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Theft!
Student smuggles a Magic Marker into his shirt at Athens
drugstore, as store manager looks away. Many small thefts go
undetected because merchants don't want trouble.
St intent Shoplifting
A shot' senes as a convenient hiding place maintain the policy of prosecuting the ac
tor some shoplifting students. Most stores cused to the maximum.
Athens Merchants Report Shoplifting ,
Students Steal from Local Businesses
By JOYCE SNYDER
Whether its done out of need,
out of want, or out for kicks —
students steal more than their
share from Athens merchants
The students are joined by pro
fessional shoplifters, all milking
Athens of thousands of dollars
annually.
Shoplifters will steal most any
item, but mostly ready to wear
merchandise. The dressing room
serves as the lifters ally in
many places. A shopper may
bring four bathing suits into the
fitting room to try on. put on two
suits on top of each other, then
put on her street clothes. Coming
out of the dressing room, the lif
ter returns two suits to the sales
clerk, explaining they do not fit
— and walks out of the store
wearing two under her dress
Easiest Swiped
Dry goods displayed outside
the counter are the most accesi-
ble to the shopping thief. Stores
featuring open displays of jewel
ry on racks, gift items, and col- |
ognes suffer heavy losses.
Thiefs can emply many ways
in the stealing of merchandise
One ladies' ready-to-wear shop in
Athens complains of the practice
of changing price lags. A woman
may switch the tags of two
dresses there by purchasing a
highly priced dress at an inex
pensive price.
How to Lift
Coat pockets, shopping bags
and purses are the most popular
receptables for stolen goods. One
young man stole a pair of shoes
by smuggling it in a laundry bag
filled with dirty clothes. Another
lady filled a shopping cart full of
merchandise and was stopped
shortly after she went out the
door.
Professional thieves learn to
carry things concealed on var
ious parts of their bodies and
make “Harpo Marx bags”, with
enormous pockets and retract-
ble springs for retrieving
Romantic Approach
Captures Fashion
Girls pick your role and play it! Fashion this season dic
tates no special now look'. Rather, several new styles have
evolved to (it vour many moods.
The depression era has been romanticized into a booming
fashion fad. The movie "Bonnie and Clyde'' has caused a revo
lution back to the pleats, berets, and belted hip jackets of the
thirties.
Lots of brass on leather outfits make the "western" look
one of the most outstanding of the fall season. Skirts and vests
or jumpers and blouses are shown in plastics also, featuring the
crepe blouse with billowy sleeves and a wide, pointed collar
As long as there are little girls, there will be a young and
innocent approach to fashion White starched cuffs and collars,
tiny floral prints, and lacy pantaloons go together to make the
"baby doll" look one of the most popular ones for all seasons.
Pastel patent leather flats and small matching patent leather
shoulder bags look great with this schoolgirl approach
Speaking for the other side of the fashion story comes the
low necklines and high skirtlines that make that "all woman
look" an all time favorite.
[Killc\ Henry's reports $1,000 a
year in losses which are re
covered with approximately
The professional shopliltersl $2,500 a year going undetected
find it more profitable to travel] ,,
in groups for the purpose of Mimv stores use complicated
overpowering the salespeople. It devices to catch shoplifters
is harder to observe an attempt Slanted mirrors and television
to steal when a clerk has live! cameras aid merc hants ol larger
people to watch
ment.
in her depart
stores to spot thieves.
Beating the System
ter is probably a business or pro-
fessional man earning over |
$15,000 yearly.
Most of these shoplifters re
ceive a sizable allowance and|
have enough money to buy any
Hung she needs When caught I
they usually have enough money I
on them to pay for what they I
have stolen.
Miller’s Discount Department
Store has an estimated shoplift
ing loss of $15.000-$20.000 yearly.
The majority of these shopping
center thieves are reportedly
women, approximately 1 out of 10
being students.
Treatment ol Lifters
To avoid mistakes resulting in
slander suits. Miller’s employs a
policy on shoplifters us«*d by
many large stores. The suspect
is stopped and questioned only if
he is out of the store or if the
suspect conceals the mercliandise
inside the store. If a shoplifting
situation occurs, the suspect is
taken to the office, to have his
legal rights explained to him and
for questioning.
Curbing Theft
One very useful method of
urbing thefts is used by Heerv’s
Clothes Closet, a women’s spe
cialty shop. When a student is
caught stealing, an attempt is
made to retain the merchandise*
Then* is no attempt at prosecu
tion however the store must re
ceive a letter from the parents of
the student acknowledging the
fact that they know their child
lias attempted to steal. This rem
edy to the situation is very suc
cessful. as most do not return to
steal a second time. Despite this
Most youngsters think of shop
lifting as a game. Some call it
'beating the system'. Getting
caught could be a way of getting
the attention that some lack at
home. It never occurs to them
that stealing a thirty-dollar dress
is no different from stealing thir
ty dollars out of a cash register
The typical teen-age shoplifter
in the United States is a girl
Gii la out number boys by about
20 to one in this particular area
of crime, because* the young fern
ale devotes considerably more
time* to legal shopping tex>.
Catching Lifters
Average ages for shoplifters
an* 15 and 16 years old for girls,
and 12 to 14 years old for boys
The father «>i the typical shopiii
An Athens Book store has
ruk* that no books are to be car-|
ried into the store. By tliis
mt*ans, shoplilting losses arel
kept at a minimum as rarely are]
any bex>ks stolen.
Pilfering Pens
The most thefts at this book I
sure are of small items such as
easers and Bic pens. If observeel |
stealing i high priced item the
customer is told to [wv for it or I
put it back'.
If the customer is observed I
trying to steal a small item such
as a pen. the problem is usually |
ignored.
Asked what his greatest loss I
due to shoplifting was. the man- [
ager of this store replied, ‘a cou
ple hundred dollars in Bic pens”
Fashions From
(ouptrej (di
Also Maternity
dsuals
PRETTY, FEMININE, STYLED TO PLEASE YOU|
* Dresses # Evening Weor
* Suits ★ Raincoats
* Sportswear ★ lingerie Op«n Fr. NightII
it Accessories T »l 9 00
North Ave at By Pass Jeanette Jones, Owner
MR. HAIRCUT
OPEN-SIX DAYS EACH
WEEK
— 7:30 AM-6:00 PM
YES-We are open all day on
Wednesday!
TWO CONVENIENT LOCATIONS
MR. HAIRCUT# 1
346 >/2 E. BROAD
MR. HAIRCU7 # 2
BAXTER ST. SHOPPING CENTER
liKKClIVkOOD
BURTON’S
SEMI-ANNUAL
LADIES
Summer Shoe
SALE
CONTINUES
buy 1 pair at regular price and huy second pair
of equal value or less j of $|o0
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• Miss Wonderful • Sabrina
• Hill & Dale • Piccolino
• Divinia • Kdith Henry
• Andrew (.filer
Special Group ol Ladies Loafers
• Lady Bostonians •Bass Weejmis
m
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Fr. Until 9 00 PM.
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**“•*■* Phone 546-6761)
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