Cape stores will be on lookout for Black Friday thieves

'Tis the season for long lines, people camping for days outside a store waiting to get a good deal, and for thieves looking to take advantage of maximum shopping populations and a busy retail workforce.

"You still get customers who love the excitement and the instant gratification. We want to make it as easy and fun and exciting as everybody hopes," Wal-Mart asset protection manager Renee Fischer said of the upcoming Black Friday. "You never encounter the same thing twice. Sometimes you think you've seen it all, but you haven't seen it all."

The Wal-Mart Supercenter at 3439 William St. in Cape Girardeau is one of the busiest stores in the Midwest. Fischer said the store is usually one of the tops in the division, which includes all of St. Louis, and is expecting at least $1 million in sales on Black Friday.

She also expects shoplifters to try to take a cart of goods straight out the front door or for women to fill large, empty purses to the brim. Fischer is going to look for people who seem nervous, maybe taking a few extra glances around. She's going to be suspicious of anyone who brings in a backpack. She's going to be watching closely certain departments, such as electronics.

"A lot of it is instinct," Fischer, who has been asset protection manager for seven years, said. "You have to watch people."

Fischer has been told by local police the Wal-Mart surveillance system is the best in town. On top of that, the store will employ off-duty police officers and a third-party security company on Black Friday.

Cape Girardeau Police Lt. Bradley Smith said the department will begin Holiday Direct Patrols on Black Friday and continue through Dec. 26. Customers should expect to see patrol cars in front of stores and mall parking lots more often. Officers will perform store walk-throughs. Smith said the intent is to deter shoplifting and burglaries in store parking lots. Officers are also meant to assist with the increased traffic in the west William Street area.

Smith said the department usually deals with two to three shoplifting reports from retailers daily during the regular year.

"The volume of people shopping, there's an opportunity of confusion," Smith said. "If somebody sees something suspicious, call us."

One of the stores with increased security presence will be Best Buy, at 3026 William St. Asset Protection specialist Kadeem Hammonds said the store will have a police officer inside all day on Black Friday and two asset-protection employees.

Hammonds said one of the tricks people tried to use last year was cutting bar codes off items in the hopes a busy store would influence clerks to push them through without checking to see whether the codes were scanned. He also is on the lookout for customers who steals items, returns them, then using the store credit. Best Buy will not give cash back without a receipt.

"People take advantage of Black Friday," Hammonds said. "We're on high alert for all of that on Black Friday."

West Park Mall site supervisor Joe Childress said he will be aware of shoplifting and other illegal activity in the next few weeks, although he is not sure whether there necessarily is more shoplifting during the holidays.

"Those who are going to steal are going to steal," Childress said. "All the stores are on high alert."

Even smaller retailers are on the lookout Black Friday and during the holiday shopping season. Lisa Hester, store manager at Cato at 2136 William St., will look for anyone trying to take smaller items, such as jewelry, and removing plastic security tags in changing rooms or in the store. Hester said she has decreased thefts in her store by half in part by training her employees what to look for and shaming customers to act right.

"Oh, that necklace you had would really look good with this dress," Hester said of an example when she saw a customer take an item. "Oh, did you put that back over there?"

Hester also echoed the sentiment of most retailers on Black Friday.

"We'll be watching," she said. "We watch everybody on Black Friday."

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address: 3439 William St, Cape Girardeau, Mo

3026 William St., Cape Girardeau, Mo

2136 William St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.