They may know a lot about selling scanty underthings but, when it comes to preventing thefts, Victoria's Secret employees are rather less competent, police said after more than $11,000 worth of bras were stolen from the chain's store at The Westchester mall this week.
"This is an ongoing problem for us,'' an exasperated Deputy Public Safety Commissioner Daniel Jackson said after Wednesday's bra heist - the 12th at the two Victoria's Secret stores in the city this year.
"We've met a number of times with both store managers and corporate loss-prevention representatives and made suggestions as to how they can reduce their vulnerability. Apparently, they've made a corporate decision not to implement any of our suggestions," Jackson said.
Sinthia Palmar, manager of the store at The Westchester, had no comment on Jackson's statement yesterday.
"I wouldn't know about that, because I wasn't here (Wednesday),'' she said, referring questions to the chain's corporate office. Officials from Limited Brands, the parent company, did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
Wednesday's theft occurred about 5 p.m. Police said a store videotape shows a man, who appears to be shopping, motioning two other men inside after sales associates leave the front of the store. The two men crouch at a large display of pricey bras while the first man acts as a lookout. The two then empty several drawers of bras into a shopping bag. One man leaves the store briefly and returns with another bag, which they quickly fill.
The two men leave the store with 231 bras valued at $11,048, while the lookout takes an item off a rack and uses it to set off the security alarm to help cover their escape. When a sales associate checks on him, the lookout apologizes for getting too close to the door, then hangs the item back on the rack and walks out.
The whole caper took less than three minutes.
Even faster thefts have taken place recently. On Oct. 7 a man grabbed 13 bras worth $720 from the Westchester store and took off before anyone noticed. A week earlier, 16 bras valued at $768 were stolen from the branch in the Galleria in similar fashion.
Jackson would not discuss specific security issues at the White Plains stores or say what suggestions police have made, but a visit to both locations yesterday showed why they could be enticing to thieves who specialize in taking items quickly and running away.
Large displays of expensive bras, panties and other merchandise are steps away from garage-sized doors at both stores, with no one seeming to be stationed at any of the entrances. Sales associates occasionally straightened out merchandise on display in the front, but did not appear to spend a lot of time there unless they were helping customers. There were no uniformed security guards in either store at lunchtime, although a mall guard did glance into the Galleria store as he rolled past on a Segway.
The allure of easy pickings at Victoria's Secret is apparently no secret to thieves across the country, police said. Just this month thefts totaling thousands of dollars were reported at stores in Fairfield, Conn.; Vineland, N.J.; Murfreesboro, Tenn.; and Bonita Springs, Fla.
Jackson said police were trying to determine what's happening to all of the hot bras, speculating that they may be sold on a black lingerie market.
"Clearly they're not all for someone's personal use,'' he said.
Reach Richard Liebson at rliebson@lohud.com or 
914-694-3534
.
No comments:
Post a Comment