A Few Things That Really Piss Me Off Part 2...

I want to touch on a very um... touchy subject. But before I do, it is very important that I make a few quick but crucial disclaimers: The opinions I am about to express are that of myself alone and do not, in any way, reflect the opinions or policies of any past or current employer. Despite these opinions, I do not condone, nor will I participate in any behavior or conduct that violates company policies or any laws be they local, state, or federal. I am a firm believer and proponent of equal rights and the fair and equitable treatment of all people regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, religion, cultural background, or sexual orientation. With that out of the way, I'd like to discuss profiling...

Every company I've worked for has required me to read and sign a document that outlines the company's policy against the profiling of a subject based on any classification that is federally protected (age, race, gender, etc.) While I have signed these documents and policies as required to obtain employment, I have never once agreed with the policy and I'll try to explain why.

When someone thinks of racial profiling, they almost always think of a police officer pulling over a black driver in a mostly-white neighborhood- simply because the driver is black. I believe the term most often used is "DWB" or "driving while black." Countless criminal cases have been dismissed based on charges that the arresting officer did not have probable cause to initiate a traffic stop, and that such a stop was initiated solely on the basis of racial profiling. Lawsuits have been filed in relation to the same incidents and law enforcement agencies have paid out millions of dollars to settle these cases. It is for these reasons that private entities that often engage in the arrest or detention of alleged criminals have adopted anti-profiling policies and require their agents to sign off on them. But I argue that you absolutely can not compare the two capacities and the nature of our work is so different to the point where these anti-profiling policies can not be applied to us. A police officer has the ability to initiate contact with a citizen, without consequence, for the purpose of questioning them and investigating them and does not require any type of probable cause simply to talk to them. We, on the other hand, can not even speak to a subject unless we have satisfied our version of probable cause (the 5 steps.) Doing so may constitute a "bad stop" and could result in the loss of our job and possible civil action. It is because of this very difference that I feel anti-profiling policies serve no purpose in our line of work. When no reason is required to initiate contact with a subject, the reason could be anything. However, when certain requirements are needed to initiate contact, then as long as we are doing our jobs, we shouldn't need to worry about someone calling our motives into question.

What is profiling anyway? Well, the term profiling has the generally-accepted definition as follows: "the use of specific characteristics, as race or age, to make generalizations about a person, as whether he or she may be engaged in illegal activity."

But the term "profile" when utilized in psychology means the following: "a description of behavioral and personality traits of a person compared with accepted norms or standards. "

It is the psychological definition that we use most often in our line of work. We look for people that exhibit behaviors that are not consistent with those of regular shoppers. We look for people that exhibit a specific set of behaviors: the darting eyes, the rapid selection of merchandise without regards to price, the nervous ticks and twitches, the avoidance of employees and customers... these are all consistent with the behavioral PROFILE of a shoplifter. If we are consistently looking for these behaviors in the people in our stores, aren't we "profiling?" Of course we are.

But lets get more gritty... I'm going to make a bold statement and I sincerely hope that it is taken in its intended context and does not come back to bite me in the ass later on. I would be willing to bet my career that every single loss prevention person has, at one time or another, engaged in the act of profiling based on a protected group. And this statement applies to loss prevention people of all groups. If you work in an upscale department store and a group of unaccompanied teenagers comes in, do you not pay a bit more attention to them? I know you do. If you work in a store that sells only women's clothing, would you not pay more attention to a male that enters the store? If you work in a predominantly black neighborhood, and a white guy walks into the store, you know you'd be curious about his intentions. You'd ask yourself, why would this guy be shopping here... because let's face it, people feel more comfortable when surrounded by people that are more like themselves. Here's a quick real-life example of how I have utilized racial profiling, my reasons behind it, and the successful conclusion. My first LP job was at a store in the city I grew up in. It is predominantly white upper-class. At the time, there were maybe 4 black families in the city and I was familiar, and friends, with most of them. A large mall had just recently been built in the city, but had yet to begin to attract large crowds from out of town. The company I worked for had probably 9 stores that were closer to the downtown metropolis than the store I worked at. So, taking all of these things into account, I immediately began watching a couple of subjects the moment they entered the store. They were the only black customers I had seen in the store in probably 3 days. It was a male/female couple with shabby clothing. His sneakers were stained and dirty. His jeans were torn. He wore a thermal long-sleeve shirt that had been white at one point in time, but had since turned into a shade of yellow. They entered the store with an obvious purpose and moved directly to the baby formula aisle where they completely filled the cart with cans of the product. Less than 2 minutes later, they attempted to push the cart out of the store without paying for the merchandise. They were apprehended and prosecuted for a felony. Almost $1,000.00 worth of baby formula almost walked out of the store. They were in and out in less than 2 minutes. If I had not immediately began watching them, because of their race, I most likely would have missed them. I knew the city. I knew the average clientele. And I knew that these people did not belong. Not because they were black, but because my gut instinct told me they were not right. The decision to initiate surveillance on a subject is usually made the minute we lay eyes on a person. You must observe someone for more than just a few seconds to notice any type of actual behavior. So if we watch someone long enough to notice their behavior, then why have we begun to watch them in the first place? You can not escape the fact that the answer is simply this: their appearance. How do we know if someone is acting suspicious if we're not already watching them? Why are we watching them unless something just seems out of place? It's the same as our attraction to other people. Sure, for most of us a good personality means more than stunning good looks- but we're not even getting to know the person well enough to know about their personality unless there is some type of physical attraction. This is all undeniable. I've had black fellow loss prevention people point subjects out to me in stores and say, "hey you better watch that chick, she looks kinda ghetto." And it's happened way more than once.

So, in summary, I'd like to say that I fully recognize and understand the fact that there is no race of people that is more likely to steal than another. Black people are just as likely to steal as white people as hispanic people as asian people etc. Although there is scientific proof that women are more likely to steal than men. I've caught 12 year olds. I've caught an 83 year old. Companies don't have these policies because they believe in them. They have them to cover their own asses.

I'm damn good at my job and I am NOT a racist. If the methods I've used over the years to identify shoplifters could be considered in violation of anti-profiling policies, then so be it. My methods work.

I am not watching you just because you are black, lady. If I was watching you just because you're black, I'd have to have a million more sets of eyes to watch everyone else in here- because in case you haven't noticed, I'm a minority in this store. I'm watching you because you're a shady bitch with a giant purse and there doesn't appear to be a fucking thing in it... now get off my back.