Undercover security stroll aisles for thieves

The city's leading hypermarkets have hired undercover security staff in an effort to combat shoplifting.

Many hypermarkets in Abu Dhabi have employed plainclothes security personnel to catch shoplifters.

ABU DHABI // The city's leading hypermarkets have hired undercover security staff in an effort to combat a recent spate of shoplifting. At least two shoplifters were caught each day at Lulu Hypermarket in Al Wahda Mall, said PV Ajay Kumar, the store's general manager. "We have one person who roams the sales floor," said Mr Kumar. "If he sees someone stealing, he notifies management and the uniformed guards, who detain the shoplifter until the police arrive."

Last month, police arrested a woman in her 40s for stealing Dh400 (US$108.90) worth of merchandise from Lulu at Al Wahda Mall. "One of our security personnel saw her stealing," said Mr Kumar. "As she was leaving the store, she was detained by uniformed guards and brought up to management, who called the police. A short time later, the police arrived and took her to the police station." Also last month, two women who stole goods worth Dh4,000 from three shops at Al Wahda Mall were sentenced to one year in prison.

Both Lulu and Carrefour have hired undercover security personnel to patrol their aisles. At Carrefour in Marina Mall, a security guard employed by Al Jaber Co., which is under contract with Carrefour, said two store detectives patrolled the sales floor at all times, resulting in the apprehension of four shoplifters on most days. A Carrefour security manager, who was identified only as Imad, confirmed that store detectives were used by the company, but declined to reveal how many shoplifting incidents occurred each day.

Stores in Abu Dhabi have only recently started using plainclothes security personnel, who are not regulated by the Private Security Business Section (PSBS) of the Abu Dhabi Police's government and diplomatic protection department, which oversees the licensing of uniformed security guards. Rory Mallon, the regional manager for Group 4 Securicor, which has been operating in the UAE since 1994 and is one of the largest security service providers in the world, said: "Store detectives operate in a grey area which has yet to be regulated. The current laws regulate uniformed security guards, which have to pass an exam in order to be licensed."

Plainclothes officers from the Shabbya police station were assigned to Al Wahda Mall and called upon as needed, said Ibrahim Zaki, the mall's security manager. Each of the malls have similar agreements with the police. While individual stores hire undercover security staff, Al Wahda Mall does not. "Some stores in the mall have store detectives," said Mr Zaki. "Last month, two women were spotted stealing from one store. When mall security was notified, the two women were confronted by uniformed security personnel.

"Upon being searched, the women were found with over Dh4,000 worth of unpaid for merchandise, which had been stolen from three different stores. The police were notified and the women were prosecuted and sentenced to one year in prison. "Both women were teachers at a local college. They were dressed nicely and didn't look like thieves." A manager at Abu Dhabi Mall, who asked not to be named, said they dealt with about 10 shoplifting cases each month. "We simply ask the shoplifter to pay for what he has taken. If he cannot, we call the police."

Abu Dhabi Mall claims to have the most advanced closed-circuit television system of any mall in the UAE, with 200 cameras and a security control room that is continuously monitored by two guards. Mr Zaki said he would like to see a law similar to that used in some parts of the US enacted here, allowing merchants to sue shoplifters to recuperate some of the costs associated with hiring security. "Merchants often raise their prices to compensate for items that are stolen, so we all, as consumers, end up paying out of our own pockets for what dishonest people steal."

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