BILL FOR THEFT: MOST ESTIMATES PUT COST OF SHOPLIFTING AT $10 BILLION ANNUALLY

'Tis the season to be wary for many area retail merchants trying to protect their businesses from losses.

The increased number of shoppers crowding the stores between Thanksgiving and Christmas usually brings with it an increased number of shoplifters.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle has said that typically this time of year shows an increase in both shoplifting and bad check-passing cases coming through his office. He doesn't believe this year will be any different.

Shoplifting, though it sounds like a petty crime, costs American businesses billions of dollars each year. Most estimates put the cost of shoplifting at around $10 billion annually. Some estimates go as high as $15 billion.

Added to the cost of shoplifting are the losses from employee theft, administrative error and vendor fraud. These losses, known as inventory shrinkage, totaled an estimated $25.7 billion last year, according to the seventh annual National Retail Security Survey, released Wednesday.

Although the number is down 1.77 percent nationwide from the previous year, area businesses have been gearing up to combat the problem of shoplifting.

Jim Govro, general manager of Cape Girardeau's West Park Mall, said that mall security has sponsored in-house training for several of the stores to teach their employees how to recognize and prevent shoplifting. The training sessions -- which have been scheduled during the early morning, on Sunday afternoons or after hours -- have been conducted by John Grayson, executive security director for the mall.

On a recent Wednesday evening after closing, seven employees from Maurice's sat on the floor of the store listening for over an hour to Grayson's presentation.

Grayson -- who had previously worked as a police officer, an agent on the Federal Drug Task Force, a bodyguard and a department chain security chief -- told the employees of things to watch for when they suspect someone might be shoplifting.

One woman he helped catch would roll boys' jeans up and slip them beneath the full skirt she wore. When they caught her, he said, she had six pairs of tightly rolled jeans hidden in her stockings.

John Rich, loss prevention manager for JCPenney, said his store has beefed up security for the Christmas season, offering in-house training and putting more security guards on staff. The guards, however, won't be easily recognized because they will dress and act like just another shopper.

"The shoplifter tries to find the security just like security tries to find them. If we're going to catch them, we can't stand out," he said.

The security manager at Famous Barr, who wore blue jeans and sneakers to blend in better with the crowd, asked not to be identified to protect further his anonymity.

When not out on the floor circulating among the shoppers, he sits behind nine video monitors trying to detect signs of shoplifting.

Sometimes, he said, shoplifters give themselves away by carrying empty shopping bags or wearing bulky coats when it's warm outside. At other times, they try to run out of the store with an armload of merchandise.

"We always catch them. Not one has gotten away yet," he said.

The key to combating shoplifting, according to prosecutor Swingle, lies in the surveillance techniques used.

"The sophistication in catching shoplifters is what varies," Swingle said. "Some use vigorous surveillance and always prosecute. Others are slipshod and are stolen blind."

Cape Girardeau Police Cpl. Kevin Orr said one of the best ways to combat shoplifting is to greet customers and establish contact with them. Orr, who conducts annual seminars for local merchants under the auspices of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, said that providing attentive service removes the sort of privacy that shoplifters want.

Most important of all for merchants, Orr said, was establishing a policy of prosecution.

"Every time a person is caught, he should be prosecuted. It shows the community that the business is tough on shoplifters," he said.