AS pilferage continues to plague the retail sector, industry players are forced to keep a close watch on big ticket items to reduce petty theft.

An inquiry by the Jamaica Observer into the reason behind empty Jamaica Mountain Peak (JMP) coffee bottles on supermarket shelves revealed that dishonest shoppers were targeting the product, forcing JMP proprietor Salada Foods to implement the dummy bottle initiative.

But, in addition to coffee, the smooth fingers of petty thieves have also targeted liquor, baby formula, honey and tin cheese, particularly during the Easter period when shelves are stacked with the item.

Director of Progressive Grocers and managing director of Brooklyn Supermarket Timothy Lym told the Sunday Observer that the issue of pilferage has plagued the sector for years and items with a high price tag are most targeted.

In Brooklyn Supermarket, particular items like coffee, honey and liquor are tightly locked away.

Lym said anywhere you observe items under lock and key it is usually as a result of safeguarding the items from theft.

Lym also added that high theft rates of particular items usually result from petty thieves thinking they can get the most money from the resale.

“Unfortunately we have to react to what they steal. Tomorrow it could be cereal. If they start stealing cereal we are going to have to do something about it. It could be syrup. We don’t know. Recently we had to start putting security tags on honey because honey became expensive. They were stealing honey like crazy. Anything that has a big ticket price on it —you have ruthless people who steal it and those who are willing to buy things that are cheap without realising they are buying stolen goods. As long as they can sell it to people who are willing to pay for it, they will do it,” Lym said.

During the interview, with the Sunday Observer, Lym referenced the recent social media video showing a woman allegedly stealing over $100,000 worth of liquor. He said incidents of this nature are often connected to outside criminal networks.

“These products aren’t stolen by the regular customer. These items are stolen by professional thieves. They are the ones that plague the supermarkets. They go around from supermarket to supermarket stealing. It’s a business for them. When a lady steals 12 bottles of Hennessey that is business. That is not saying, ‘Oh I want a drink and I don’t have enough money and I just want to enjoy myself’. That person has a network to dispose of all those stolen items. Those are the ones challenging us,” he said. “They are not going to take a cheese tricks or regular milk drink. They are taking things that have a high price item that they can sell at a discount and dispose of quickly. So those are the items we have to protect. Those are the ones that may have more security to get to than the regular grocery items. We don’t lock up spices or condiments. We don’t lock up garbage bags and tin foil. There’s no business in that for them. You’ll see those things open and unprotected. The majority of what we don’t lock up is those household item that don’t carry such a high value. Unfortunately, the ones that do carry a higher value are the ones targeted and hence we have to lock them up. We don’t know what items they are going to want until we start seeing them disappearing.”

Hi-Lo Food Stores declined to comment on the issue of the Jamaica Mountain Peak coffee theft and by large, general pilferage.

David Crooks, head of security at MegaMart, also mentioned that the thefts are usually connected to an organised network.

“The problem of pilferage is common to all the large and small supermarkets throughout Jamaica, with little variance from one store to the other. We maintain a database of all the shoplifters caught, and found that the same ones caught at the store at Waterloo Road will often times reappear in Portmore, Mandeville, and Montego Bay. It is safe to assume therefore than in addition to the opportunists, we are facing a challenge from professional, organised individuals and gangs. It has recently become necessary to detain all shoplifters caught, except children, and hand them over to the Constabulary,” Crooks said

While MegaMart does not lock away items except prescription drugs, items frequently stolen also include coffee, liquor, baby formula, honey and tin cheese, plus other items that are expensive.

“…Add all small expensive items that are easy to conceal and are of high value to the list. Doesn’t matter what they are — if they can be stolen, they will be stolen. Shoplifters will also consume some of the edible items such as chocolates and Ensure whilst in the store. We, however, have tried to create a more user-friendly experience for our customers, and therefore do not lock away anything except prescription drugs in our pharmacies,” Crooks said.

However, the head of security at MegaMart said that to mitigate theft, lots of money is spent.

“We spend a fortune on security cameras and other electronic protective measures, and guards that are either assigned to specific areas such as our liquor aisles, areas containing popular theft items, and general floor patrols, using both uniformed and plain clothes guards. The latter is necessary because shoplifters will often work in groups, identifying the uniformed officers and communicating their whereabouts to each other with cellphones,” Crooks said.

He added: “We have in excess of 300 security cameras in each of our four stores, some overt and others covert, not only to safeguard against shoplifting, but to protect our customers and their vehicles in the parking lots. This, unfortunately, is not a one time capital outlay, as we are constantly upgrading our systems and adding more and more to address the ever increasing threat levels. We have found it necessary to put security collars on all bottles of alcohol valued at over $1,000. These cost $270 each, and a quick stroll through any of our stores will show the fortune that is spent in this regard. The same applies to security tags that are placed on other merchandise. Then there is the recurring expenditure of the guard force and supervisors, which by the roughest of calculations, costs us upwards of $200,000 per day. This is the unfortunate cost of doing business, and with each passing month, the challenges become more severe.”