
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 3, 1990                   TAG: 9004030240
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TRACY VAN MOORLEHEM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SHOPLIFTING EXPERTS SHOW THEIR STUF

Linda and Phyllis are successful shoplifters. They move calmly and efficiently across the store floor, stopping to browse at racks of clothing and to exchange pleasantries with sales clerks.

Linda strikes up a conversation with one clerk, in fact, while Phyllis covertly slips merchandise into a plastic bag she has carried into the store in her pocket. By the time they are ready to leave, Linda has $700 worth of wool suits and silk blouses.

But Linda and Phyllis are not finished; to support their heroin habits, they each must steal $1,500 worth of merchandise per day, seven days a week.

Linda and Phyllis are not their real names, but these two women are real enough. Miami, right? Or New York City?

Both have been convicted of shoplifting several times in Roanoke and surrounding towns. Their convictions earned them the title of shoplifting experts, and Leggett department stores hired them three years ago to, well, steal. On film.

At a crime prevention seminar sponsored by the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce Monday at Tanglewood Mall, Leggett shared the film with sales clerks and managers from area stores.

Bill Taylor, a special agent of the state police, estimated that 70 percent of shoplifting in the Roanoke Valley and the nation is drug-related. He attributes this to the popularity of "designer drugs," manufactured narcotics that carry a high price tag.

After showing the videotape, Leggett loss prevention officer Sheila Tyree led several mock shoplifting demonstrations, showing common ruses and correct procedures to follow after spotting a shoplifter. After a "suspect" was arrested in the final demonstration, Roanoke County Commonwealth's Attorney Skip Burkart and several volunteers staged a mock trial.

Burkart also explained that a clerk does not have to wait until suspects leave the store to question them. "As soon as something is concealed, it is a crime," he said. After the suspect leaves the store, however, the crime is called petty larceny instead of concealing.

Sgt. Al Brown of the Roanoke Police Department gave pointers on how to avoid bad checks. He urged stores to select one manager or clerk to OK checks so that bad-check writers can be identified.

"There's more money lost with a pen than with a gun," said Brown. However, Burkart added, about 90 percent of check writers who are brought to court make restitution.

Dalphney Hamlette, a manager at Merry Go Round in Valley View Mall, has eight years of experience with shoplifters and has been a witness in shoplifting cases.

"I've never lost one," she said.

Does she follow a formula for spotting prospective shoplifters? "You're a little suspicious of everyone . . . you have to be."

by CNB