Gunman strikes Maplewood

[hammAR]

http://www.startribune.com/local/79722967.html

Gunman strikes Maplewood clothing store, flees with bags of cash
By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

A gunman held up a Maplewood clothing store, fleeing with bags of cash, authorities said today.

The robbery occurred about 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Burlington Coat Factory at 1729 Beam Av., according to police.

The suspect displayed a small handgun and ordered employees to open the cash registers and place money into store shopping bags, police said. He fled before officers arrived. No one in the store was hurt.

The suspect is described as a black, 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 9 inches tall and 150 to 170 pounds. He was wearing a black ski mask under a black hooded jacket, bright-colored blue jeans, black boots and gloves. The ski mask was described as made of a neoprene material.

[CraigJS]

Why is it that nine times out of ten the security cam footage is so WORTHLESS!
Are they just feel good devices for insurance and employee's ?

[RobD]

employee's ?

Bingo. Monitor employee theft more than anything.

[Stradawhovious]

employee's ?

Bingo. Monitor employee theft more than anything.

Yep. 99 times out of 100 you will see the cameras pointed at the register, drop safe etc. It is a bonus if it happens to catch a glimpse of the BG, but even if it does, the BG is more than likely out of focus where the buttons on the register are crystal clear. Even in retail outfits. When I worked retail, when we installed the cameras, the boss wanted more than half of the cameras pointed in places that the public never went.

[tullibee]

employee's ?

Bingo. Monitor employee theft more than anything.

yep, angled down toward the cash drawer on purpose... if they were really for id'ing robbers, they'd have a pair of them placed to monitor the doorway - one view for entering, one for exiting.

[RobD]

if they were really for id'ing robbers, they'd have a pair of them placed to monitor the doorway - one view for entering, one for exiting.

Or even a front on view of customers at the register.

[Paul]

Yeah, but the amount of internal theft in retail establishments is mind blowing.

[Stradawhovious]

Yeah, but the amount of internal theft in retail establishments is mind blowing.

Yep. Over 30 grand worth of merchandise disappeared from one of my previous employers warehouse in one year. Hence the security system. Sad but true.

[dismal]

A lot of the Target stores have cameras over the registers that also records what's being scanned. Totally useless for looking at customers.

When I worked in a grocery store, every few years the main office would send "time study" surveyors, supposedly to see how long transactions took; but they were just there to see which employees were stealing.

[TC95GT]

This past Thanksgiving eve I watched as two guys were chasing a girl around the parking lot that had stole something from that same Burlington store . They couldn't catch her so they jumped in a car and caught up with her over by the Gander outlet.

They drove her back to the store and waited for the cops to show up. I thought it was kind of strange that she just didn't keep running. The girl broke free and ran to an old beat up van and hopped in. One of the guys that was trying to hold her managed to get to her to prevent her from closing the van door and taking off.

Next thing he lets his guard down to light up a cig and the girl sitting in the van kicks him in the gut then punches him in the face. It was enough to make him back up so she could start the van and take off without running him down.

A few minutes later the cops showed up but she was long gone.

[justaguy]

If most of your loss is from employees why would you focus on customers?

[westberg]

If most of your loss is from employees why would you focus on customers?

easy way to find new employees?

[bstrawse]

A lot of the Target stores have cameras over the registers that also records what's being scanned. Totally useless for looking at customers.

True but not quite -- Target has one of retail's more advanced camera systems. Speaking from personal experience

B

[justaguy]

A lot of the Target stores have cameras over the registers that also records what's being scanned. Totally useless for looking at customers.

True but not quite -- Target has one of retail's more advanced camera systems. Speaking from personal experience

B

Yeah but do they still have the "hands off" approach where they watch on really high tech cameras people walk out the door with "stolen goods"?

[westberg]

A lot of the Target stores have cameras over the registers that also records what's being scanned. Totally useless for looking at customers.

True but not quite -- Target has one of retail's more advanced camera systems. Speaking from personal experience

B

Yeah but do they still have the "hands off" approach where they watch on really high tech cameras people walk out the door with "stolen goods"?

At least there is no question that they stole something, bad camera's can make a bad thief look good.