How Does Walmart Track Shoplifting?

Do you want to know more and the strategies used by Walmart to track shoplifting in 2022? learn more about how Walmart goes about it and the consequences of shoplifting at Walmart.

Most retailers always give their customers the freedom they want while shopping for items. When you visit an in-store location of a retail company, you can enjoy the liberty of shopping comfortably, conveniently, and with little or no supervision. If a brand decides to monitor every step you take as a customer while shopping, you might count that as an insult or may not feel comfortable picking the items you want.

Walmart is one of the biggest retail brands where you can shop at the in-store location across several countries. Because of the privacy, they give customers while shopping, shoplifting has been on the rise for a long time. Shoplifting can be simply described as the process of stealing an item you got from a retail store without paying for it.

The common method of shoplifting is by hiding the items stolen into your pocket or inside your clothes so that other people will not see them. If you illegally take possession of items at any retail store without paying is considered shoplifting.

Just like every other large retailer, Walmart has been documenting high numbers of shoplifting which is not healthy for the company. They have documented that most of the shoplifters come in as customers of the brand to shop for items but end up engaging in shoplifting.

You might be wondering why Walmart takes shoplifting very seriously, or you want to know how Walmart tracks shoplifting, measures to stop shoplifting, and many more. You can keep reading to learn more.

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How Does Walmart Track Shoplifting In 2022?

According to statistics from Fortune, it has been stated that Walmart has been losing almost 3 billion per year just from shoplifting and other theft from customers alone. This can make any company run down. This is why Walmart has been and will always take shoplifting very seriously. It is a big crime to shoplift at Walmart. You might think because it is a big fraction of their revenue, it will not affect Walmart. It is not right to shoplift from retailers.

There are different ways Walmart uses to track shoplifting. They make use of surveillance cameras to track shoplifting most times, they make use of loss prevention associates, and the use of security scanners at the doors. These are three major ways in which shoplifting can be tracked at Walmart. The rest are just minor ways of tackling the issue. Another effective way in which Walmart uses to track shoplifted items is the use of cameras that you can find at checkout.

It is an Artificial Intelligence technology that can recognize an item that has not been scanned even before they are placed inside the bag or anywhere else hidden. You might not know that there are cameras hidden, it is done without your notice, they are placed in such a place where you will have to pass through so it can effectively scan through your bag to find items that ha be not been scanned or paid for. If you want to learn more about ways to track shoplifting at Walmart or even how to discover theft, then you can continue reading to get all the necessary information.

What Is The Other Way To Detect Theft At Walmart In 2022?

Three major ways can be used to detect and track theft are listed above. We have been able to gather useful information about the other ways of tracking shoplifting at Walmart. Keep reading to find out this interesting discovery. At Walmart, they make use of the Image Recognition Technology to track any kind of theft in-store. They also adopted this method as a result of the heavy loss suffered by Walmart from shoplifting. There are reasons why shoplifting has increased in recent times.

We will also talk about the reasons why there is an increase in shoplifting despite high technological know-how. Keep reading. If you go to Walmart today to shop, you might not quickly detect cameras that do not just function as the regular CCTV Cameras but as another tool for detecting theft. When you take your shopped items to the checkout, you will some cameras, most of them around that area are image recognition cameras. So what do they do? These cameras are used to track only items rather than human beings.

These cameras have AI technology that will be able to detect items that have been placed into the bag even without being scanned. The moment the camera detects an item that has not been scanned, it will quickly alert an employee of Walmart to the exact point of detection.

There is some other possible way to alert Walmart. They also make use of intercom codes to draw the attention of employees to areas where there is a high risk of shoplifting. Keep reading to learn why there is an increase in shoplifting at Walmart over the years.

Why Is There An Increase In Shoplifting Despite The Introduction of Theft Trackers At Walmart?

Shoplifting has been in existence as far as the history of Walmart is concerned. It has been a thing with all retailers all over the world. However, even in recent years, shoplifting has been on the rise. 2022, the case of shoplifting is still going up despite all the efforts to eliminate or reduce it using different technological know-how. The first cause for the increase in shoplifting in recent years is the introduction of a self-checking-out system.

Before now, you will always meet an employee of Walmart at the checkout point to scan your items and give you the bill before you can proceed to pay up. However, since the introduction of the self-checkout point, you need to meet anyone till you pay and go. This has greatly affected the increase in shoplifting.

Most shoplifters feel that there is little or no supervision, they can go ahead to steal items without paying for them. Another reason for the high increase in shoplifting is the fact that customers have the liberty to shop at will without any employee of Walmart very close to them. Those who engage in theft always feel that since there is no one closer to them, they can quickly hide a few items.

What Will Happen If Someone Gets Caught Shoplifting At Walmart?

Walmart takes the issue of shoplifting very seriously. This is why when someone is caught shoplifting, Walmart takes drastic measures against such a person. The first thing Walmart tries to do is to verify if truly the person is trying to steal from them.

Sometimes, there might be coincidences but with the help of cameras and AI Technology, they will be able to tell if the person was shoplifting or not. We have also observed that Walmart does not easily drop petty theft once the items are recovered. They are quick to place charges against such people, unlike other retailers.

This simply means that placing such charges against you will affect your criminal records which in turn affects the person’s chance of securing jobs in the future. Walmart can go as far as charging you to court, which you might end up serving up to a year in jail. This depends on the value of the item you stole. The lucky shoplifters are those under the age of 16.

Once you are caught and you are less than 16, you will be advised not to steal and again after you must have returned the items, they will set you free. You might not be able to come to that Walmart in-store location again for shopping. This may be as an instruction from the Walmart location or your own decision based on your negative experience there.

Do I Have The Right To Demand To See The Footage If I Am Caught Stealing On Camera At Walmart?

Showing you the footage of where you were stealing depends on whoever caught while stealing or the Walmart personnel handling the theft case at that moment. There is no law binding them to show you the footage or not. If you insist you did not steal from them, they can hold on to the footage and submit it to the police for investigation and as proof.

So if you know that you were caught stealing from them, the best thing is to admit it and find a way to settle it before they proceed with the charges. However, if you forcefully want to see the tape or footage, then you have to get a defense lawyer. This is necessary when you are accused wrongly.

Does Walmart Have To Call The Police For a Shoplifting case?

If you have been reading from the beginning, you will know that Walmart takes the issue of shoplifting very seriously. So the simple answer is yes. They will always call the police once you are caught stealing from them. They have the evidence against it. They automatically call the police especially when the bar code goes off or they have any security camera footage against you. They will quickly call the police.

However, if you think you have not stolen from them, you can decide to resist arrest, demand why you are been arrested, and so on. You just need to be calm and request that you want to speak with the police. You can ask the police to investigate by questioning the store security immediately. If nothing positive comes out of that exercise, you might need to get an attorney that will defend you against the charges of theft.

What Will Happen To Me If I Am Caught For The First Time Shoplifting At Walmart?

It all depends on some factors. If you are under 16 years of age, there is not much consequence. Once you are caught and you are under 16 years of age, you will have to return the items to the store, then you will follow back home, advised never to do it again and you might be able to escape charge because of your underage.

Then you might still be banned from entering Walmart for shopping. If you are older than 16 years of age, you will not go to jail. This fact is gotten from most cases of first-timers. However, the charges might affect your criminal record.

This kind of charge often stays for a long time on your criminal record. You might also be banned not to shopping at any Walmart location in the future. However, if you are caught the second time, you will most likely go to jail. This does not matter the Walmart store you stole from. They have your records, so they will know. You can go to jail, pay a fine, or be placed on probation. You will not go free. Being caught the third time leads you to be charged with a felony and severe punishments.

Conclusion

Walmart has been working tirelessly to ensure people shop comfortably even with privacy. However, in making sure people shop privately, the level of shoplifting has increased in recent years. There are three major ways in which Walmart uses to track shoplifting across their in-store locations. The introduction of the self-checkout option has led to an increase in shoplifting over the years.

The report has also shown that Walmart tries to tackle shoplifting around the self-checkout area by placing Artificial intelligence cameras that check items in hidden places that are not scanned. Walmart does not take the issue of shoplifting lightly, they have different actions taken against first-time theft, second-time theft, and even third-time theft. So whatever the case might be, they will try to alert the cops nearby to solve the problem. You have the right to get an attorney if you feel you have been wrongly accused of shoplifting at Walmart.