consumers and generally as annoyed with companies as the next guy, but I’d like to know when the Consumerist changed its name to the Criminalist? Are you so anti-business that you’d have every company in the country throw open its doors and let the thieving free-for-all begin? Why do people think they have the right to steal and not be confronted by the companies from whom they steal? A business is a private organization, and as such should be legally able to protect its private property (which remains theirs until a mutually agreeable exchange is made– usually in the form of a monetary transaction). Sure it might not be the best decision (or safest) for their employees, but it ought to be their right. If I have a garage sale and someone tries to load up a table worth of my goods, am I supposed to simply watch? Take down his license plate, or help him load his truck? Give me a break.
I’d prematurely end my Target boycott if they sold booze here, principles be damned!
I wish stores’ policies allowed a little leeway in this area. I know why they don’t, and I completely understand, but this guy rocks all kind of ass for stopping her. I might not be saying this if there wasn’t alcohol involved, but the fact that she was stealing rum is really worrisome to me (oh motherhood, what hath thou done to me…. “Eat your veggies, wash behind your ears, STOP STEALING THE ALCOHOL!”). The only teens I’ve known who had to resort to shoplifting to get sloshed… were alcoholics :
I moved a few months ago and went with a friend to Target to get a TV/entertainment stand. We picked up the box and headed off to the check out. We made it about 20 feet when an employee seen us carrying it and flipped out and insisted we set it down. That they didn’t allow customers to carry heavier stuff, which makes sense I guess once I thought about it.
She said the security guard had to carry any larger/heavier items to the check out and then out to your vehicle. At the time I thought it was weird that the security guard was the store employee designated for that job.
I didn’t ask if that was an official Target policy for that position or just something the poor security guard got stuck with.
We were more amused that this poor 160lb guy had to carry this 120lb stand while my friend (270lb) and I (240lb) had to just watch him struggle with it.
@Pylon83: You do realize that if it wasn’t for security guards, all the criminals in the world would overrun police forces. The world needs security guards.
@ianmac47: All the Targets I’ve been to in the last year sell alcohol.
what kind of crap-ass pension plan does the delavan police force have that a retired cop is working at target?
this guy is my hero b/c he called her dad. old school cops rock.
Having done security in all kinds of capacities, the most asinine thing for some retailers is the concept of “You are a visual deterrent.” Whenever I’d hear that, it was time to request a transfer.
@Wynner3: Agreed.
He didn’t call the police, he called kid’s parents!
(It’s probably for the best, instead of getting a record, the kid will get a long speech and tighter parent’s surveillance, thus education).
He didn’t arrest the kid (And young kids/teens tend to be afraid of any authority : parents, teachers, security guards, etc.)
So the policy, technically, DOES NOT APPLY IN THIS CASE.
Gotta support the security guard here. He did the right, proper, moral and ethical thing. America would be a better place if more people did the right thing. I’d do it. The rule in the US is kids don’t by liquor. Kids who buy liquor tend very much get binge drink, get shitfaced and kill people with cars , in numbers completely out of proportion to their population.
You people are overwhelmingly arguing for “look the other way”, and “it’s not my porblem, not my responsibility” and don’t get involved.
Way to stand up for the right thing, Consumerists! You guys rock!!
.max
“We admire his attention to detail and desire to help, but we’re glad to see a Big Box retailer following its own policy.”
If this blog *really* happy Target fired a security guard for stopping a shoplifter?? Wow…
@betatron:
I disagree. I think most of the comments here that are against the guards actions are saying that he should have let her go and called the cops, not that he should have looked the other way.
This story is ridiculous. It just shows how pussified stores are now-a-days because of the sue happy society we live in. It almost seems stores do not care about theft unless it is physical money being stolen. Not to mention this girl was stealing alcohol (underage), and could have ended up a lot worse. Hopefully this guy can get a better job somewhere.
I worked as a security guard for years & let me tell you….. it s a miserable & thankless job.
Most every one hates you. Customers/thieves hate you. Management often hates you because they hate paying you for what they often consider a job where you basically do nothing. I have been called “easy money”, “barney fife”, “doorknob-jiggling monkey” …. all by management types.
The ONLY time you are not hated is when someone wants you to walk them out to their car.
ANd if you DARE to do your job by stopping someone from stealing & they threaten to sue…. you are often immediately “let go” by management. They drop you like a hot rock to avoid even the possibility of a lawsuit.
Its a miserable, mindnumbing, potentially dangerous, thankless job & am glad I got out of the industry.
She was 16!
Hopefully it made some sort of impression on her.
I bet if this gentleman saw a kid stealing a candy bar he would have contacted a manager and filled out the necessary paperwork, or even looked the other way, but it was a 16 year old girl stealing tequila.
Remember, he’s got to live with himself. Most kids that age are not smart about alcohol, and knowing that one less dumbass is out there with a bottle of booze is the best part of this story.
@forgottenpassword:
and I just wanted to point out that I was not one of those ball-busting, gung-ho, power-tripping dickhead security guards (there are a LOT of those in the security industry).
I’m confused. How did him getting fired help us? Maybe its that I have not been living in disneland long enough or am too dense.
@betatron: Nah, I think I’m the only one saying what Target did is correct. And I know how ridiculous that sounds, because Babcock did the right and honorable thing and blah blah blah. On the whole, however, I’m happy that companies have rules that prevent me from being stopped any time a security guard decides I look suspicious.
This story is an extreme one because it’s so obvious the girl was doing something illegal and Babcock behaved in almost a grandfatherly way (I mean that as a good thing). It made the news precisely because it was such a heart-tugging story with a character who gave good screen time, and because in the grand scheme of things his “puishment” was idiotic because he was right and she was wrong. But if we could post more “store overreacts in favor of the customer” stories like this one and less “customer gets screwed by overzealous store martinet” stories, I’d be happy. And at that point I’ll join the crowd and lambast Target.
@forgottenpassword:
Oh , I forgot to add…. that cops often hate security guards as well, because they often assume security guards are unprofessional cop-wannabes who couldnt become a cop. And because cops get paid very good money moonlighting as security guards , so security guards often take those moneymaking opportunities away from cops.
There was a local class action lawsuit (that won) against the police commission in the city I worked in years ago because it was found that they were charging outrageous license fees to discourage non-cops from becoming security guards. Cops & retired cops that moonlighted as security guards didnt need a license.
I don’t know about that Target, but the one I work at only AP(Assests Protection), can stop someone. Team Members can contact AP if they see or suspect something, they themselsves can’t do anything. Also the person in AP has to be certified, so even if they are working and they see something they can’t do anything unless they are certified.
At least that’s what my AP Team Leader has said to me.
Yea, woohoo! 5 finger discount at your local Target! The security gaurds are there to help you shoplift!
I’ll remind folks that she was stealing alcohol… if she’d gotten away with it, a bunch of people would be pitching a fit because she was a minor with alcohol from a store and they didn’t stop her.
@Chris Walters:
I have to ask, and I know I’m going to take flak for this but would you have posted a story critical of Target for not having tight enough security if the girl had managed to steal the rum, and ended up causing an accident because she had driven drunk? Or had gotten alcohol poisoning, etc?
It bothers me that a lot of the time people on this site go after companies for not bending their policies when it affects them directly, but in this case you and others want Target to go by the exact letter of the policy when by all appearances the security guard was trying to do the right thing. No disrespect intended towards you Chris, just my two cents.
10 years ago when I worked at K-Mart security was allowed to stop the shoplifters. The only rule was they had to walk out the door without paying for the items. And as a Supervisor I had the ‘pleasure’ of sitting in on way too many of those awkward conversations with parents if it was a kid. I even had to help bust one of my sister’s friends… that sucked.
Impression the underage girl took away from this: the security guards are NOT supposed to care you robbed the place and will be fired if they stop you. As long as you avoid those annoying manager types in their offices you are in the clear.
Sure the guy should have gotten a slap on the wrist for not notifying the manager (he saw her steal before so he could have called the manager out just in case) but firing is a little harsh and sends a message to the young girl.
@renegadebarista: I personally would have posted a story critical of Target if they’d stopped and harassed a person for suspected shoplifting. For the kind of story you’re suggesting, I’d only go after it if there was some angle on how extremely negligent the store had been.
I just don’t think you can have it both ways–you can’t expect stores to have polices that ensure we’re each free to go about our business without being harassed or held against our will by authority figures, and at the same time say those policies don’t matter when “common sense” comes into the picture. Call me a misanthrope, but I don’t trust “common sense” to be all that common or even shared.
Is it too hard to say that Target is right for following policy, and Babcock is right for doing what he did? The cost of being in that position is you have to follow policy. I think Babcock did the right thing by deciding to, in effect, abandon his job and use the moment to intervene in a young person’s life. I sincerely hope he’ll find a job that gives him more leeway to help people. And I hope Target will stick by its strict policy on how to approach and detain suspected shoplifters. (It’s safer for the store employees, too.)
@unravel:
As a parent, the alcohol part is also my main concern. This girl is 16, and therefore legal to drive. What if she got drunk and then drove a car with a bunch of her friends into a phone poll? What if she drove into a school bus? Stealing alcohol isn’t just a property crime against the store, it circumvents the primary control we have over the distribution of a potentially dangerous drug.
If MADD or any class-action lawyers are out there listening, maybe you should research if and drunk driving crashes resulted from Target or another big box store’s lax shoplifting enforcement.
@Shadowfire, renegadebarista: There’s no hypocrisy here. There would have been no story if he hadn’t been fired, even if he had followed the policy and something bad happened. She’d still be guilty of committing theft, so the blame would be with her. (And there may be more to his life at Target than he related. Who knows?)
I will award you a gold star if you can find a story on the Consumerist that complains about an ill result from a store’s most-customers-are-not-criminals security policy. The energy is almost universally directed towards overly-paranoid employees who don’t know the law.
@Chris Walters:
Wow. For once I actually seem to agree with you. I think that you’re right in stating that it’s important that stores have policies in place so that they are not stepping into territory that would put their guards in the position of using their “gut” when stopping and searching people. Unless he saw her put the alcohol in her bag, he had absolutely no right to stop her. Unfortunately for her, she was too stupid to say “No, you can’t search my bag.” Target puts these policies in place for a reason: You can’t trust 99% of people to use “common” sense, as most people simply don’t possess it. If you don’t like the policy quit (or don’t follow it and get fired). Target was right here.
@CyGuy: The primary source of alcohol for kids is not by stealing from stores [www.alcoholpolicymd.com] . I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not even a significant source. It’s a lot harder than getting it from parents, friend’s parents, older siblings, friend’s older siblings…
Interesting. I’ve never seen a Target with alcohol. All the ones I’ve ever been in don’t even sell cigarettes. However, I have seen a whole aisle of liquor and wine at a Wal-Mart in New Orleans.