Target

[LPGuy]

I pretty much figured TPS is going to be extremely boring. When I was plainclothes, our account had Door Guards (which I assume is the same as TPS). It seemed to be the most mundane security job. Standing in one spot and checking receipts on high end items doesnt seem very interesting.

I'm gonna cancel the interview. I'm not looking forward to driving 2 hours roundtrip to stand at a door all day for a few bucks more than minimum wage. It would be different if they had openings closer, but with gas prices as they are, I'm not gonna do it.

I've already got 70+ stops under my belt (all done solo). I've already taken OC and handcuff courses. Worst care scenario, I get a gig working close to home while I finish undergrad and eventually find a plainclothes gig until I leave for grad school.

One thing I want to add, I cant understand how people get made so easily working plainclothes. The store I was at had my office directly in front of all the checkout aisles. I walked out one time and some smartguy asked, "Hey man, you get caught stealing or something?". Brilliant. Evidently, I look like a scrub.

Thanks for everyones' input.

A Target TPS does a lot of monitoring by the doors, watching the parking lot, etc. But they do get to assist the plainclothes APS in all the apprehensions. Then there's also some of the even more mundane aspects of the job, such as doing inventory of all the store's high loss merchandise every morning...

[panther10758]

On a brighter note a TPS is in good postion to witness possible internals. A good TPS will spot oddities and note then so cameras can monitor suspected assocaites. Yes its boring but you can make most of it. TPS cna train you to be a better observer which will only aid you once you move forward from that postion

[#1TPS]

Yes it is true. A TPS does stand at the doors for the majority of the time and check receipts. I get asked by team members how I can stand at the front for a long time. However, you do get to see a lot of interesting stuff.

You also get to do more than just stand at the front. Parking Lot Patrols, assisting the APS with apprehensions, helping out with camera surveilence and communicating with law enforcement are just some of the few things that you get to do.

It is better to become a TPS before becoming an APS. All of the APS's I have worked with have been TPS's even when they already had experience with plainclothes with other companies. With the TPS position, you learn how to spot suspicious behavior and how to observe people. This positon definetely prepares you for the APS position and will make you even better at the job.

[Investigation]

Going into L.P.

If you are looking to get into L.P. work, I would stay away from Target. The “door guard” position is hard to fill, so they get the L.P. hopefuls to fill it. If you go elsewhere, you’ll get L.P. training and experience without being a warm body. I find it silly that they operate in this fashion. The door guard is the first person that a potential suspect sees and that same door guard will be easily spotted once he graduates to a L.P. position. Anyway, Give Macy’s, Saks, Neiman Marcus, or Nordstrom a try. Sears also has a very good program as well for people who are first entering the field.

[panther10758]

Target has one of the most successful LP programs out there and the TPS position is part of it. Its a good place to get started. TPS is only as boring as you make it. Unless of course you have a "Cops n Robbers attitude towards LP which to me suggest your more a liabilty than asset. Far as your face no one really believes that do they? A lifter will see the uniform and possibly not steal (one good reason for TPS) but will they remember your face once in plain clothes? Very doubtful. Lifters dont look in your face they dont want eye to eye contact! This also suggest same lifters are hitting same store over and over that they can recall a face again doubtful! No Target is very good place to start and TPS is good as well and not boring unless you make it that way

[N. A. Corbier]

This is fascinating, but when I worked in retail, I would see the same people lifting, time and time again. When we coordinated with management (we did not have a dedicated LP associate) about these people, we learned that they were doing organized returns fraud at our store.

They learned the faces of the LP people. They learned when we had LP coverage. And they learned the faces of the assistant managers (who had apprehension authority) as well.

It finally took changing the schedule around and using regular (but otherwise trained in apprehension) associates to actually make an arrest with these people, after two months.

Thankfully, the regular associates used were either former Florida law enforcement officers, or in my case had worked loss prevention previously, so we could abide by Florida law while making an apprehension. Any time the roving LP associates or managers would get near them, they'd drop what they had and exit the return line.

[panther10758]

If you have the same lifters day in and day out then your store is a failure! If you have LP within store they are a failure as well. If I see same face day after day yes I will recall it but that works in both directions the Loss Prevention team should be catching this as well. Any store with such a problem is a failure in my view

[Investigation]

Remember, statistics show that you only catch a fraction of all external thefts. Yes, you may remember a face, but if they are part of an organized theft ring, then you'll get a mixture of people from that group.

[LPGuy]

If you have the same lifters day in and day out then your store is a failure! If you have LP within store they are a failure as well. If I see same face day after day yes I will recall it but that works in both directions the Loss Prevention team should be catching this as well. Any store with such a problem is a failure in my view

Investigation, I agree. I think the Target TPS position is useful and has its benefits, but I would not suggest being a TPS as an "in" to plainclothes loss prevention. It will definately provide you with a little experience, sure, but not necessarily the type of experience you need for plainclothes work. I would recommend applying somewhere where you will get trained on plainclothes work right away, such as Macy's, Nordstrom, Sears, etc.

I remember when we interviewed for a plainclothes position at my store, we turned down two Target TPSs and hired a guy that had been stocking shelves at Safeway. That's not necessarily indicative of all TPSs, I know, but just goes to show it doesn't give you all the experience you need.

As a reply to panther10758, I'd like you to clarify your point a little more... I wouldn't say we had the "same lifters day in and day out," but we sure had the people who were difficult to catch because they'd get spooked and try again at a later date. Remember how I said that customer servicing them into dropping it doesn't really work? In reply to your idea that if you do so, you've prevented the theft and scared them away?

In reality, they just come back at another date, much as N.A. Corbier mentioned. It'd be much more effective to apprehend them and trespass them. If they choose to come back, well you just apprehend them again before they can even try to steal and now you can charge them with criminal trespass. Pretty soon they get the hint.

[panther10758]

In reality, they just come back at another date, much as N.A. Corbier mentioned. It'd be much more effective to apprehend them and trespass them. If they choose to come back, well you just apprehend them again before they can even try to steal and now you can charge them with criminal trespass. Pretty soon they get the hint.

That of course is an assumption! Even if perp does comeback he/she can be remembered and watched. I cant begint o tell you how many return lifters were caught because LP saw them and watched them.

[LPGuy]

That of course is an assumption! Even if perp does comeback he/she can be remembered and watched. I cant begint o tell you how many return lifters were caught because LP saw them and watched them.

That's not an assumption. That's simple logic.

Observing someone stealing and apprehending them is much more effective than observing someone stealing, scaring them, and then "watching them if they come back."

Now, you've wasted time dealing with a subject for the second time when you could be dealing with new faces in your store. Had you just apprehended the first time, you'd be done with them. If they come back, you don't even need to "watch" them any further--you just apprehend for criminal trespass.

Not to mention that the second time they come back, you may not be there and/or may be too busy watching someone else to watch the person you should have apprehended in the first place. You yourself admit in your post that return lifters were "caught" the second time around because you remembered them. Why didn't you just apprehend the first time? Are you just big into giving people second chances or something?

[panther10758]

We are talking about the TPS postion and how a TPS can prevent a shoplift not how TPS watches a theft and then acts! Arrest should always occur when prevention fails! Its less time consuming and gets officers back on floor quicker. TPS is a deterent to shoplifting! Target understands this and this why they have this position

[LPGuy]

We are talking about the TPS postion and how a TPS can prevent a shoplift not how TPS watches a theft and then acts! Arrest should always occur when prevention fails! Its less time consuming and gets officers back on floor quicker. TPS is a deterent to shoplifting! Target understands this and this why they have this position

I'm not arguing the fact that a TPS can prevent shoplifts. I believe that they are a great deterrent to shoplifting.

However, I was talking about TPSs having trouble transitioning into plainclothes and you stated that it shouldn't be a big deal because repeat offenders apparently don't frequent your store.

Either you work in a very small store or you just have very low crimes rates in your area if you never see people try stealing from you again. The only people that never tried stealing from my store a second time were the people I apprehended. The ones that I deterred through prevention without an apprehension almost always tried again a different day.

You argue that prevention without apprehension saves time. Maybe if you work in a very small store, perhaps. In a large store, where you see the same people over and over, it wastes time. It's much more productive to apprehend and trespass them. You more than likely won't be seeing them again if you make the terms of the trespass very clear.

[panther10758]

No I have worked multi leveled stores where I reduced shrink by over a full % and cut arrest by more than half. All by installing working prevention methods! An arrest takes time watching them processing since we know there are countless shoplifts daily the more time LP spend watching the better at reducing shrink. This is where prevention works best. I cannot say the stores I have had success in but I can tell you you they are the larger ones in any Mall! Prevention reduces shrink better than arrest. I am not againist arrest as I accounted for 40% of all arrest at my employers. When prevention fails arrest are next course of action.

[LPGuy]

When prevention fails arrest are next course of action.

Even if perp does comeback he/she can be remembered and watched. I cant begint o tell you how many return lifters were caught because LP saw them and watched them.

These are the ideas I have issue with. You seem to be saying that when you observe someone attempting to steal, you try to scare them into leaving. If they leave without stealing, fine. But if they come back? Do you try to scare them away the second time as well? Give them another chance to leave without being apprehended? If so, you're only going to be wasting your time with the same people over and over as N.A. Corbier pointed out. Now you've just spent twice as much time with the same one person...

I don't see how that can be productive, scaring away the same people over and over again until they actually try to walk out the door with your product and you're then forced to apprehend them. While you're wasting time scaring that same person into leaving for the second or third time, you've got other people stealing on the other side of the store.