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Shopping Center Trespasser Caught Throwing Stolen Items Over the Fence

Posted by Rick Charney on Jan 21, 2022

Shopping center owners and managers strive to minimize vandalism, loitering, dumpster diving and other unwanted behaviors that could devalue their property and decrease visitors to their bricks-and-mortar establishments.

This month’s video shows how owners and managers rely on Stealth to help deter trespassing and potential theft on their properties with our remote video monitoring solution.

At night beside a shopping center, a trained Stealth security operator noticed a suspicious individual trespassing onto the property. The individual walked toward what appeared to be a rug, rolled it up and tossed it over the fence. Our operator contacted police dispatch.

The individual continued rummaging through items and taking them off the property.

A police cruiser arrived at the shopping center. An officer exited the vehicle. A second cruiser arrived soon after, and an officer exited that vehicle. Both officers went out of camera view, but both returned with the trespasser handcuffed. The trespasser was placed into a police cruiser and taken off site.

Remote Video Monitoring: Enhanced Video Surveillance to Help Actively Deter Crime

The most recent National Retail Security Survey found retailers are increasingly concerned about loss. Supporting this concern is Jack L. Hayes International’s 33rd Annual Retail Theft Survey. Of the 22 large retail companies with 18,594 stores total, apprehension of shoplifters was down 43.8% from the past survey. Not only that, criminals are taking stolen goods and easily reselling them online in marketplaces, according to a recent New York Times article, making the chance of recovery is almost nil.

Video surveillance alone is not enough. Recording activity onto a surveillance camera, with the requirement of sifting through hours of recorded video data searching for potential incidents, results in loss. Loss of time employees could be working on more relevant projects. Shrinkage because the longer the wait time is to address a theft, the less likely the perps will be caught as they’ll be long gone from the scene. Monetary loss. Potential loss of customers. If word gets out that a store has been the target of successful theft, recurring and potential customers may not feel safe shopping there.

Stealth Monitoring’s approach to retail and shopping center security is proactive. It uses a combination of advanced video analytics and human intelligence to provide real-time video monitoring and surveillance that is cost-effective and proven. Our solution consists of high-definition video cameras that are pre-programmed with our analytics. We can utilize these analytics to do heavy lifting when there is minimal activity. We can also watch continuously as needed for high traffic sites. We believe we have more labor sooner in the process than any other remote video monitoring company in the country.

Our operators identify suspicious activity in real-time and can take action to help deter it. For example, on-site speakers can be activated, and police can be contacted with live reports on the actions taking place. This often results in officers arriving on-site during a suspicious activity and deterring the situation before theft or other unwanted outcomes, even have a chance to take place.

Contact a Stealth security specialist who can create, implement and manage a customized, proactive security solution for your shopping center to help deter theft and minimize loss.