Archived AP recoveries

I'm not AP but I'm curious. How far is AP willing to go with recoveries. Can they actually handcuff them? And for all of you TPS team members or AP team as a whole... Give me your best recovery story!

Not AP but from what I've been told only SR TPS (and up) can make solo apps. I believe TPS is able to assist but can't make the stop on their own. And they can only carry cuffs if they passed the required training.

Things may have changed. Some AP people may be able to explain more.

Well here is a fun video for you.

I'm not AP but I do know @POGguy pretty much hit the nail on the head. All levels of AP are represented at my store but the ETL-AP, APS, or SrTPS have to take part in an app. We're a high theft store so it can be a war zone out there; concussions, busted ribs, bites and bruises.

I'm in AP and I'll just say this... There's no merchandise in the store worth risking your life over. Yes, we do use handcuffs. Do we go as far as attempting apprehensions on armed suspects? Nope.

We have to consider a lot of factors when considering whether to app someone or not. Safety is considered paramount at every store I've been to. If there's not a safe environment for an app, we use alternative methods to attempt recovering merchandise. For most stores, apps really only occur on subjects that a store has kept a lot of tabs on over a period of visits. Target is actually really damn good at keeping track of people. A Target store shares information on every incident within its district, and when we're dealing with the professional lifters (we call boosters), tabs on those people are often shared throughout the city or even state. Basically, if you plan on making a business out of stealing from Target, all the AP teams at every store in your city will become accustomed to your face.

Welcome back, Ross!

When Target AP Team is bringing a guest into the office, with handcuffs, or without... you can assume they have stole something at 99.999% certainty.

@Flowmotion that video does not give a true picture of how AP Team works.

I've only been AP for a few months and don't have any really crazy stories. My favorite one was a law enforcement apprehension on a guy with a knife. But if their wasn't a sr. TPS freeze, I would probably have a few more apprehension stories that could have been interesting.

@CrazyTarget yeah, but it's a fun video. There was more of them on Youtube, but I guess they've been taken down.

If I see someone put an item into their bag and there is no AP person in the building, what is my next step? Should I receipt check at the door? Should I send info to AP for future reference? I hear ETLs talk about receipt checking but I don't know what to do if I check the receipt and the item in the bag isn't on the receipt. Just smile and say, "'Scuse me, but did you just try to boost that iPad cover or what?"

@RedMan if I'm correct the only people who can receipt check are AP and ETLs

Yep, you'll get coached for doing receipt checks...that's why they haven't told you what to do. If you see someone lift something, make a note of it for ap if they aren't there.

NitroKing2110 said:

@RedMan if I'm correct the only people who can receipt check are AP and ETLs

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AP, ETL, and Sr. Team Leads, LODS

Can corporate visitors receipt check? I ask because I've seen some district/group people receipt check as they ask people CIHYFS, but then have to ask someone else because they don't know, or they ask for a walkie and PDA.

I think they can do pretty much whatever they want...it's not like anyone is going to stop them...

Just to clarify, a recovery is when merch is "recovered" from somebody who was going to steal. A non-AP recovery can be performed by anybody who services the suspect and the suspect drops the merch and leaves. An apprehension is what we are discussing

If there is no AP in the building, but you believe someone is stealing, there are two important things you can and should do. Give them great (read: annoying) guest service, including partnering with other TM's to keep guest servicing them, in the hopes this person will eventually dump the merchandise. Then write down the exact time the person exited the store, or was in Electronics, or where they were when you saw them possible conceal the merchandise, or whatever details seem important. Then put that note in AP's mailbox or hand it to someone from AP when they come in. Even if it's after the fact, we still want to know what happened, and who was involved. I am successful with a lot of my theft resolution thanks to information from my entire store team.

I have made many apprehensions off shoplifters that I never even knew were stealing until my team gave me intelligence about a previous theft. I am able to investigate and determine what the subject looks like, then I begin watching that subject whenever they came back to my store.

Next step. If the guy comes in to return the stolen iPad cover and there is no AP in the store, do I accept the return or refuse the return?

We have a brand new AP ETL in the store and he's the only AP we have presently. When I ask him questions, he just says, "Call me over when you see something suspicious." Well, that's good but he's not there all the time.

RedMan said:

Next step. If the guy comes in to return the stolen iPad cover and there is no AP in the store, do I accept the return or refuse the return?

We have a brand new AP ETL in the store and he's the only AP we have presently. When I ask him questions, he just says, "Call me over when you see something suspicious." Well, that's good but he's not there all the time.

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I would think the same tricks that @APredux talked about would sort of apply.
If he is trying to return something that you suspect is stolen do the guest service thing full bore but stick to the rules exactly.
Make it loud and cheery.
Call over the GSTL to verify.
Get a DL if you can for whatever reason.
Keep it within the bounds but be slow and there's a chance you might make him decide to cut out.

Retail Girl said:

I think they can do pretty much whatever they want...it's not like anyone is going to stop them...

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Anybody smart will. Rather, any smart criminal will, although the smartest will avoid confronting them completely. They can't do whatever they want because they're private employees for a private business, and therefore can't enforce the law, or conduct any other policing activities legally. If they pull somebody into the AP office under suspicion of stealing, and said individual was innocent of stealing, the case could be made that they kidnapped the individual, and a good lawyer would have a field day with that case. This is why AP typically goes for repeat offenders that are presumably non-life threatening. As mentioned by Ross, their job isn't worth risking their lives over. If they suspect someone is habitually stealing, and also dangerous, they'll probably partner with the local police to have justice served without anybody getting injured other than the perpetrator. Anyway, the point is, when AP makes an apprehension, they're essentially making a citizen's arrest, and as such, they have to be dang sure that individual is guilty of a crime before making said citizens arrest. As I'm not a thief by principle, and not keen on having my time wasted by any store's asset protection, on principle I won't comply with any asset protection outside of my place of employment, and I am willing to sue over it too (again, I'm really not a thief, and actually have somewhat of a desire to be a police officer). At the same time though, people need to know their rights, and it goes without saying that they have ABSOLUTELY NO obligation to stop for a private security guard and follow said guard's directions. This is why, as I stated at the beginning, any smart criminal will stop AP in their tracks straight away. In most, if not all places in America, stealing is only a crime when intent is proven. If AP questions whether they paid for something, all they have to say is "OH DRAT! I TOTALLY FORGOT TO PUT X ITEM ON THE BELT, AND THE CASHIER DIDN'T REMIND ME! I'LL PAY NOW/ I DECIDED I DON'T WANT IT.", and it's done. No law was broken. That's it. That's why intent needs to be proven, and that's why AP goes after people that have been caught stealing multiple times (one of the reasons anyway, another big reason is that if they can get them on felony theft, it looks a lot better for them).

In essence, don't steal from spot. (THEY WILL KNOW, as their survallience is not only baller, but some of the best I've seen in any retailer ever. They can zoom in on you, in like 1080P, and watch your hands pilfer whatever it is you're pilfering. There are only a few legitimate ways to get away with stealing from spot, and really only for cheap items, mainly food, but I won't detail them here).

If you know someone is leaving without paying for something, stop them and let them know. Most of the time it's out of ignorance. People put merchandise on the bottom of their carts all the time, and then completely forget it's there when the time comes to check out. If they do get out, let AP know. It'll probably be nothing, but if they are indeed smart criminals, and they hit your store again, AP will be able to do the lord's work.

If you know, for a fact, beyond any reasonable doubt, that you see someone that's stolen more than once from your store, in your store, that's when you call AP RFN! I've personally never been in that situation, but if you recognize someone as a repeat offender, it's for a reason, and that reason is that they are indeed a crook, and that's when AP gets to do the lord's work.

@odie ...All great points...but I meant what TM is going to tell a district or group person what they can or cannot do in the store?

Awesome post, Odie

odie, your post is off in a couple ways. As someone who has worked loss prevention for years, I have made apprehensions on dozens and dozens of individuals I had never seen before. My first time seeing them was when they grabbed X merchandise and shoved it into their purse or pocket. Repeat offenders are easier because you know who they are as soon as you see them, but they are by no means the only type of shoplifter we look for or make apprehensions on. If someone steals, and I see them do it, I am making the apprehension. Or partnering with LE to make the apprehension.

We also don't "question" whether a shoplifter paid for something. When you pass all points of sale and walk out without paying, you have now committed the crime of shoplifting. It has nothing to do with intent to steal. Because you've already stolen. That's when we perform a citizen's arrest and detain the person, and generally (but not always) contact law enforcement. Many people try and say "Well I was going to pay" or "I forgot my wallet in my car" or whatever excuse they can think of. Guess what? In my six years of catching shoplifters, those excuses have never worked. They are cited for theft, and that's that.

And those who run (Because they feel they don't need to stop for a "security guard"?) are reported to the police immediately. Subject description, vehicle description and license plate, what merchandise was taken... 90% of the time LE catches them anyway and we not only get our merchandise back, we still get to prosecute them for shoplifting

It also depends on the district. I know one former APTL who when they worked in another state could make apprehensions as just an AP TM. In that city each AP had to go through extended training though. It make them angry that many times that all AP can do is let the thief just go out the door.

Odie is wrong in many counts. Most notably, AP in any retail establishment absolutely has the right within the law to detain anyone for reasonable suspicion that they have stolen. Then can also use the appropriate amount of force to detain the individual including handcuffs. Resisting this detention can also be an additional charge up to and including strong armed robbery. He is right that AP better be right or you will certainly have a lawsuit on you hands. As APredux correctly stated, most apprehensions are made on suspects that are not know to AP at the time of the apprehension. I am still waiting for the shoplifter that stole out of ignorance. Please, it doesn't happen and if it did AP wouldn't have been watching them because they wouldn't have been acting in a suspicious manner. It's really simple. Don't steal and you won't need to worry about it. If approached act reasonably and allow AP to do their job. If they made a mistake then you have some decisions to make assuming you never made a mistake.