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    | |             |__| |__   |  |__| | |                             | |
   _| |_            |  \ |___  |  |  | | |___                         _| |_
.-| | | | _               __   ___ ___  __   __   __   __          _ | | | |-.
| | | | |' |             |__| |__   |  |__| |__| |  \ |__         | `| | | | |
\         /              |  \ |___  |  |  | |  \ |__/  __|         \         /
 \     ./'                                                          `\.     /
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  **** a SCUMDOG ENTERTAINMENT production, Vol.2, Issue 3 -- 11/25/2005 ****
             **** http://www.scumdogentertainment.com/tardz/ ****

                "Retail Is the Business of Serving Stupidity"
                                  by Migedy

Shoplifting sucks, so I thought I'd write about one of my many favorite retail
thiefs of all-time.  If there was a hall of fame for thieves, this kid would
be close to the top.  So kick back, read and give me some feedback on who has
made you shake your head in disgust...hey, everyone wants to know why
disc-based product is so high in price, this is the number one reason...

No. 18 - The Beat Street Kid

During the time that Sony was starting its dominance as a video game
powerhouse, there emerged a large number of customers who felt they could
swipe the games rather than buy them.  And no matter what you do to combat
thieves, they find a way to deprive your business again.  The amateurs are
easy to spot and the professionals are those that you'd never expect, but
usually thievery is a cop out to other criminal activity.  Walking out with
four video games from a retail establishment is a slap on the wrist, but when
the thief is successful and those four games are sold, it could mean a fat bag
of dope.

For several weeks my employees would find stacks of broken cases and empty
video game boxes.  At one point, we stacked these boxes up higher than six
feet from the ground.  So we made it a point to keep our video game section
under close radar; however, when things get busy, you focus attention on other
things.  But, with the digital cameras as my best friends, I'd watch the game
area while working on the employee schedule in the mornings.

One morning I noticed a kid looking at several games to rent, but something
strange caught me off guard which I played off at first sight.  See, I
assumed the kid was just getting excited at all of the new games being
released, but I was wrong.

At the time, our store was among the retail businesses that seperated the
display box from the actual game to rent, though both were on the shelf.  So
this street-bred delinquent found a way to beat the naked eye and streaming
of a camera while getting the video game product into his pockets and out the
door unnoticed.  As he browsed for his selection, he would pick up both the
display box and the rental game simultaneously and do a move that looked like
he should have been the lead in _Beat Street_.  Toward the end of his small
breakdancing sessions, he would place the display box back on the shelf.  The
game, however, he had slid into a sweatshirt that had been cut specifically to
hold 4-8 games.  And so the process of cat and mouse began.

Three times I tried to apprehend or catch the kid in the act, but every time I
got to his original location, he was already gone.  In addition, we could
never figure out how he was exiting without setting off any sensors.  That is,
until I pieced together another puzzle.  A lot of empty cases were also found
in the music department, so I had someone stand in plainclothes near the
dumping ground.  When I knew our little thief was in the store, we watched him
dance, but then he would disappear.  The kid would work his magic by sliding
his way into and underneath fixtures in the music department, take the disc
out of its security case and run out of the store as fast as he could.

I knew the kid had to have a lookout somewhere, and this led to his downfall.
His lookout ended up being his older brother, but this led to another twist.
When finally caught, I tried to pursue organized crime charges because of the
severity of punishment involved.  Little Beat Street coughed up $500 in
product, but the joke was all on us for the time being.  Under Texas State 
Law, you cannot press charges against an individual under the age of ten.  
Now, I had the kid pegged at age 16, but in actuality he was 9 1/2.  So, a 
slap on the wrist and an overnight trip to the juvenile center was all we the
kid would face in consequences.  But it did not end there.  While in 
detainment, the officers decided to frisk the brother and found 10 grams of 
ice.  That's a Felony 3, so he sits and rots in prison because it was his
third strike.  I'll never be suprised when a system is broken and the cycle 
continues...

Oh, and what might the little brother be doing with an education comparable to
that of the street-smarts that has consumed all priorities of his life?

****
by Migedy / migedy@hotmail.com
copyright (c) 2005 migedy/SCUMDOG ENTERTAINMENT - www.scumdogentertainment.com
all inquiries/rants/hate mail should be sent to:  ass@scumdogentertainment.com
distributed by GwD Publications - http://www.GREENY.org/pubz/
Made in Texas, USA, word word word