NJ Women wanted to steal – Here’s what stopped her

I've seen my fair share of theft attempts in my days when I worked in retail. I've seen customers attempt it when I worked at the employee level, as well as the management level.

I've even seen it where one of our own keyholders stole cash directly from the store safe. That incident occurred when I wasn't yet on the management or keyholder level. I was in charge of inventory back then when we started noticing cash missing from the safe.

Long story short, we investigated the issue and set up a trap to see if the suspected keyholder was indeed taking the cash. And sure enough, he was. After he was caught he was promptly fired.

But before he got out the front doors for the last time, he turned back and said something along the lines of... "I got you guys good!" I remember that all too well.

That incident, of course, is different from what a customer might steal. But it does go to show theft like this can happen at any level, employee or not.

New Jersey retailers, for example, are constantly battling theft at all levels. Perhaps not at the level as the above example since most people don't have access to store safe. But when it comes to store merchandise, anything is fair game.

I'm still friends with old coworkers who still work in retail, and there's one particular incident that one of my friends witnessed that showed that sometimes people with intentions to steal ultimately take the right path with their decision-making.

This particular big-box retailer sells batteries. According to my friend, this woman went to the battery section on the side of the registers looking at the shelf. He was working the front of the store at the time and had a decent view of where she was.

At one point he noticed her grabbing a pack of batteries and saw her put it in her purse. But just as quickly as she put them in, he saw her reach down, take them out, and put them back on the shelf.

Now maybe this woman got nervous that eyes were on her and caught on. Or maybe the thought of being caught outweighed the need to steal and she ultimately decided not to do it.

My friend said he did notify the manager, but the woman left the store without purchasing anything by the time he got up there. Now, is it possible she might've stolen something else? Maybe.

But being she put the batteries back on her own and stood there for a while beforehand makes you think that it was probably a one-off and she came to the realization that it wasn't worth it. Or, as mentioned above, she realized eyes were on her.

For other customers, it might not end like this. In fact, far too many will follow through and get away with it. I remember that I was never allowed to approach or stop a customer even if we witnessed them take something. And with the holidays right around the corner, don't be surprised to see some of New Jersey's biggest retailers put extra security on the most commonly stolen items from their stores.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.