Actions of store employees in case of theft: what you can and cannot do

Advice for entrepreneurs starting their own business

Where does the money go?
or all about theft in public catering One of the most serious abuses committed by employees of public catering establishments is theft. According to analysts, unplanned losses of this kind account for from three to thirty percent of the turnover of most establishments in the industry. The consequences of theft are expressed in an increase in prices for the final product with a decrease in its quality, in a decrease in the number of regular customers of the establishment and its competitiveness, in a reduction in the profit of the restaurateur.

Food, alcohol, dishes, cutlery, interior items, equipment, and personal belongings of visitors are subject to theft. This article will discuss the theft of food and alcohol and fraud with them.

Groups of shopper thieves

All shopper thieves can be divided into several main groups:

• professionals who make a living by stealing. They steal more expensive goods to order or resell the stolen items themselves to buyers;
• children (school age and students). Most often they need sweets or souvenirs. They can eat candy, ice cream or chips right in the store without paying;
• shoplifters. Stealing is entertainment for them. They show off photos of misappropriated goods and share their impressions on the Internet;
• Kleptomaniacs. They steal repeatedly and get pleasure from their actions;
• thieves in an inadequate and insane state (drunk or under the influence of drugs). They are the easiest to spot.

I want to earn money, let them teach me!

Of course, a computer system, checks and internal security can minimize the risks of theft and bring their percentage to an extremely low level. But, as many restaurateurs admit, no method is a panacea for theft.

“Despite the many undoubted advantages of computer systems, none of them allows us to fully calculate production in a restaurant,” says Alexander Filin, chef of the restaurant “Red Square, Building 1”, president of the Russian Guild of Chefs. — There is no ideal system, not because of the imperfection of computer technology, but most food establishments initially work “to the left,” which greatly complicates the computer’s task. As long as this happens, no software will help establish high-quality accounting, and besides, if you wish, you can deceive almost any system. Therefore, the main means to, if not completely eliminate theft, then at least reduce it to a minimum, is to properly organize the work of the establishment. As practice shows, the largest percentage of abuses occurs in restaurants, where management uses harsh disciplinary sanctions, rudeness, fine systems, groundless dismissals and other similar methods as motivation, aimed at keeping the team in constant fear.

“It’s extremely rare for people to get a job in an establishment with a desire to steal,” says a restaurateur who wished to remain anonymous. “Especially if they had no prior experience in the food industry.” As a rule, such people are taught to steal already in the establishment itself by more “experienced” employees. Most often, this practice occurs in restaurants where there are no bonuses, opportunities for career growth, and where you can only make money by stealing. Less often, abuses occur due to the oversight of the manager or manager and due to the fact that the establishment's customers do not look at the account or even give money without a receipt.

“If employees are underpaid, then you shouldn’t be surprised when they start stealing,” says Anton Lyalin. “But stealing food for the home is not profitable for anyone, everyone only needs cash.” Therefore, the consequence of low salaries and “high” requirements are sales that bypass the cash register, compliments that are taken to the market in baskets, invoices with a large number of actually delivered products. Nowadays, the salary of many purchasing managers is $250. But most of them wear $250 boots and drive Peugeots and Renaults. What do you want from them - normal guys, go to the market, “earn” money. It turns out that they steal with the permission of the employer, because when they were hired, they were actually told: “250 dollars is not a salary, so there is nothing wrong if you steal.” Of course, recommendations from a previous place, which are required for employment in many restaurants, somewhat restrain the situation.

“Now chefs and restaurateurs have a lot of “black”, “green”, “red” lists through which they can transmit information about employees prone to theft, says Konstantin Ivlev. “But many young people who get jobs in normal establishments already look at business differently. If earlier there was cronyism, now there is a reputation. Nobody looks at the work book, everyone asks for letters of recommendation. Everyone understands that a person can quit not only because of his low professional qualities or because he steals. The restaurant business is like football. There are a lot of good coaches and a lot of brilliant players. But under one coach a person does not play, but under another he can play. If the cook is normal, but for some reason does not meet the requirements of the chef, then such an employee will be given good recommendations. Now all normal people prefer to conduct civilized relations. However, this practice is more likely to apply to senior employees, who are already afraid for their reputation and usually have... good wage conditions.

Therefore, for other workers in the industry, reputation is of secondary importance, because given the existing shortage of personnel, they can find a job in a short time without any letters of recommendation. Against this background, minimizing the risk of abuse requires constant Herculean efforts from restaurateurs. Moreover, if these same abuses occur, identifying the problem, making a small reshuffle and firing some employees will not always be enough. Often the problem requires an integrated approach and more radical measures.

“Five years ago, I discovered evidence of theft in the Meeting Place restaurant,” says Kirill Podluzhny. “I gathered the entire team and said that if this practice does not stop, then everyone will be fired. People just laughed. They won’t fire everyone, they decided. As a result, a month later the team was assembled, and I said goodbye to seventy percent of the workers. Naturally, the restaurant took a very serious turn. The next month it took a lot of effort to level the situation, but people remembered this incident for a long time. Perhaps this method is not very humane, because employees who are not involved in theft also fall under the comb. But at that time it was the only effective remedy. It quickly becomes known that more than half the restaurant quits in one day, and new employees who come to the establishment begin to behave differently. After this incident, many restaurateurs practiced similar shock therapy in their establishments.

Needless to say, despite the high effectiveness of this method, it is better to avoid such an unpleasant incident. How? Do not allow the food establishment to operate. Instead of dealing with constant staff turnover and inevitable abuses, perhaps it is better to create a competent personnel policy and provide your employees with good wage conditions? A normal salary and growth prospects will be the best deterrent. If employees know that their income is not proportional to their skills and diligence, and that exactly the same place can be found within two or three days, then nothing will stop them.

Common theft schemes

The most common method is eating food on the sales floor. This is typical not only for buyers, but also for sellers.

Note!

Many citizens try to put on new shoes in the fitting room and leave the old ones in the box. Some people take things out in a bag with foil or a double bottom, come up with hiding places and adapt baby strollers. Smaller goods can be hidden in larger ones, using various objects for this purpose.

A number of buyers put expensive ones into packaging with cheap goods or re-stick price tags from cheap items to expensive ones. A receipt for a similar product that was purchased at another retail outlet is often presented at the new store. When working in groups or in pairs, citizens can cause a scandal, act out an attack or fight, distracting the attention of employees.

Responsibility for shoplifting

Depending on the composition and amount of the stolen goods, the law provides for a certain age of responsibility for committing shoplifting. According to Art. 7.27 Administrative Code of the Russian Federation administrative sanction, in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 2.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, applies from the age of 16. After committing an administrative offense, the Commission on Minors' Affairs takes into account the specific circumstances of the case, as well as the identity of the offender aged 16 to 18 years, and may release him from administrative liability in accordance with Part 2 of Art. 2.3 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. If a minor thief has not reached 16 years of age, then his parents may be prosecuted under Art. 5.35 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and be fined from 100 to 500 rubles.

Part 2 art. 20 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation allows for criminal liability for theft from a store from the age of 14. A guilty person can be released from punishment only in case of mental retardation.

Shoplifting by customers: punishment

The type of liability for material assets stolen from a store will directly depend on the value of the property. An administrative sanction may be imposed for theft in an amount not exceeding 1,000 rubles in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 7.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation or under Part 2 of the same article, if the amount is from 1000 to 2500 rubles.

Note!

The main thing is that when committing this offense there are no qualifying features provided for in Part 1. 2-4 tbsp. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: theft by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, illegal entry into a premises or storage facility, causing significant damage, theft from a bag, hand luggage or clothing that was directly with the victim.

If within a year after being brought to administrative responsibility a repeated theft occurs, then the thief will be brought to criminal liability under Art. 158.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. For petty theft in a store, administrative punishment is provided in the form of a fine of up to 3 thousand rubles or five times the value of the stolen property. A more severe sanction may follow in the form of arrest for up to 15 days or compulsory labor for up to 120 hours.

If the offender has committed petty theft again, he may be punished in accordance with Art. 158.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles or in the amount of salary for a three-month period. A more severe measure may be applied in the form of compulsory, forced or correctional labor, as well as imprisonment for up to one year. If the crime was not completed and an attempt occurred, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes liability in this case as well. Administrative liability for attempted theft, art. 7.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation does not provide for this.

Both candidates of science and cleaners steal. How supermarket security guards catch shoplifters

The buyer is always right, even if for some reason it is more convenient for him to carry the goods in his pocket rather than in the basket. The staff and security have only one thing left to do - unobtrusively accompany the client to the cash register, leaving him the opportunity to pay for the purchase. It happens that they were not going to pay.

Security guards at Slutsk and Soligorsk supermarkets told Kur'er about the shoplifters they had caught.

Nothing is alien to a PhD

An elderly man in the trading floor of a hypermarket in Slutsk stuffed a can of coffee and a bottle of vodka into his bosom and walked out without paying.

The guards saw this on the CCTV monitor. When they began to investigate, the man showed his PhD diploma. Despite his scientific merits, the man was taken to the police department.

Free Women's Shopping Day

A 20-25 year old girl in the same Slutsk shopping center robbed three stores in one visit: she stole a hairdryer from a supermarket, shoes from a shoe store, and stole a third item from an electronics store.

The thief was noticed some time later on CCTV footage. The police were looking for her.

Children need an eye and an eye

Four schoolchildren took boxes of headphones from a stand in a store, supposedly to look, and then put back the empty boxes and left. The next day, two security guards with printed screenshots of recordings from CCTV cameras walked around Slutsk schools. A social worker from one of the schools recognized her students. Then the police took care of the children.

The cleaning lady's genius scheme

Thefts are committed not only by customers, but also by their employees. Security guard of the Soligorsk shopping center Vladimir exposed the restaurant cleaner who was stealing dishes.

The cleaning lady had a special cart on which she carried a mop, a bucket of detergent and a bucket of rinse water.

One day, a security guard noticed on CCTV footage that a cleaning lady took five porcelain plates and immersed them in a bucket of cleaning liquid. Then I washed the stairs and went to clean the public toilet for visitors. In the toilet, I emptied the plates from the bucket into a garbage bag and took them out along with the trash. “I think this was not an isolated incident,” says Vladimir. “And at home she put together a complete set for herself.” The restaurant broke up with this employee. But she only compensated for the damage that we could prove.”

Stuffed 20 chocolate bars into his pockets

According to the security guards of the Soligorsk Green supermarket, sometimes a person’s passion for thievery cannot be comprehended - they take so much that it bulges out of their pockets. Just recently, a man was detained at the cash register line, and they began to watch him on the sales floor. He was hiding something in his jacket and trouser pockets. During the search, 20 chocolate bars and two packages of chocolates were taken out of the pockets.

Another Soligorka resident “accidentally” put it in her bag and forgot to pay for stationery, food, and souvenirs in the amount of 84 rubles at the checkout. The product was confiscated and returned to the sales area.

Not a thief, but also an interesting person

This year, CCTV cameras in the Green hypermarket captured a strange man. He walked behind the young woman. When she stopped at the racks and selected an item, the man behind her leaned over to the bottom shelf and took photos of her underwear with his cell phone. The security guards identified the “photographer” and passed his information on to the police.

One man had to blush for his wife, who took a bar of soap out of the store. In another store, two men decided to drink expensive cognac in the middle of the sales floor.

Thieves are getting into our wallets

Zhanna Samoilenko , head of the StroyMARKET store in Slutsk, says that in their retail network, the security service, together with the local inspector, investigates almost all cases of theft.

“In our store there are video cameras installed along the entire perimeter and rows,” notes the interlocutor. “Even if the security guard did not notice the moment of the theft and the thief left the store, sooner or later he can be identified. Video camera recordings are regularly reviewed by the security service. And if it captures the moment of theft, we contact the local police officer. Then a criminal case is initiated, and photographs depicting the suspect are duplicated: one remains with the store employees, the second with the district police officer.”

As a rule, the thief has to reimburse the cost of the stolen goods and pay a fine, which is at least 210 rubles. Also, a store representative has the right to file a claim for compensation for moral damages. Therefore, a stolen bar of soap can cost a considerable amount.

“Decent and wealthy people who can afford to buy whatever their heart desires often turn out to be dishonest,” Zhanna Samoilenko marvels. “But they probably just want to steal.”

Recently a family came to the StroyMARKET store - a husband, wife and child. After some time, the security guard, looking at the CCTV footage, noticed how the woman unpacked a box of soap and put several pieces in her bag.

Later, the head of the family came to do some shopping and was invited to talk in the security room. The man was shocked that his wife stole the soap. He explained that their family lives in abundance and that he did not even suspect what had happened.

Both pensioners and children get caught stealing. There was a case when a grandmother refused to buy a calculator for her grandson and he decided to carry it through the cash register. Before the New Year holidays, several guys wanted to take out fireworks, but they were also stopped.

Older citizens are more likely to try to steal socks and toothpaste. Some of them complain about low pensions, others have nothing to say in their defense.

“But the cost of the stolen goods has to be reimbursed to the store employees. That’s why thieves get into our wallets,” sums up the store manager.

Eating cutlets on the sales floor

Slutsk youth have such a concept as “go to Mayak”. The guys arrive at about 17:00 and stay here until closing.

“At first glance, there is nothing wrong with this. However, about a hundred children gather, and they don’t behave very well,” says Sergei Nikolaevich, administrator of the Mayak shopping center. — They disturb customers, block the aisles and make noise. In the toilet, teenagers used to break down the doors and unwind rolls of toilet paper.”

There are cases when young people behaved obscenely near the Mayak, smoking or drinking alcohol. The administration of the shopping center contacted the education department so that specialists could conduct conversations with teachers and parents. Therefore, this issue is already being resolved.

As for theft, small goods are stolen more often. Moreover, people who live in abundance often commit thefts.

It happens that a woman takes a chocolate bar from a shelf, unpacks it and treats it to her child on the sales floor.

Some of the Belmarket visitors weigh a cutlet in the finished products department, and then eat it in the middle of the hall. It turns out that you don’t have to pay for the goods at the checkout, because they are no longer there.

“I remember an incident when two men came to the supermarket. In the sales area, they drank some of the expensive cognac from the bottle, screwed on the cap and put it back in place,” the interlocutor recalls. “While watching the video footage, we noticed the offenders and contacted the police.”

Sergei Nikolaevich had experience working in a hypermarket in Soligorsk. As he notes, many times more miners stole in the capital. In the security room, the entire wall was covered with photographs of people who went to steal as a job.

There was a case when a woman hid four sticks of sausage in the sleeves of her mink coat. When the guards stopped her, the lady offered to pay three times more for the sausage, as long as the store employees did not call the police.

What threatens a shoplifter?

“The amount stolen is important. If the value of the goods stolen in a store is less than 10 basic units, then the person’s actions are regarded as petty theft. This is an administrative offense. He faces a fine of 10 to 30 basic units or administrative arrest for up to 15 days,” Vitaly Protasenya , deputy head of the Slutsk ROSC, told Kur’er. - If the amount exceeds 10 basic, we are talking about a criminal offense - theft. Punishment includes a fine, correctional labor and even imprisonment for up to three years.”

The actions of a person who secretly stole goods, but did not take them out of the store and was detained, are regarded as attempted theft.

If a citizen is stopped by a security guard, and he rushes to run away with stolen goods, then this is already regarded as robbery. And the cost of what was stolen no longer plays a role.

Every year, the Slutsk ROSC initiates about 15 criminal cases regarding thefts and robberies in stores.

REFERENCE. According to UNESCO, the retail industry worldwide loses over $10 billion annually in theft. It is clear that at the moment it is impossible to completely eliminate theft, so trade is forced to create security services and spend money on modern surveillance systems that help identify thieves.

How to identify a thief?

There are several signs of behavior by which a security guard, administrator or store clerk can determine that a customer is a potential thief:

• If a respectable citizen comes to a store, then, as a rule, he knows what he needs, has a clear shopping plan and visits the department mostly once. A thief, on the contrary, will hang around the same department several times where he plans to commit the theft. If a buyer moves chaotically and chaotically around the sales floor, then there is a possibility that he wants to steal something;
• After a potential thief approaches the product he needs, he tries to quietly remove it from the shelf and hide it in a bag or under clothes. To be unnoticed, he turns around, takes the goods several times and puts them back until he chooses the moment to steal. In some cases, he can act quickly, abruptly taking a product from the shelf, without checking the packaging and other parameters, and immediately leaves that place;
• a group of people may deliberately stage an emotional meeting or conflict that will distract the security service from its work. At this moment, in a completely different place in the store, their accomplice hides the goods and takes them out;
• from time to time the buyer raises his head up, because... nervous and looking for a CCTV camera nearby. There is a possibility that he is trying to steal something.

And they carried...

To be fair, it should be noted that people have always stolen from catering establishments. In Ancient Egypt, the pharaoh had a special official whose duties were to ensure that cooks did not steal food and that the size of the dishes was the same for everyone. In taverns and taverns of medieval Europe, theft of food and theft of visitors were quite common occurrences. In Russia, the expression “chef-rogue” became a stable vocabulary, probably even under the Mongol-Tatar yoke. True, under Peter I it became fashionable to hire French, Dutch and all sorts of “other Germans” as cooks. So they quickly got used to it and, looking at their Russian colleagues, they themselves feasted on sterlet, crayfish tails and “Russian” caviar until the October Revolution of 1917. In the time that followed this event, theft became practically legalized as a widespread additional income for cooks and almost the only opportunity to purchase food.

Nowadays, theft as the only way to try a scarce product has lost its former relevance, but theft still flourishes. Let's try to figure out how this happens in practice, and start in order. The most common cases of theft in restaurants are the result of a conspiracy between several restaurant employees. In order to list all the probable schemes of theft in establishments, no magazine article will be enough, especially since the tireless “workers” of the industry come up with new ways to make “left” money almost every day. However, it is still possible to conditionally classify such cases. For example, the initiators of theft may be kitchen workers led by the chef. They have the power to violate technology by not adding certain ingredients to dishes, to steal excess food resulting from improper operation of the supply service, which purchases food in stock at low prices, and to use other methods.

“There are now two or three thousand restaurants in Moscow, of which only a hundred are good, and the rest are mostly real scams,” says Konstantin Ivlev, chef of the Letrange restaurant. — In many of these establishments, Soviet times still reign. The cooks there simply have no other way to get normal money other than to steal. They reduce the weight of dishes, put water next to a bag of sugar, dilute red caviar with soda, and perform a lot of other tricks.

“When I worked as a cook at a school base plant before the army, they stole there mainly through mismatched goods,” says restaurateur Kirill Podluzhny. — About 1.5 - 2 tons of meat of the highest, first, second and third grades came into production every day. The highest grade meat was immediately placed in the trunk of the car. The best pieces of the first grade were presented as the highest grade. Accordingly, the first was made from the second grade, and the second from the third. Then, minced meat was made from the remaining third-grade meat - the so-called cutlet mass. They simply added water to it and reached the same weight. True, the consistency turned out to be a little liquid. As far as I know, some chefs still use this method. They also steal on underweights. Let’s say the intended yield of entrecote is 200 grams. Twenty grams are cut from each serving. Thus, every tenth portion is taken away by a natural product or missed by the cash register. You can also steal through staff lunches. In our restaurants, we undertake to provide preferential meals for employees, and the chef receives a form every day from the accounting department, where he writes down the products that go “to the staff.”

Of course, this is also subject to accounting and control, but in practice, a cook can write five kilograms, but cook only three. Another common result of kitchen staff collusion is lower output. Try to solve the problem: let’s say that out of ten kilograms of beef purchased by a restaurant, no more than a kilogram is spent on cleaning. At the same time, according to the chefs, out of the fifty kilograms of beef purchased by the establishment, the yield was forty kilograms. Attention, question! Where are the missing five kilograms of beef? Possible answers: thrown in the trash as a result of an error by the kitchen staff; were prepared and then sold by waiters in the hall, bypassing the cash register; sent back to the market and sold there.

“When purchasing meat products, many representatives of food establishments say that they save money and therefore refuse portioned steaks in favor of less expensive meat, which they then cut themselves,” says Anton Lyalin, commercial director and co-owner of the Goodman restaurant. “At the same time, portioned meat steaks, which at first glance are more expensive, make it possible to control 100 percent of the yield (there is very little waste) and not have to prepare anything. Why distract chefs if there are production employees from supplying companies who specialize in cutting meat? It makes sense to do this only in one case - in a chic restaurant, where prices are very high, a large kitchen, a considerable supply of employees and very expensive products.

But, as a rule, the reason for “savings” is completely different. There is simply nothing to “clean” in portioned steaks, and many kitchen workers are not happy with this. The dream of such “cooks” is a live cow with skin and bones on which excess meat can be left. Consequently, there will be much more opportunities to steal. The same goes for fish. Today, all supplying companies provide a wide range of portioned salmon and salmon fillets. But many restaurant representatives do not buy fish fillets, explaining this by the fact that some wonderful fish soup is cooked from whole salmon.

Let's move on to the second category of theft and consider the case when a “cooperation” that allows one to receive additional income at the expense of the establishment is established between the chef and the supply service manager. According to this scheme, products are purchased at inflated prices or, conversely, are accepted as being of lower quality and a certain amount of normal food is “written off.” Often, instead of the products indicated in the reports, completely different ones end up on the guests’ table.

“Not long ago, the chef of a large Moscow casino approached my sales agent,” says Anton Lyalin. “He literally said the following: “You can only bring invoices, I will sign as if I accepted everything, but you don’t need to bring the products themselves.” That is, this chef will buy products at the market or somewhere else, then pass them off as products, and he and the sales agent will “saw away” the money, which represents the difference. These are not even kickbacks; it’s hard to call them something. Of course, we never agree to such “cooperation”.

It happens that the purchasing manager uses some of the listed methods without the knowledge of the chef and other employees of the establishment. Often losses are the result of a manager's mistake or lack of knowledge.

“Only the chef, and not the purchasing manager, storekeeper or supply department employee, should determine what products and in what quantities the restaurant needs to purchase,” says Kirill Martynenko, chef at the Goodman restaurant and corporate chef. — The purchasing manager must technically place an order with the supplier company, but he is not competent in the matter of the range of required products. Today, food is a very complex world. Let me give you an example. There are frying oils with different costs, relatively speaking, for 30 rubles and for 50. What will the buyer choose? Of course, for 30. But such oil will last one day, and oil for 50 rubles will last four. It was developed by manufacturers specifically for such companies as Burger King, etc. This oil “works” for a long time at high temperatures in deep frying, retaining all its properties. This means that you don’t have to turn the fryer off and on (and this significantly affects the quality of the finished product). When the temperature drops, the oil does not create a crust, does not “close” the product, but penetrates inside. As a result, limp, uneatable, oil-soaked potatoes are served to the hall. Quality decreases, oil consumption increases, and its price actually turns out to be high. Thanks to whom? To the buyer.

Let's move on to the third category. The restaurant business has its own specifics due to the fact that, unlike most business sectors, in food establishments the consumer's money goes to the cash register directly through an intermediary - the waiter. So, service employees are at risk. Stole it yourself, give it to someone else As you know, waiters’ earnings extremely rarely consist of one salary. In addition to this, waiters receive tips, bonuses and sometimes percentages from sales of individual dishes and alcoholic beverages. Sometimes this list is supplemented by “earning money” at a loss to the restaurant. To do this, waiters use extra menus with their own “arbitrary” prices, present guests with an already used receipt (visitors rarely pay attention to the date and time), print receipts themselves, apply evening discounts during the daytime and close accounts in the evening, sell “own” goods (cigarettes, alcohol, red and black caviar, etc.), negotiate with the cashier and take individual dishes past the cash register. As a rule, such activities of waiters are carried out under the guidance of a manager, especially since in many establishments the latter signs all checks. In principle, the computer system makes their life somewhat difficult, but...

“If you wish, you can bypass the computer system,” says Kirill Podluzhny. — A computer system is a certain algorithm. Access is determined by codes, everyone has access cards to the system, and each employee has limited access. For example, a waiter opens an account, but only the cashier closes it, and only the manager can cancel. Accordingly, if some cunning waiter comes across, he can increase his access with the help of good computer skills. We had precedents when we came across similar “Kulibins”.

Also, if a computer accounting system is installed, service employees can try to negotiate with the managers of the equipment or software manufacturer so that an additional code can be installed, with which you can cancel the last operation. Often, waiters tell visitors that the cash register is broken and present a handwritten bill instead of a receipt. A feature of our national character greatly facilitates the task of dishonest waiters and managers: in the minds of the average domestic visitor, any questions about the bill or check are still an insult to the waiter and the entire staff of the establishment. The fourth category includes bartenders who have a tendency to increase their earnings at the expense of “left” money. As you know, in a bar, accepting an order and receiving money is carried out by one person. Consequently, if desired, the bartender can sell goods brought into the hall on his own, or sell “surplus” strong alcoholic drinks and beer, earned by under-filling and diluting them.

“Not every visitor can distinguish forty milliliters from fifty by eye, and only a very good gourmet will feel the taste of cheap whiskey in expensive cognac,” says Kirill Podluzhny. — In order not to be tormented by such doubts, you need a good bar manager who can use different accounting systems. For example, marks on bottles that are visible from afar. Let’s say that during the shift there were three fewer risks, which means that three portions were sold. The bar manager can pull up the system and see how many units are actually sold. We also remove bar scraps daily.

This is torment for bartenders, but, unfortunately, they are inevitable, because in the bar, unlike the kitchen, there is a very high turnover. In some restaurants, bartenders, like waiters, can only open the tab, and the cashier closes it, but this often slows down the speed of the bar and does not exclude the “correct” handling of drinks, leading to the formation of surpluses that can be sold outside the restaurant.

“Recently, the same situation is often repeated in many stores: a stranger approaches visitors and offers to buy drinks presented in the hall, but at very low prices,” says a security officer at one of the Moscow stores specializing in the sale of alcoholic beverages. — As a rule, these prices are lower than wholesale prices. Recently, one of our employees received such an “offer”, who happened to be in the store after hours. In the trunk of a car parked right at the entrance there was a whole warehouse, almost no different in assortment from the store. The seller turned out to be a bartender of one of the restaurants. The store employee refused to say how this story ended. In addition, it is unlikely that such a voluminous proposal can be compiled due to underfilling. Most likely, the drinks were obtained as a result of a conspiracy that falls into the following category.

Theft model number five is, in the opinion of establishment owners, the most dangerous type of abuse for the restaurant business. This category represents a conspiracy of all restaurant services under the leadership of a dishonest manager. Naturally, such a leader has practically unlimited capabilities. He has the power to create a situation where the majority of the restaurant's employees - from waiters and cashiers to kitchen staff, purchasing manager and accountant - will earn money at the expense of the restaurant's profits, receiving their own percentage of the stolen products, goods, dishes and drinks.

“Theft is a cancer for a food establishment,” says Konstantin Ivlev. — As a rule, if it starts, it spreads from one shift to another and soon quickly spreads to the entire team. There are also two categories of employees - those who earn money themselves, and those who steal and sit on kickbacks. Cooks, purchasing managers, accountants and waiters from the second group have no principles, and if they work in conjunction with accounting, then no one will ever know how and how much they “earn.” The only way to identify abuse is total control on the part of the founder. What to do?

So, theft exists in many establishments. However, it can be detected, because an unfavorable situation has some distinctive signs. No matter how far progress has been made, nothing fundamentally new has happened in the process of identifying abuses in restaurants. The guide to action is the same as fifteen, fifty or a hundred years ago: “accounting and control.” The definition of “accounting” includes statistical measures (conducting inventories, monthly analysis of profit and loss data and a computer system), and the definition of “control” includes operational measures (regular audits, internal security and surveillance systems). Let's start with accounting. The restaurant business has its own accounting specifics, because a catering establishment combines both trade and production. Let's try to understand the flow of goods inside the restaurant. Initially, the products and goods brought by supplier companies are received by a storekeeper, purchasing manager or chef. As a rule, once in the restaurant, they are stored in a warehouse, and at this stage the responsible person is the said storekeeper, who, as necessary, issues food and drinks to production and to the bar under the responsibility of the chef (or technologist) and the bartender.

“We don’t have supply managers or a supply department; the chefs themselves determine what to order, and bar managers work with suppliers for the bar,” says Kirill Podluzhny. — Some restaurants use a separate employee to control incoming goods, something like a stamping system. In Soviet times, most establishments had marochniks who controlled the output of dishes from the kitchen. They placed the sticks, and then it was all checked against the cash register. Such a system for obtaining food is monkey labor. This is the direct responsibility of the storekeeper or chef.

“In our restaurant, I receive all the goods,” says Konstantin Ivlev. — If there is not enough time, I have assistants. In many restaurants, food first goes to the warehouse and then through internal movement to the kitchen. As a result, people fill their refrigerators with food that spoils, gets thrown away, etc. This system doesn't suit me. We do not have a warehouse or storekeeper. I order groceries every day and don't stock up. I accept the goods myself, and then I give invoices, weights I checked, etc. calculator to the accounting department. He enters the information into the computer, and the products go to the kitchen. Responsibility for everything that happens next with the products lies with me.

So, the accounting of goods and products that operates in modern restaurants is not very different from the system that worked in Soviet-era establishments. For many years now, all data on the supply and expenditure of products, according to the law, has been recorded in costing and technological maps. But if earlier an accountant-calculator had to work with hundreds of commodity cards and perform thousands of arithmetic operations on paper, now his task is greatly facilitated through the use of computer systems installed in restaurants. Today, searching for any necessary information in an electronic database takes a few minutes, and entering data greatly simplifies the barcode on goods. The computer also allows you to keep track of not only imported products, but also their movement in all areas. Using a computer, most functions of chefs, technologists, managers and accountants are automated. The computer independently evaluates the consumption of raw materials, calculates the cost of ready-made dishes, records revenue and performs a host of other operations based on data received from employees. All this information is received by the accounting department, where the proceeds are recorded. To monitor the data obtained, periodic inventories are carried out in food establishments.

“Inventory is the most effective way to combat abuse,” says Kirill Podluzhny. — Of course, it is impossible to calculate accounting “from zero” in the kitchen. For example, after finishing work, the cooks put the meat portions in the freezer until the next shift. In fact, the meat is frozen, and the next day after it is defrosted, some percentage of the weight will be lost. It is impossible to take into account all this data, so the most important thing is to systematize the process, create an algorithm for deriving acceptable coefficients and output the operating parameters of all employees and services. Then you just need to constantly analyze this data and make changes to the computer according to changes in the incoming prices of products.

If the pros and cons fit into the system, then everything is fine; if not, you need to count again and look for the reason for the discrepancies. In addition to inventories, most restaurateurs conduct periodic inspections, use video surveillance of the hall, bar and cash register, service seals (a modern analogue of Soviet vintage stores), and some of them go even further - they resort to the services of well-known private security companies (private security companies) and install internal security.

“In many restaurants there is a security guard at the exit, checking employees for “extra” items,” says Konstantin Ivlev. — A metal detector is used to search for cutlery. But we completely abandoned security in the restaurant; there is no security guard even at the entrance to the hall. I am the master of my kitchen, and all my employees are time-tested. Besides, they earn good money. It makes no sense for my subordinates to take out a can of crab, a piece of meat or a fork, because if they fail, they will ruin not only their relationship with me personally, but also their future life in terms of their professional reputation. Of course, in order to avoid misunderstandings, it is not customary for us to bring bags, things or food with us to work. Came empty-handed and left empty-handed - this rule applies to all restaurant employees.

“If you miss something yourself, the staff will count it very quickly,” says Kirill Podluzhny. — Having several restaurants under management, we constantly conduct cross-checks - the main thing is that there is an effect of surprise. In my opinion, installing a security guard to monitor all internal movements of employees is ineffective. This only adds negativity to relationships in the team. In addition, any security guard himself becomes part of this team within a short time. He will go to the cook for lunch or make a request to the waiter. As a result, people quickly adapt and begin to look for loopholes. Therefore, the best deterrent is a sudden, unplanned inspection.

Employee theft: what to do in such a situation?

It is quite difficult to find honest and principled people who would not take someone else’s property under any circumstances. Especially if this is not the property of a specific person, but of a large store.

Note!

The possibility of theft by sellers of a retail outlet depends on whether appropriate conditions have been created for this. Some cashiers are calm about a blank check and do not consider it theft, but perceive it as compensation for difficult work.

There are many ways to steal from store personnel. These include:

• special errors in the acceptance process;
• sale of “unaccounted for” products or goods at an inflated cost;
• re-taping tags or barcodes;
• appearance of extra goods on the receipt. After the customer leaves, the cashier cancels the check and takes the difference;
• applying discounts for yourself. The buyer purchases the goods without discounts, and the seller takes the difference;
• selling an additional product without a receipt;
• theft during loading or unloading;
• special damage to product packaging and write-off of perishable products ahead of time;
• collusion with suppliers and purchasing goods at inflated prices, through counterfeiting, and fraudulent returns.

How to deal with employee theft?

To ensure that store employees do not engage in theft, a certain atmosphere should be created in the team. People must understand that stealing is not only shameful, but also fraught with criminal liability.

In order to be able to constantly monitor the sales floor and warehouse premises, you need to install CCTV cameras there. This will help track suspicious transactions and identify fraud by unscrupulous cashiers.

Everything necessary should be done to ensure that there are no unnecessary items and papers at the cashier’s workplace. Setting up access rights in the cash register program will help you control the activities of employees.

Violations of cash handling rules must not be allowed. Management should provide training, talk about penalties for theft and other legal nuances. It would not be superfluous to use a secret shopping system.

More and more “decent” thieves are being caught in supermarkets

Because of the crisis, the number of thefts has really increased, noted in a conversation with a KP correspondent Maxim Trapeznikov, head of the public relations department of the X5 Retail Group (including Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Karusel. Last year, security guards in Moscow 21 thousand thieves were handed over to the police, 3026 criminal cases were initiated. At the same time, the lion's share of conflicts, as a rule, are resolved on the spot. In 2008, security guards of trading floors owned by X5 Retail Group detained 182 thousand thieves, in 2009 - 240 thousand. Goods worth 129 million rubles were seized. In total, goods worth approximately 700 million rubles were stolen. Data for Russia. Security guards interviewed by the publication say that over the past year the number of detainees has increased by approximately 1.5 - 2 times. On average, security guards at an ordinary supermarket in a residential area detect there are 6-7 cases of theft per day. But most often, criminals manage to get out unnoticed. Most often, small and expensive goods are stolen: alcohol, delicacies, coffee, sausage, household chemicals, as well as “as a gift” something that lies in the checkout area - chewing gum, chocolates. The guards see the "nonsense"

Experienced security guards see the “cracker” at first glance.
According to them, “non-professionals” most often steal, with alcohol in the first place. “I immediately see these clowns. Two drunks will come, one of them will come straight to me: what kind of vodka would you recommend? It’s distracting,” the guard grins. — The second one is spinning around the shelves at this time. As soon as I turn away, the bottle is in my pocket!” The security guard admits that at this job he has lost faith in people: everyone is dragged, even those you would never think of. Children are carried out in pockets, young mothers in strollers. Recently, we often come across pensioners. If they get caught, the answer is usually the same: oh, son, I forgot to pay. Most stores have acquired security cameras, as advertised at the entrance and in the halls. But most of the cameras are dummies. And advertisements are meant to intimidate. “It’s very expensive to install and maintain cameras. In addition, you need to place a separate security guard at the monitors,” admits one of the supermarkets. Shop owners themselves are partly to blame for the increase in crime cases on their territory. In an effort to make maximum use of the sales floor, shelves with goods are placed too close to each other. In addition, large tenants, wanting to save money, are hiring micro-tenants for their space. As a result, a crowd arises, and this always attracts dishonest citizens. Buyers have to pay for the stolen goods. “In Russia, the Western practice is in force: the cost of the stolen goods is included in the price of the goods on the shelf,” explains Anton Nedzvetsky, deputy chairman of the Moscow Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights. — Approximately 2–3% of the price is just losses from theft. And honest buyers reimburse them.” Igor Chumarin, a consultant who conducts training for security services, is confident that preventing thefts is not that difficult. “Security must be in uniform. Where visual control is difficult, it is necessary to place guard dummies or advertising posters with full-length figures of people,” the expert said. “These measures have a strong psychological impact. Checkout counters should have mirrors so cashiers can see what customers are doing. The gates at the entrance should be one-way so that everyone exits through the cash register. You just need to comply with these requirements. 15 days for a toothbrush
Stanislav Yurchenko, lawyer, member of the Moscow Bar Association warns that even “harmless” shoplifting, for example, a toothbrush, is a violation of Article 7.27 of the Code of Administrative Offences. This violation is punishable by a fine of up to five times the value of the stolen property, but not less than a thousand rubles. Or arrest for up to 15 days. If the amount stolen is more than a thousand rubles, you will have to answer under the Criminal Code. They might give it two years. Stanislav Kozlovsky, candidate of psychological sciences, divided supermarket thieves into three categories. There are kleptomaniacs - they are sick people and cannot help but steal. There are those who steal for sport, for a dose of adrenaline. As a rule, these are teenagers in a group. And the third category is poor and embittered people who are trying to save money by stealing and “get what is theirs.” “But theft does not leave its mark on the psyche. Having successfully stolen once, a person, as a rule, does it again and gets involved. Theft is becoming the norm,” the expert noted. Experts note that in our country, theft has its own characteristics - it is not condemned by society. There is a joke about “nonsense”: “everyone in the house.” Since Soviet times, workers stole from factories and factories what was produced there, office workers carried home stationery, catering and kindergarten employees took home “supplements.” Over time, little has changed, except that they began to steal not from the state, but from their “uncle.” A “hare” ride on public transport is generally perceived as a “social protest.” There is a community of “shoptifters” on the Internet who boast about their success in free shopping and share their secrets. The civilized world suffers no less from shoplifters. According to EHI - the European Trade Institute - Britons are the most likely shoplifters. About half a million people are caught stealing every year. The French are in second place in terms of theft, and the Greeks are in third place. According to EHI, condoms are the most frequently stolen item in Europe. 57.7% of goods remain unpaid. Researchers explain: condom packaging is small and easy to put in your pocket. In addition, many people are embarrassed to buy contraceptives. In addition, 20% of razor blades, 17.1% of chocolate, 17% of tampons and pads, 16.2% of batteries, 7.3% of alcoholic beverages go past the checkout.

www.newsmsk.com

How to deal with shoplifting?

To minimize theft from customers, the following measures should be taken:

• ensuring good lighting in the room;
• elimination of poorly visible places by installing special mirrors;
• installation of video surveillance systems that allow monitoring not only cash register areas, but also the entire trading floor;
• installation of frames at the exit from the store and in the checkout area;
• training staff in basic theft deception schemes.

A few practical tips can protect you from theft:

• when meeting customers after greeting them, you should try to establish eye contact with them;
• you need to especially watch out for store visitors in baggy clothes who move chaotically through the departments;
• it is better to use price tags that are difficult to re-stick;
• products should be checked for compliance with their barcodes;
• You should not place expensive goods close to the entrance; it is better to place them in closed display cases equipped with additional security sensors;
• It is necessary to count the items that customers try on, and be sure to check the contents of easy-to-open product packages.

Note!

If material losses from theft exceed established standards, most store owners deduct the shortfall from employee salaries. The loss rate depends on the type of store and the goods sold there and can vary from 1 to 5% of turnover.

Some owners try to reward staff to prevent theft.

If you are interested in preventing theft from your store and would like to justify your actions from the point of view of the law, our company’s experienced lawyers will help you with this. Contact us through the website or call the numbers provided.

“Absolutely everyone steals.” How does the job of a supermarket security guard work?

Prospekt Mira anonymously spoke with a former security guard at a large supermarket about thieving customers and employees, bored ladies in fur coats and professional thieves on tour - and why private security was better than the National Guard.

I worked as a security guard at a supermarket on the night shift for two years, from six in the evening to six in the morning. There are no interviews as such. They give you three days for an internship, and if you show yourself well, they take you on. Therefore, it happens that some local redneck sets up and says: “Hey, listen, come here, show me what’s in your pockets.” Because of them, security in supermarkets is associated with impudence and rudeness.

In fact, you have to win the person over. Even if he stole something, if he sends it to [far], you need to politely address: “Hello, let’s come in, please.” Unless this is specific arrogance, when a guy has a bottle of vodka sticking out of one pocket and a stick of sausage out of another.

How do they steal?

Security in Krasnoyarsk supermarkets works differently. In Krasny Yar, the main task is to look into the camera, and in the hall you are on duty when there is a large flow of buyers. In “Commanders”, “Alleys” and other hypermarkets, on the contrary, you stand at the checkout or rustle around the hall.

A separate issue with discounters. When they first appeared, there was no security there at all. At least in “Batons”. People were crazy about it and just rolled out goods in baskets. The shortages were 200-300 thousand per month. Security appeared and everything quieted down for a while. If in supermarkets they steal a little at a time, then in discounters they steal in bulk.

I worked for two years, and during this time I developed an instinct for suspicious individuals. I go to supermarkets and see people just running wild. Recently, one guy in a hypermarket brought out a stack of Kinder chocolates in his hat. I say to the guard: “Friend, now a man with a full hat has left.” And he clicks his beak: “Where?” - “There, in red shoe covers.” That is, a dude in red shoe covers walked around the store, but no one paid attention to him.

The behavior gives away the thieves. Most of the scammers or just adults who are planning a theft look at the ceiling - the cameras are figuring it out. If a person looked at the camera, he will definitely do something. Young people are scumbags, they don’t look at cameras at all: they carry something in their hands, hop into their pocket.

What are they stealing?

Most thefts occur at checkouts: chocolates, chewing gum and all sorts of other small items. There are a lot of people in the queues and it’s hard to keep track of everyone. Everything gets stuffed into sleeves and pockets. It’s easier in winter, because everyone has hats, scarves, and down jackets with large pockets and hoods.

Products that we call “increased control group” are very popular. These are cutter shaving machines, creams cost 300-400 rubles per jar - they easily fit into the palm of your hand and into your pocket. Red caviar, red fish, coffee and elite alcohol: cognac, whiskey, brandy, liqueurs. Vodka is not elite, but it is also stolen.

In general, it all depends on the person: students steal small things, granny will never take chocolate or chewing gum - she needs cheese or sausage. Grannies also love coffee.

Who is stealing? Grannies, students, homeless people and ladies in fur coats

Absolutely everything is stolen.

In the supermarket, Mira was stolen by a woman who drove a Mercedes in the latest body and wore a fur coat worth 300 thousand. She simply carried out a basket of groceries, pretending that she was going to the ATM at the exit. She poked at the ATM, saw that no one came out after her, and left.

She carried out the basket four times until she was caught. For what? Just for fun, he says. Rich people steal for the sake of extreme sports. The middle strata of the population simply do not want to pay. One woman told me: “Yes, I bought one and a half thousand from you, and I also have to pay 70 rubles for the cheese?!”

Once we received a policeman in uniform and with shoulder straps. He walked around the hall and simply stuffed his pockets with small things. My partner and I took him into the security closet - he dumped a whole mountain of chocolates and chewing gum on the table. We were simply amazed: “Are you serious?!” “I don’t care at all,” he says. “What will you do to me?” Well, we called a squad for him.

Homeless people probably go to all the downtown stores. But there’s nothing to take from a homeless person—he won’t even be able to pay for the bottle of vodka he stole. You shake him, whip him, yell at him, but two days pass and he comes back to steal. You ask him: “Are you completely [crazy], or what?” - “What should I do? I want to eat".

Grannies love to steal, they come with their bags, knapsacks - big duffel bags like that. This kind of woman doesn’t use baskets, she throws everything in her bag, but at the checkout she doesn’t take anything out of it. It gets to the point that when you see your grandmother, you put “notches” on a piece of paper, how many goods she put in for herself, and then at the checkout you cross out how many of them she put out.

When you catch grandmothers, they deny everything to the last: “This is mine,” “This is not from your store,” or “I came here before, that’s when I bought it.” Some people, even when you watch the recording where she puts this sausage in her bag, still say: “It’s not me.”

Of course, they take advantage of their age: they act out asthma attacks, epilepsy, heart attacks, hysterics, tears, threats. I had one grandmother - she depicted all the diseases that exist at once. There were times when you let the grannies go so that they could pay at the checkout, and they simply ran away.

Students steal. A security guard I know told me that Komandor on Vuzovsky closes every month with a shortage of 300 thousand. The store, firstly, is located near the Siberian Federal University dorms. Secondly, the cameras there are terribly inconveniently located: you simply cannot see what is happening. And a crowd of Tuvans, about fifteen people, will come in, and you try to look after everyone.

Who is stealing? Repeat offenders and guest performers.

One day a guy came into the store and immediately aroused my suspicions. Such a schmuck, he walked around the hall and grabbed something: he put his bag in the booth, pulled out a handful of something from there, walked and grabbed something. Then he took a shopping basket and began to simply sweep away everything from the display case with an armful: five sticks of sausage, two heads of lambert, milk, something else. The basket turned out just like a mound.

He stopped in the bakery department and turned his back to the camera, as if he were choosing cookies. He stood there for a long time, fidgeting with something, I thought he was eating cookies. So he turns around - and his basket is almost empty. I almost jumped, I thought: where did you do all this? And the guy was wearing a down jacket, with a knitted sweater underneath, so wide. He opened his jacket and in this jacket he had a huge “appendix” sticking out of the goods. He hopped behind his back, buttoned his jacket and waddled to the cash register.

He gets in line and in the basket there are two packets of milk and a piece of cheese. And the line drags on for a long time and he leaves this basket at the checkout and goes to the exit. I waited all this time at a low start so as not to scare him off. To understand: in the checkout area on the floor in supermarkets there is a strip pasted. While the person behind it is in the store, nothing can be presented to him; steps over this line - he is outside the store, he can be detained.

I left the secret police, I thought: run, dude, just run. But he, on the contrary, stops, takes perfume out of his pocket, sprays it on, wipes his face with a handkerchief, then puts it all in his pocket and heads out. He approaches the booth, takes out his purse and stands there eating again. And only then he turns around and sees me. It’s too late to run, he doesn’t know what to do, and he starts crying. And whispers: “Don’t hit me. Please don't hit me."

In the end, three squads came to receive him: the guy was on two wanted lists, with three outstanding convictions, and they also found a piece of something on him. He wrote a statement against me that I beat him, although I didn’t lay a finger on him. A couple of days later it was closed, but before that he managed to rob another supermarket worth five thousand - he took out an elite drunk at seven in the morning.

There are also a lot of thieves-touring people who operate according to the same scheme. Two guys order a taxi, drive through shops and steal something from each one. Both come in, then separate and one of them distracts attention with small things - for example, he hides shampoo in his bosom. You see this, you think: “Aha, I caught you,” and at that time the second one quietly puts a bottle of whiskey in his pants, gets out, jumps into a car and that’s it. The first one remains and at the checkout pays for the goods that he had just stolen.

They buy for a hundred rubles, steal for a ruble and a half. They take only expensive goods: cans of coffee for 600 rubles, alcohol for two or three thousand, caviar, razors. And it’s just a matter of seconds, you just don’t even have time to understand what happened. In a supermarket on Mira Street, a guy set a record - he carried out a bottle of whiskey in nine seconds.

We talked with one such guest performer. “This,” he says, “is my job. Your job is to catch crooks, mine is to steal. I don’t earn anything else.” They plan a route for themselves, catch a taxi or a friend in a car, give him 700 rubles or a mower. Roughly speaking, each store itself brings out a mower.

Who is stealing? Employees.

They steal their own too. It happens that you communicate normally with the storekeeper, but he steals things from under your nose. Someone gets a job and a month later is caught stealing, someone can work for seven or eight years, steal all this time and not arouse suspicion at all.

There was a storekeeper who knew how we worked and would go out and steal in the mornings during our shift change. At six in the morning I left home, at nine my shift came - between this time there was no security in most supermarkets. And this dude came every two days at exactly 7:11 and picked up the standard: two bottles of elite alcohol, two bottles of vodka, two sticks of sausage. In one week, I carried away 12 thousand worth of food and 20 thousand worth of alcohol.

Sometimes the store is abandoned by suppliers. They bring the goods, take them to the warehouse, the warehouse guys count them, and if they click, the supplier hops on and quietly takes the two boxes of chocolate back to the car. According to the documents, all the goods were accepted, but in reality there was a shortage.

Well, that’s what we did: while the suppliers were clicking, the storekeepers and I took a couple of boxes from them. How they treat us is how we treat them. There is no other way out. Because for every shortage, at the end of the month or in intermediate audits, you get good money and pay out of your own pocket. The maximum salary I had was 18.3 thousand rubles with a bonus for 15 working days. The shortfall in a week can actually reach 20 thousand, and no one wants to end up with 11 haymakers at the end of the month.

The security guards are charged with shortages in groups of highly controlled goods—those that are more likely to be stolen. Other missing goods are paid for by sellers - but this is at the discretion of the manager, if she says: “Girls, this is your joint.” In most cases, managers called our boss and said: “We have a shortage of sausage of 30 thousand rubles. Let your guys come up with something."

What are they coming up with?

In most cases, they try to resolve the conflict without the police. Many of those caught are simply intimidated by the police, and they immediately have the money to pay for the goods, although before that they were talking about 100 rubles in their pocket.

If the person is reasonable, you simply offer him to pay for the chocolate bar he stole five or ten times the amount. It’s more difficult with a drunk: a bottle that has already been passed through the checkout will not be sold a second time due to excise taxes. Cash is taken for it, roughly speaking, in the same five times the amount.

This money then goes into shortages, into things that were overlooked. Let's say that at the end of the month you don't have enough chocolate for three or four thousand - you pay for them with swindlers. Our girl bought two cans of coffee for stolen chewing gum.

There are also principled networks: in “Commander” the police are called for any theft. I had a partner - he took pity and let go of a woman who had stolen a stroller full of baby food. The next day I went to the Commander across the street - and they accepted her there because she stole the same baby food. She screamed and offered money to the cops, but they processed her.

Non-departmental against the National Guard.

When you need to call the cops, you press the panic button. Previously, private security came along it, and now the National Guard. And the guards really don’t care about anything. They can take an hour to respond to a call, although this is a rapid response team.

The guys from the non-departmental one arrived in two minutes with Kalash rifles and helmets - the Granta almost flew sideways into the parking lot. While the National Guard arrives, sits in the car, gets out, stretches, adjusts their pants, unbuttons their blouse, takes off their helmet - and then they just waddle off.

They don’t need anything - the National Guard has no plan. The private security guard had him, the PEP police officers had to catch, roughly speaking, three drunks, five rapists and two murderers during the night. And in the National Guard, an ordinary patrolman now has a salary of 50-60 thousand rubles. They sit in the confidence that at the end of the month they will receive their money for doing nothing.