Shoplifters can be anyone, regardless of appearance.

In the nation there are approximately 27 million shoplifters, according to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP). That is equivalent to one out of every 11 people.

As a counter measure, store owners should be able to check customers’ bags without question if those customers are being suspicious.

As a person who has worked in the retail industry and as a customer to many different stores, I believe bag checking should not be looked at as an invasion of privacy. It should instead be looked at as a method to catch customers who are stealing and help loss prevention.

More than $13 billion worth of goods are stolen from retailers every year, according to NASP National Learning and Resource Center. That is $35 million per day we, as a nation, could save if stores and companies had the right to enforce no-question bag searches.

Currently, stores are not allowed to ask permission to perform a bag check unless there is factual evidence, according to the security and safety website Crimedoctor.com. There is no law that gives merchants the right to detain a customer for the purpose of searching a bag unless there is reasonable suspicion of retail theft.

This makes perfect sense, but the only way to have reasonable suspicion is by having actual proof that the accused customer partook in the universally-accepted steps to shoplifting. An employee or merchant has to have proof that a customer approached, collected, concealed, failed to pay, and left the store with merchandise, according to the website.

Collecting this proof is easier for larger department stores with cameras, but much harder for smaller retailers such as mall clothing stores. However, all stores should be able to have the right to ask for bag checks.

After all, many employees and merchants already have the right to ask customers to leave their stores if the customer is suspicious. Not giving stores the right to search a customer’s bag may increase the shoplifter’s opportunity to steal.  

Many shoplifters are adults, but 25 percent of shoplifters are kids, and 55 percent of adult shoplifters said they started when they were teenagers, according to NASP.

If more action is not taken, these numbers could increase dramatically.

In my experience as an employee working in retail, I’ve witnessed a mother use her toddler and his stroller as a way to steal merchandise. Fortunately, they were caught.

Allowing merchants the right to obtain proper bag checks would be beneficial to society. Not only are bag checks a better security measure for business owners, but they will also help teach people, hopefully at a younger age, that stealing is wrong.

– Marissa Mararac is a junior communication major from Tacoma. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.