Shoplifters: The Criminal Hordes (1983)

'Shoplifters: The Criminal Hordes' (Centron, 1983) is a loss prevention film created to educate retail personnel about the various methods employed by shoplifters, and how to prevent them.
More info here: storicafilm.com/films/shoplif...
Film Synopsis:
This invaluable awareness film dramatizes common shoplifting techniques and demonstrates how clerks and store owners can detect and apprehend the thieves. Everyone pays when shoplifting isn’t aggressively prosecuted. Shoplifting has accounted for 30 percent of all business failures in the United States. As this program illustrates, the best defense against thieves is an informed and attentive staff.
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Website: storicafilm.com
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Storica, Inc. (Storicafilm) is a media company based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. We distribute vintage, archival, educational, and documentary films, and provide downloads, rentals, streaming, stock footage, images, audio, Educational/Non-Theatrical licensing, and historical research.
The views expressed in the multimedia content distributed by Storica are those of their respective authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Storica, Inc. or its representatives.

[@gearheadgregwi]

Connie is a lobbyist now. Billy is a senator.

[@DottieMaeEvans]

Yup, that sounds about right. Only Billy and Connie can get away with it. 🤣

[@gearheadgregwi]

It's okay. Walmart would've put them out of business anyway.

[@DottieMaeEvans]

@@gearheadgregwi that is true too. Or Target. 😁

[@paulholland5270]

Charlie grow up to become a crackhead and spent most his life in and out of jail for shop robberys 😁🥴🤪😜😝😛😋😆😅😂🤣😭

[@coimbralaw]

And you live in mommy’s basement

[@ericnelson9100]

You're going to call her parents; she's 35 years old!

[@ElSantoLuchador]

Ya, and she's probably going to feel pretty embarrassed once they contact her parents at their home in a retirement community somewhere in Florida.

[@SlickCooper]

😂😂😂😂

[@Uwilldyeeventually2]

😂😂😂😂 i kno.. funny as hell

[@brianallison1913]

Reminds me of that Walk Hard movie with John C Reilly. In the beginning he yells at his family that he's leaving and the female playing his girlfriend yells "I'm going with him because I'm his twelve year old girlfriend." and it's blatantly obvious it's a mid to late 30's woman in a dress and her hair in pigtails

[@MmePoivre]

​@@brianallison1913I remember this! One of my favorite films!

[@projekt888]

Connie's biggest crime? THOSE BANGS

[@daviddaigle2419]

I remember them showing films like this in school because the teacher was probably hungover,😅

[@ElSantoLuchador]

We used to be able to predict whether or not we were going to play basketball in the gym that day based on how high the PE teacher was.

[@yasinsharb9453]

Yeah so true, we used get these films on fridays like the last 2,5hours before we go home, if the teacher didn't had time to check our homework the day before.But we love it...lights off, beamer on and we throw papers balls at the girls to get their attention, miss those days

[@Uwilldyeeventually2]

​@@yasinsharb9453😂😂😂omg..must've been a trade secret or somethin bc I remember that shit.happenin all thru School. Elem..middle and high school !!😂

[@jorgehuerta9593]

My substitute teacher looked and smelled like a fuckin homeless person....

[@bonniegaither3994]

1983: Chimal hoards 2023: hold my beer.

[@mikekrause3671]

Chimal?

[@LazyLizzy706]

*”Current hot items in the criminal resale market are videotape machines.”* Ohhh how times have changed 💀

[@yankees29]

We bought our first VCR in 1983. I’m pretty sure it cost over 2k at the time.😂

[@oooh19]

😂

[@oooh19]

Weird now CDs 💿 are out of date

[@ssestakhch]

These days, it's any device with access to streaming services.

[@john_from_eastcoast.]

Now in 2023 it's the mob "Smash and grab!" 😂

[@upstatenewyork]

I was given community service for stealing from a grocery store. My community service hours were served in a second hand store operating the cash register and starting on my first day they left me alone to “run the place”. I didn’t steal anything but that was an odd place to put someone alone who had been arrested for shoplifting.

[@ten4k964]

So, basically.....you're white

[@kevinbeck5912]

Stupid lemming's judges did that 😅😂

[@M60gunner1971]

I suspect that you're lying 🤥 about not stealing anything from the thrift store. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. If you'd steal from a place full of people, you would most certainly rob a store with only you in it. Have a good day and I hope you've given up your life of petty crimes.

[@brianallison1913]

​@@M60gunner1971or they were setting her up via camera to see if she would steal again.

[@465marko]

@@M60gunner1971 You obviously learned a lot from this documentary!! Anyone who shoplifts doesn't have the intelligence o strength of character to operate in a free enterprise society!!

[@hatednyc]

Man, THIS is some quality programming. Thanks for uploading and for reminding me just how old I truly am now. 😅

[@storicafilm]

Thank you!

[@user-hw1nb5hr4q]

Hahaha, me too

[@THEDUDE912]

I like how the "Old Time Ice Cream Shop" went out of business because you know how prevalent ice cream theft is..lol

[@leonardoavalos1]

Damn it Connie, you’re ruining it for the rest of us 😢.

[@kayfitzgerald309]

😂😂😂

[@puppylove3781]

She is such a Con. And she brags like it's 1983!

[@SlickCooper]

😂

[@mauricereid136]

Connie done messed up the game 😂

[@hatednyc]

I can’t believe their solution is taking shoplifters out back. “The only way to make sure they don’t come back is to make your store the last place they ever see again.”

[@ericthiel4053]

Lol the maternity fake pouch must have been a real store damager back in the 80s....

[@digitalwallflower]

So is that the original reason why strangers still approach a pregnant woman and start touching her belly?

[@JackRainfield]

If a young criminal wants to know every trick in the book about how to shoplift this is the video for you!

[@Lakefrontlurker]

Nah they just smash and grab nowadays

[@somewhereinspace2166]

A lot of these are obsolete now that everything has barcodes or an alarm tag. Back in these days, you could simply switch a price or put something in your pocket and walk out. Not so much anymore.

[@agomodern]

Remove the packaging. I see empty boxes laying around all of the time at Dollar General, Wal-Mart, etc.

[@manp1039]

it is also a good video for shopkeepers and others to know how this is done so they can better protect themself.

[@nonyabiz550]

Cameras

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

If you hear a cracking sound from the clothing area, be warned! LOL.

[@sirgerbilmacintosh9101]

They made no mention of the fact that a significant portion of retail theft is internal.

[@dangoleshootnetwork6036]

Sweet "Zaxxon" machine by the door!! Loved that game!

[@nebulapig]

Stealing a book from a library. Could have totally just checked it out for free.

[@IsmailofeRegime]

Yeah the stereotype about libraries is that you check out something and legit forget to take it back, so that many years later you're like "oh god, I never returned that book on cotton production in the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, I feel as if I have committed a mortal sin against God and mankind."

[@ezekielkoontz5267]

Same energy as stealing a balloon on Free Balloon Day.

[@micronut6082]

Well that's no fun when you are a klepto

[@ElSantoLuchador]

"Yeah, '71. That was my first year on the job. Bad year for libraries. Bad year for America. Hippies burning library cards, Abby Hoffman telling everybody to steal books. I don't judge a man by the length of his hair or the kind of music he listens to. Rock was never my bag. But you put on a pair of shoes when you walk into the New York Public Library, fella..."

[@puppylove3781]

Nobody said that 🐒's were smart. On that note, I am convinced that only the bookstore would be a safe and viable business. They can't read anyway and will just walk out.

[@juanelorriaga2840]

8:50 I miss the days when there were arcade cabs in grocery stores

[@flyingsodwai1382]

I could never own a retail store because of this. I would suspect everyone and be anxious about everyone in the store. Itd be hell for me.

[@Paramount531]

The only thing worse would be owning a liquor or convenience and wondering which customer is about to put a gun in your face and rob you.

[@ku4uv]

I worked for a mom and pop owned local grocery store back in high school in the early 90's. The owner was this old so-called Christian asshole that thought everyone was a damn thief, including his employees. He had video cameras on every square inch of that store. They did have these broke rednecks that would occasionally go in there and try to steal stuff, but it was misery working for his store, because you always felt like someone was constantly watching you. Luckily, I only worked there for about a year, during my senior year.

[@MWorsa]

It’s bad enough being a contractor and the rare customer stiffs you 😒

[@velvetpilot2008]

That's why I feel for Dollar Generals and Family Dollar stores. They choose to put themselves in impoverished neighborhoods, predominantly black and brown neighborhoods where the bus ride to Walmart is too far for a few items, so they are to blame in that way. But that's the only way they can theoretically compete with Walmart I guess. Imagine being the manager at those stores. I have heard the shoplifting is INSANE and the corporation has to factor in something like 20% in losses right off the top. It doesn't help that those stores also make shoplifting so easy when there is no camera and the shelves reach the ceiling!

[@Paramount531]

@@MWorsa Now THAT I can relate to, I was a general contractor for over 40 years, mostly small tenant improvement work. Commercial customers were better about not stiffing me than homeowners were.

[@scottl.1568]

Sweet!! I'll never get tired of early 80s nostalgia 😅

[@jayortega2029]

Love how this is recommended to me randomly on a Black Friday.

[@jacoberwin4412]

The algorithm knows

[@Remake5182]

The 80s called

[@Silverlining1111]

❤ What a lovely 1983. ❤

[@bradye21playsIndieHorror]

That mall at the end is entirely wood paneling 😮

[@animalmother8117]

The best thing is when an obvious undercover shopper keeps following you around the store at close range with his radio going off all the time. I wasn’t going to steal anything, but I’m also not going to buy anything now either. Nice work.

[@brucesmith1544]

you sound paranoid

[@SpookyDollhouse]

​@@brucesmith1544Develop a personality ❤

[@josedorsaith5261]

@D-jj5dy you've never shoplifted, right?

[@brucesmith1544]

@@SpookyDollhouse exactly

[@SpookyDollhouse]

@@brucesmith1544 ?

[@hojo70]

I got caught stealing a cassette tape from Sears back in the early 80s, I was only a young teen. They called my mom and she had to come pick me up, it was quite embarassing. I never shoplifted again after that.

[@seand2711]

I miss the 80's. That film reminds me of simpler times.

[@soggyfroggy22]

I wish stereo radios were back in fashion.

[@chefthom72]

love it! this was filmed in my Kansas hometown! LFK!

[@wambam9062]

Gibsons! Weavers! The Acme at the Malls Shopping Center! Kroger on 23rd street!

[@MrCarrot14]

Every time Connie steals, her nose grows bigger.

[@Gr8thxAlot]

My dad spent several decades in retail management. The business impact of shoplifting, bad checks, and even a burglary/safe-breaking was high. Even prominent townspeople would pass bad checks, which my dad would have to try to recover for in court. The burglars just got a slap on the wrist. The store and the entire chain ended up closing in the 1980's, once Wal-Mart finished it off. Jobs lost, tax revenue lost, it was all pretty sad. I can see a future where everything is behind the counter in retail, and you simply order online and pick it up.

[@lymarie1974]

That’s pretty much how it is now

[@lailari57]

Back in the day, they used to place items behind the counter but that all changed at the turn of the last century when everything came out for customers to touch. I shoplifted just once as a teenager. Grabbed three cassette tapes (I’m really era dating myself) and tried to walk out of the store with them. The security guard caught up with me outside, threatened me with arrest and that I was not to return to the store ever again. Scared the hell out of me. He also took the tapes. I think it was a Thrifty’s, which is now Rite Aid.

[@billrowan1957]

Ok kojak, I see you're on top of the case...

[@bmay81]

1800-1950s?

[@y.bowcat7782]

back in the olden days before piggly wiggly introduced the modern grocery store layout, you could either give your list to the guy at the counter at the store and he'd bring you your stuff or you could put in an order with the store and they'd deliver it to your house. which, you know, is where we're ending up again. probably because that's just what makes sense anyway.

[@stephmaccormick3195]

A friend of mine one stole a Mars candy bar. Now he regularly appears on court. He's a federal judge.

[@markmurphy3177]

Does not suprise me a lot of Judges are crooks or henchmen for crooks ( Govt).

[@davidgarrett4852]

The first thing I ever stole was a Mars bar!

[@ElSantoLuchador]

I heard about this guy that fraudulently acquired millions and millions of dollars in assets from a sketchy source. Now he regularly appears in the highest court of the land. He's a SCOTUS judge, and no, he's not going to recuse himself and you can't make him.

[@Cjnw]

A Trump appointee, no doubt!

[@MGAF688]

@@Cjnw Wrong. biden all the way. Some Republicans still are honest. No democrats are honest.

[@walkergillette3918]

Hi security guard bought this new stereo, may I check your receipt? oh good deal sir, only 89 cents

[@locker125]

Security in this time is not allowed to touch or apprehend someone. Years back the personal injury attorneys would advertise call us if stopped by store security.

[@peppermintvalo]

I hate that they described people who don't want to be helped when looking for merchandise and immediately walk off are usually thieves. I'm not a thief, I just don't like people up my ass while I'm trying to concentrate on my decision making.

[@dannydaw59]

Ya, I can't stand the upselling.

[@dodge33445]

Imagine back in the day when there were no cameras.... No DNA testing.... No alarm systems..... Yet thieves still got caught... Like they must of REALLLLLY been stupid to get caught back in those days...

[@johnwilburn]

No, it's because society actually cared then. Thieves today are courted for Democrat votes and protected accordingly.

[@myfriendgoo2816]

There were more human employees. BTW, Best Buy credits those for having minimal "shrink" even now.

[@dodge33445]

You know what else is crazy? In the 50s and 60s you could work at a hardware store as an employee NOT an owner, just an employee... and be able to support your kids, have a stay at home wife, AND a house ... All paid for with that JOB... SO long to those days., I wish I was alive back in those days and not born into these days .... SMH.. @@myfriendgoo2816

[@skinnygrave2487]

Must have, not must of.

[@Chef_Alpo]

People were far less distracted and connected to their surroundings. This is indeed a factor, I manage and often deal with having to remind crew members of the same regulations nearly every day, in-between telling them to get off their phones and remove the airpods. When you're focused and present in mind, you retain information and absorb your surroundings; you build better habits that support a good work ethic. Imagine all of that mental energy spent on social media posts or online shopping and tiktok size meme vids being channeled towards job related tasks such as recognizing typical patterns displayed by shoplifters? You'd be surprised what you pick up on when you are where you are in mind as well as body!

[@ethefunfetti]

Connie's stolen jam got me through high school.

[@burgundyjayde]

Jam is my favorite thing in the world I would have loved Connie

[@richatlarge462]

So quaint, in light of what is tolerated today.

[@465marko]

This is hilarious!!! Thank you so much :) What a gem.

[@bigeffinowl]

Been caught stealing. Once, when I was five.

[@Biscuit1973]

I remember watching these shoplifting film reels over 40 years ago back in elementary school as a kid which shows people stealing outta various stores around the country & all because back then , Shoplifting was considered as a crime up until now because many businesses across the country had shutdown because of it .

[@joeybaseball7352]

Turns out, what caused all these businesses was Walmart. They put more stores out of business than all the shoplifters ever did x100. And now Amazon is putting those corporations out of business, who put the small businesses out of business. But yeah, let's blame the shoplifters, and bootlick Walmart and Amazon.

[@bobloblaw204]

I believe the masses are getting quite tired of it. "Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad" ~ Russel Peters

[@packers12to80]

Now u have to steal up to 1k or some shit for it to even mean anything. Damn shame

[@Hotshotter3000]

The businesses that closed recently in California did not close due to shoplifting.

[@RyanCoomer]

yes they did@@Hotshotter3000

[@ku4uv]

How far we have come. Most of the big box stores today couldn't care less about theft. Can't say I ever really stole anything when I was younger and dumber. My parents would have lit my ass up if I did, so I knew better than to even dip a toe!

[@MisterMikeTexas]

Mom whipped me good at 6 years old when she caught me with a stolen toy. I haven't shoplifted since.

[@ElSantoLuchador]

@@MisterMikeTexas When I was 12 I got caught shoplifting and the store and the owner chose to prosecute. I did a perp walk to the cop car, they cuffed me, and then they called my mom from the station. She came in crying. Last time I ever shoplifted. Except for condoms when I was 15. I was too embarrassed to face the cashier, so I stuffed them in my sock.

[@walkergillette3918]

I wasn't gonna shoplift but thanks to your tips I think I'll give it a try

[@chipmunktubetop]

Me TOO!!!

[@paulamaddock4691]

😂😂👍

[@fresatx]

If I get by.... Its MINE, mine all mine.

[@ku4uv]

I'd been caught stealin' once, when I was five.@@fresatx

[@seanmc7128]

Go to California and you can just walk right out with up to 1k worth of stuff. No one will stop you.

[@spidercherry108]

Never stop to chat with the employee catching you at the door, keep walking fast and get the hell out, giving up nothing. 😂

[@danrodrigues3531]

I couldn't stop laughing when they had Grandma and Grandpa swiping the salt and pepper shakers from the restaurant. And only moments later, they have a guy putting a wannabe ghetto blaster inside his jacket and zipping it up as if that would really conceal the fact that he's trying to steal a crappy tape player...

[@M60gunner1971]

That happens all the time my boi.

[@marsoblivi0n945]

Dude I’ve seen people take entire desktop computers under a dress and walk right out the door.

[@account4info]

A fat lady shoved a large flat screen tv up her dress and made it out of Walmart.

[@someguy6212]

This video was amazing. I love seeing the interior of stores from the 70s, 80s.

[@markbrown4039]

This popped up on my recommendations, and it's actually pretty entertaining. I never stole anything from a store in my life, but when I was a kid, I grabbed one of those hard candies from a restaurant counter, thinking they were free. My mother made me go back and pay for it.

[@shibbymiyah6614]

You should be prosecuted

[@manp1039]

i now put myself in embarrasing situation of asking if an item is free or not.. like sometimes there are newspapers the the doorr entrance. And it is hard to know if those are the freebies or not. I have seen sometimes people putting day old newspapers in that area to give away after they have read them as well. It takes a lot of expereinces in lots of different scenarios to have a common sense of what peoples intent is by leaving an item like breathmints next to a cash register. Some restraunts give away the breathmints to customers. And to make it easier for them they just put them in a bowl near the register instead of handing one to ever customer seated. Some customers don't want them and would throw them away.. and some do want them. And putting them next to the register seems like a good place for them. I think maybe your mother could have also been wrong. Did you ask the clerk when paying for the candy if it cost money and how people would know and know how much it costs?

[@charleskatholijr.1055]

Omg they had the black guy steal the boom box...lol😂

[@osooyabun2701]

Well well well...m

[@joeybaseball7352]

All the dozens 0f white people stealing, and you focus 9n the one black guy. Says a lot about you.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

Terrible stereotype, also terrible stereo for your music. There were never any fellows of that pursuasion using boom boxes

[@Swampyankeehomestead]

1980s called in wants its inaccurate racist stereo type back.

[@puppylove3781]

They steal everything that isn't bolted to the floor at Dollar General.

[@The_welder_]

I did a paper round in the 1990s before mass CCTV. Each day when collecting my newspaper's id also take a few packs of sports cards when the old lady running the shop wasn't looking. I had the biggest collection in school.

[@Chris_34]

When I did a paper round in the late 80's all the paperboys used to nick grumble mags from off the top shelf. Me included🥳

[@NickHansenN0FEZ]

I got to watch this back in 1991 when I started cashiering for Hinky Dinky. Thanks for the flashback.

[@DaTripper]

K-Mart used to catch everyone, must of had some top of the line Radio Shack security in the late 70s

[@greasesicle]

Not the one in Bellevue. Two junior high aged kids were on bmx bikes soaked in mud from rain. They went into the Bellevue KMart, dumped their soaked and soiled clothes and replaced them with underwear, shoes and layers to thick jackets. It was hilarious.

[@Chef_Alpo]

Interesting. Back during my troubled teen years I went to a local Kmart with some school acquaintances, we had the intention of shoplifting. I got a bad vibe, so I refrained from touching anything, but my companions loaded up on some nonsensical items. I remember the little security guard waiting for us at the door, somehow put his arms around all three of us and escorted us into the security office. Not that any of us were struggling but it was mildly impressive how this little guy managed to get a decent hold of all three of us significantly larger males. The guy gave the least aggression to the kids that stuffed their pants with candy, slim jims, glass bottles of soda (dunno how this boy got 3 in those cargo pants) and I think a Numetal cd and a PS1 game (it was 1999), but he had plenty of attitude towards me despite having nothing on me. I get the feeling the guy got a bit too much pleasure out if busting people, maybe a sense of superiority, something I deprived him of it seems. The other boys got their parents called, whereas he called the police on me. The officer seemed somewhat annoyed with the security guard, and was pretty decent towards me, he escorted me back to school and after a brief explanation to the administrative desk clerk, left for more important things. The office lady basically just told me to go back to class and that was that. I kind of got lost in memory lane there, but you had a point, Kmart bagged me empty handed, but Walmart and Sears never did. I don't think it came down to the technology, from what I could see Kmarts was a bit behind in that matter, but it did seem that they did have active and dedicated staff watching the security cameras, and their stores were small enough for them to monitor, whereas Walmart and other places had more cameras, but it seemed only the management would watch the cameras and often times only in review of reported incidents; well documented but unmonitored. I have long since given up that sort of behavior and regret spending my younger years in that manner, I suppose the one positive is the perspective and growth that such experiences have given me as a starting point.

[@freaky_chungus]

Crazy how accurate this still is

[@MathMan271]

We NEED an update on Connie!

[@caliado]

Now in 2023 you have people assaulting stores en masse grabbing armfuls of merchandise and stealing thousands at a time

[@RebelTaxi]

Some of these are genius i would have never thot about it. 🤔

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

"Yes, I carry this carton of cigarettes around while I'm shopping. You got a problem with that?!?"

[@nywherebuthere]

Loss prevention has entered the chat

[@nywherebuthere]

Sir, I need to see your receipt

[@alfredmorency8296]

I did theft reduction work in the mid-80s, back then it was almost all singles and pairs, never mobs. The shoplifters looked like the customer base for that store. Most of the adults were stealing for kicks. Minor girls tended to steal cosmetics and provocative clothing, and boys would steal condoms or food. The worst people to deal with were well-off women, who tended to make a scene and generally be very unpleasant to deal with, one of these tried to stab me in the eyes with a rat-tail comb. So-called professional shoplifters (Who steal to sell the items, and sometimes take orders for specific items and then go steal those items.) never ran or fought because the penalties for shoplifting were so light that risking assault or endangerment charges wasn't worth the risk. I caught around 100 shoplifters, and only 3 of them were stealing something they needed but couldn't afford, I arranged it so that no charges were pressed for those three.

[@joeybaseball7352]

I did loss prevention too, and never once cared. I wasn't paid enough to care. Only time I would say anything is if the sensors beeped, and I had to do something. But most of the time, the sensors were either malfunctioning and just beeping randomly, or not working entirely. So I didn't anything. I was paid $10/hour. Minimum wage = minimum effort. Pay me $100/hour, and I would've caught every shoplifter. Pay me $10/hour, and I won't catch any. Why should I care about your merchandise, when you don't care about me to pay me a livable wage? Most of the stuff people shoplifted were things I couldn't afford anyway. Like something that's $50, I would have to work 5 hours to buy that. And that assuming I didn't have to pay for rent, bills. utilities, food, gas, etc. What are they gonna do to me? Fire me? Ooh I'm so scared. I'll just get unemployment for 6 months, and get another minimum wage job.

[@seanmc7128]

Now look what we're putting up with.

[@I_WANT_MY_SLAW]

Same here. Did they seriously think I was going to ruin someone's life while on a $6 an hour salary? Nah. Did they think I was gonna risk my life for the corporate overlords who don't care about me? Nah. When I did loss prevention, all I did was stand at the doors. If the sensors ever beeped, I'd just let them go. I'd of course do the whole charade of pretending like I cared what they potentially stole. But if they were on line, and showed a receipt, it was all good. Because it meant they bought something. I wasn't about to inspect their receipt, and check to see if every item was paid for. That's above my pay grade. Pay me more to do all that. They want to do a $60/hour job, but only pay me $6/hour. Nah. I'm gonna do a $6/hour job. If you want me to do a $60/hour job, pay me $60/hour. Otherwise you get what you pay for.

[@circleinforthecube5170]

to be fair everything was a lot more affordable in the 80s, as a zoomer even with understanding inflation i am jealous of the prices you guys had back then

[@circleinforthecube5170]

@@I_WANT_MY_SLAW companies cheap out and were suprised when gen x didint care, neither did millenials or zoomers, everyday i see more and more backlash against corporatism

[@paul06660]

Pretty much everything said in this old video still rings true today. Especially the part its better to not give chase due to the many things that can happen.

[@pkmnan00bis]

Worked for a big box store where confronting a shoplifter was a fireable offense. We couldn't even accuse. Back then security wasn't camped out at the door so folks just walked out with carts filled with stuff.

[@DrunkDoglol]

Ah yes, back then when employees were treated well enough that they'd care if someone was stealing.

[@I_WANT_MY_SLAW]

​@@pkmnan00bisgoes to show that they don't care about you.

[@ZefTillDeath8878]

20 years ago when I worked at Target, the security actually asked me to leave my register to help chase down a thief, so I did. No chance of that happening today.

[@Brightest_day727]

* cut to bender from Futurama * "I love stealing...I love taking things..."

[@DrunkDoglol]

It was a really different world back then. You had no reason to be paranoid. You could skip town after town with a ghost trail following you. These days, despite all the surveillance around us, and in front of us right now, they allow crime to happen. It's okay to be a small fish. 😅

[@PEACEOUTPAT]

Connies a badass

[@gearheadgregwi]

"Drink, eighty fi' cent. You pay or go!" Falling Down (That was only ten years after this PSA. It's now 2023.)

[@StanSwan]

Employees are the biggest shoplifters.

[@rachelman9316]

How people won't notice you walking around with a big ass cigarette box or present box

[@dontreadtoomuchintomycomment]

I've stolen about 40 times. I used to steal beer and a cop was called once. He told me to go home and he personally took the stolen beer back. It will become a sickness, an addiction that you won't quit.

[@pattskatoey3139]

These old videos are great.

[@TheEuphoricsloth]

So this is how shady people looked in the 80s 😂

[@snevissniffle7905]

I stole a calculator over 30 years ago. My father sked me where I got it. Well he figured I stole it. Got my ass whooped, never stole again.

[@waltercasas3124]

I like how they show many ethnicities, creeds & colors that do the same thing

[@greasesicle]

A lot of lousy businesses blame their failures on bad guys. It's a great reason to close stores.

[@CallieCat666]

some of these 80s boys are so pretty

[@justabaldguy]

Such a great video! Thank you for sharing. I worked at Sears in the mid 90s, and we reviewed many similar tips. I love to see how stores and products were laid out over the years, it's fascinating. That drill was just out to be looked at! Now everything tied down or behind glass.

[@petemarron6677]

I miss the days when there were arcade games everywhere.

[@dadvibes8861]

Do you remember when Connie shoplifted? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

[@junkboxxxxxx]

Thanks for the how-to tips

[@upstatenewyork]

😂

[@Ace1000ks19751982]

Back in the 1980s when you caught a shoplifter they would cooperate. Today, they don't cooperate, they will try to fight you or run.

[@circleinforthecube5170]

no they wouldn't, you think someone getting caught doing a crime thats that easy to get away with if you just never go to that store again is the crime that people run from the most

[@Ace1000ks19751982]

@@circleinforthecube5170 How old are you?

[@ku4uv]

I remember those rainbow barrettes that the girls sported 40 years ago!

[@NoNo-iz8hd]

Love the old ghetto blasters!

[@Del-Canada]

10:47 I kind of miss Jordache signage now. All the rage back then.

[@TheDigitalPillars]

Thanks.. I will have a look.

[@joeshmoe9978]

Their jeans were very popular for sure.

[@Sparklemotion2096]

Why was everything all brown and mustardy yellow back then?

[@joeybaseball7352]

Sepia

[@IsmailofeRegime]

Because in the 70s America decided that dark green, dark yellow, dark orange, and brown were perfectly awesome colors for clothes, walls, cars, etc.

[@exodus8292]

Tutorial for shoplifting? Lots of good ideas

[@SonNguyen-mk2wq]

Came here from another 80s video about Christmas shopping. Comments on that video sounds like people think crime was invented after the 80s and it was some super utopia till “young people” ruined it.

[@askjeevescosby2928]

Things were better back then. People were far more intelegent and respectful.

[@ThatArabGirl10]

@@askjeevescosby2928 You mean, "intelligent"?

[@askjeevescosby2928]

@ThatArabGirl10 spelled it wrong one time and hit the stupid check, now it corrects to it every time. And I said they were intelligent not that I was. Because I'm not. My brain is mashed potatoes.

[@SonNguyen-mk2wq]

@@askjeevescosby2928 As someone who dealt with rampant unchecked racism I'm glad your memories are fonder than mine.

[@askjeevescosby2928]

@@SonNguyen-mk2wq why time period are you talking about? If you don't mind discussing.

[@masterbass4544]

It was nice 15-20 years ago when you can take up shoplifting as a full-time job I miss them days when cameras weren't everywhere

[@masterbass4544]

@@user-oz2cs7mw5j there's no money in it now fool 15 20 years ago there was I remember walking out of Zeller's with GameCubes when they first came out Xboxes small flat screen TVs and why the hell would anyone move to California people who live there don't want to be there

[@ElSantoLuchador]

It was 40 years ago when you could run from the cops just for fun. Then came K-9 technology.

[@CokeZorro]

Shoplifting used to be so much worse. Anyone who thinks it's bad now is either young or getting propaganda fed to them. Like the other commenter said you used to be able to run from the cops for fun now it's a prison sentence and then they'll probably kill you when they catch you

[@CokeZorro]

​@@user-oz2cs7mw5jstop believing right wing propaganda and look up a term called shrink and how it's being manipulated currently

[@mauricereid136]

😂

[@justinbergman4288]

Imagine if they could see Portland or San Francisco now 😂😂😂😂😂

[@LiLgPnoy15]

This film came out in 1983, and here were 2023, and its even worse now!

[@balalunga1]

I saw a very interesting short report how especially female shoplifters over 18 are handled in the backoffice.

[@Melissa404Vee]

This looks like a classic after-school schedule 😂😂😭😭😭

[@Disasterpiece5150]

You wanna know the real thieves? Insurance companies and the taxation of the people.

[@betsyogle8224]

Lot's of tips to beat inflation. Thanks!!

[@MADSLAYER47]

Today it's much more common seeing hordes of shoplifters all at once clean out shelves like locust

[@moominmay]

The anecdotes in the comments of how people shoplifted back in the day are quite ingenious- makes me wanna give it a try! 😅

[@marcse7en]

In order to reduce theft, stores should consider removing the hands of thieves! WARNING: "We Don't Prosecute Shoplifters, But This Store Operates A Policy Of Removing The Hands Of Thieves!"

[@JimTheCurator]

one of my least favorite parts of being a cashier was having to cut off the hands of people my manager said were shoplifting, she never even let me see the security footage so i could be sure.. This is my story

[@marcse7en]

@@JimTheCurator Well, the "handless" thieves WON'T do it again! 👍🤣

[@puppylove3781]

@@marcse7en They cut off their heads in other countries like Nigeria, China, etc.

[@marcse7en]

@@puppylove3781 Hands or heads, one thing's for sure, they WON'T do it again! 🤣

[@joeshmoe9978]

100% of people named Mohammed agree. 😜

[@guapodel]

My parents taught me to steal. Now, I have all the towels and steak knives I can ever need.

[@ChuckD79]

The row of arcade games in the Kroger @ 8:48 really dates this film, aside from bringing back memories of a time when so many stores/restaurants had one or more arcade games for their customers!

[@MelissaServicePack7Lucky7]

“Let’s go krogering” will now become the new slang term for shoplifting, after this video gets enough views and circulation around the internet lol.

[@savafanbryan]

Funny you think how I do and esp since we are 2 80s kiddos!! Way cool to find you watching old training videos like this too. I get lost in these!! ha ha

[@MelissaServicePack7Lucky7]

@@savafanbryan I love videos like this! I download them! I have a ton saved on a flash drive!

[@Paramount531]

I never tried it. One thing that intimidated me was seeing a kid get caught in a local SavOn Drug. I did, enjoy picking out and watching under cover store personnel doing there thing, if you know what they look like it was pretty easy. I also saw a kid walking of a Montgomery Ward store with his family get snagged by an undercover, his parents were totally shocked.

[@ku4uv]

I saw a brother/sister duo get busted at a clothing store by a cop about 30 years ago. The sister looked liked she was about 6, and the brother looked to be about 10 or 11. Lord only knows what the hell they were stealing.

[@xmvirus202]

Thanks for the memories! We had a Gibson's store here in Benton, Arkansas. They used to play Herb Alpert tunes on the Muzak. ❤️✌️🙏

[@stephenjohnson8941]

This looks like the 1970s.

[@IsmailofeRegime]

It'd make sense that in 1983 there's still plenty of stuff from the latter half of the 70s around (especially if filmed in a smaller town.) Modern shows and movies that focus on a specific decade often portray that decade as if everyone simultaneously adopted the latest fashions and whatnot, which wasn't the case in reality.

[@Will1982]

“If they don’t check the prices, ask them what makes them think they could afford it”. … Yeah that would go over well. 😂

[@RetroSega]

+1 for having a Zaxxon cabinet on film

[@scottrogue946]

I don’t know if anyone remembers the First Down winter coats popular back in the 90’s but I had a friend as a kid who would steal candy bars and shoved them up the sleeves of her down coat. She would walk out with 4 or 5 candy bars in each sleeve. Absolutely crazy 😜

[@ShepherdsChapelonYT]

They forgot the return scam where they just take an item off the shelf and return it and they give them cash. Could be done with a receipt found in the parking lot or some stores don't even need a receipt.