Friday, April 2; 1971
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Seven
Friday, April 2, '1971 THE MICHIGAN DAILY
PaeSw e
Mesdemoiselles et Messieurs
Que vous manque-t-il dans votre vie?
A summer in PARIS with Sarah Lawrence
A prograrn designed to involve you totally in the City of Paris
when it is at its best . Its theatres, galleries, concerts, opera
in full function June 18 to July 29 a program for
enthusiasts not tourists.
Courses in Art History, Literature, Philosophy--(both Modern
and Classical)--and an intensive French Language program.
Field work in Chartres, Mont St. Michel, the chateaux country,
and in and around Paris.
Tuition, room, board $850--meal allowances each day for lunch
and dinner at restaurants of your choice
CHARTER FLIGHT 4-6 CREDITS
Write Foreign Studies Office
Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, 10708
Oka A - - -__
Continued from Page 1)
Ulrich's, for example, is of-
ten busy during the fifteen min-
utes which surround the hour.
Consequently the number of
employees on the floor is often
increased by as much as 50
per cent.
Storeowners vary considerably
in their concern over the shop-
lifting problem. For one own-
er of a small store the concern
borders on obsession.
"I'm not trying to make a
mint, I just want to pay the
bills and have a good time," he
says. Nonetheless, he tries to
keep an eye. on his one-way
mirror at all times.-
"When I first opened," he ex-
plains, "I used to have f i g h t
after fight with shoplifters who
tried to get away. Now I sup-
pose I've got a reputation. I
.w try not to let anyone get away."
- I
'ifting: Merchlan't as p-oliceman
The same employer, an ap-
parently good-natured man,
says, "It used to be a lot more
fun. I made the displays, work-
ed on the merchandising, got to
know my customers and I liked
that."
"Now all I am is a policeman,"
he laments. "I go home really
upset sometimes and that hurts
because I enjoy working w i t h
students; I get along with them.
"Somedays I finish a day when
I've caught a shoplifter or two
and I'm so agitated I t h r o w
up. People wonder why mer-
chants get grouchy."
Another owner is trapped by
a similar. obsession with shop-
lifters. He occasionally spends a
full day in front of one of the
store's five mirrors and he finds
himself testifying in court an
average of once a week. He
explains that he is on the alert
whenever he ventures onto the
store floor and that he "roams
instinctively" whenever the
store is busy.
Other storeowners and man-'
agers, however, are consider-
ably more lax. One Ann A r b o r
store which does a large vol-
ume of business has an almost
shockingly relaxed policy.
A spokesman explains, "Cam-
eras, mirrors and other protec-
tion devices often offend t h e
averagV customer whom we feel
is honest.
One small 4nn Arbor store
takes a different tact and calls
shoplifting a "personal. prob-
lem". The manager says, "We
know who's here to rip off."
An employee offers an exam-
ple: "I was showing some dude
a tray of rings and I knew how
many were there. When I no-
ticed one was missing I simply
said to him, 'Hey, put the ring
back, I know you've got it.'
"He looked at me in aston-
ishment and then in denial but
what could he say? He put the
ring back and left in a hurry."
The methods by which store-
owners attempt to deter shop-
UKI TOaS
ATTORNEY
DEMOCRAT-FIRST WARD
for
CITY COUNCIL
0 Implement the recommendations of the
Committee on Drug Abuse
* Expand scatter-site low cost housing
VOTE MONDAY, APRIL 5
Paid Pal. Adv
WABX-99.5
PRESENTS
QUICKSILVER
MESSENGER SERVICE
-PLUS-
BREWER AND SHIPLEY
lifters vary in size, elaborateness
and effectiveness.
Some storeowners question
whether obvious protective de-
vices serve as a deterrent or a
challenge to potential shoplift-
ers.
One store decided, a couple
of years ago, to employ an ex-
perienced floorwatcher. For the
first few days the nunber of
people apprehended spiraled in-
pressively.
After a time, however, the
news spread and it became a
challenge to "beat the pro.".
"Shoplifting must have quad-
rupled during that time," re-
calls the owner wistfully.
The manager of the Univer-
sity Cellar bookstore says his
employes advised him that de-
tection systems would encour-
age shoplifting. "It can become
a challenge to beat a camera,
almost a game," he explains.
A large number of Ann Arbor
merchants nonetheless paint
prominent signs threatening
prosecution and admitting t h e
existence of observation mirrors
in order to deter shoplifters.
Most storeowners continue to
believe that an experienced and
observant employee is the best
protective device.
Says on owner, "I can almost
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SAM RIVERS--Sax
ANDREW LYRILLE--Drums
ALAN SILVA-Bass
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Sunday -- 6-10 p.m.
NO AGE LIMIT,
Admission $3.75
Strata Concert-Gallery
2554 MICHIGAN AVENUE
(near 17th in Detroit)
always tell if someone is in here
to take something. It's a glint
in his eye, a nervousness in the
way he walks, a sense that he is
loitering. I try to point out the
characteristics of suspicious
types to my employees."
D spite the claim, many own-
ers are turning to other meas-
ures to solve their problems. Fol-
lett's Book Store employs what
is probably the most visibly ela-
borate and costly surveillance
systent.
Twelve cameras float from
side to side, taking in the move-
nents of most customers. A
main switchboard gives the
viewer an idea of what is hap-
pening all over the store and
provision has been made to
telephone the detected presence
of suspects to various depart-
ments.
Another recourse, one which
frees storeowners from t h e
"policeman"trole, is to hire pri-
vate pi'otection services.
Employed for the most part by
stores, these services send in
plainclothes observers from time
to time, to watch both custom-
ers and employees. The store
simply pays its fee and is sub-
mitted with a monthly detail of
the"catch".
Perhaps the most common de-
vic's are the two types of mir-
rors. The convex mirror is cheap
and allows an employee in the
front of a store to see what is
going on in the back.
The major drawback is that a
potential shoplitfer can see his
observer in the mirror. As one
owner laments, "All he needs is
one second when my attention is
diverted. The odds are obvious-
ly with the person who knows
when he is going to strike."
The one-way mirror is some-
what more expensive but far
more effective. The device is
simple. A customer arrives in
the store and is faced with a
seemingly ordinary mirror re-
flecting his image. The oth-
er side offers a clear view of
the store.
The store can often stack the
cards in its favor. If there are
many corners or dimly lighted
areas, if employees do not wait
on individual customers and if
small items are not encased
under glass, the establishment is
more susceptible.
Detection is only half the
problem, owners point out, for
the stolen merchandise must
still be regained.
Storeowners have the legal
right to stop shoplifters inside
the store. More often, however,
they will wait until the customer
leaves and will apprehend him
outside, providing much more
conclusive evidence of guilt.
At a time in the not too dis-
tant past, owners report, few
stores took the pains to pro-
secute. When shoplifters were
detected ,a scolding, perhaps a
call to parents and an order
barring further presence in the
store was deemed sufficient.
Now, full prosecution against
each and every shoplifter seems
to be the norm in almost all
Ann Arbor stores. One owner
says, "We'll prosecute anyone
and everyone. Stealing a bag of
potato chips is just as bad in
principal as robbing the First
National Bank."
Storeowners volunteer a mul-
tiplicity of reasons for the pre-
valence of shoplifting in a Uni-
versity town where, by a n d
large, those who steal can well
afford to pay for what they
need.
Nevertheless, few have sym-
pathy for shoplifters and some
are frankly at a loss to under-
stand the existence of a prac-
tice which they see as overtly
criminal.
"Sometimes is just amazes
me," says Bundy, an owner of
Ulrich's, "I was brought up to
respect other people's property
and in the long run its' going to
hurt the shoplifter."
It's bound to erode his morals
and the practice just snowballs,"
he says. "I guess many of them
just don't believe that it could
ruin them."
SAT., APRIL 10-8:30 P.M.
$5.00, $4.00, $3.00
MASONIC AUD.
Tickets available at Masonic Box Office and all
J.L. Hudson ticket outlets
MAIL ORDERS: Send check or money order with self-addressed
stamped envelope: Masonic Box Office, 500 Temple, Detroit,
Michigan 48201
ti
R
E
1
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
IS
NOT
AN
AB STRACTION
SHOP FRIDAY UNTIL 9:00 P.M.
SPECIAL
BOB FABER'S vote was decisive- in opassing the ordinance that reduced the charge for use or pos-
session of marijuana from a felony to a misdemeanor.
BOB FABER Svote was decisive- IN THE ARRANGEMENTS THAT MADE POSSIBLE the existence and
continuation of the Sunday Rock Concert series.
OB FABER'S vts din the expansion of the city's Public Housing program and in the
procedures that give a major role in the decision-making to the
tenants.
BOB FABER'S vote was decisive- in the development and passage of the new Housing Code that
protects tenants from inadequate housing and unscrupulous land-
lords.
BOB FABER'S vote was decisive on these and many other issues that have a direct and immediate effect on
the lives and dignity of both permanent and temporary residents of Ann Arbor.
Peasant
Dresses
$10 to $1,4
Choose from a collection of calico prints and solid colors, in
cotton and polyester, trimmed with ric-rac, braids and eyelet.
Loungewear-street floor
Jaobson's
i ,
Because BOB FABER
served on City Council
some young person may not go to Jackson State Prison on
a marijuana conviction.
the students and young people of Ann Arbor will be able
to enjoy Rock Concerts in the park during summer Sunday afternoons.
* at least a few more impoverished families that would otherwise be living
in cellars or attics will now have adequate housing.
" tenants have a realistic opportunity to have their apartments
brought up to a reasonable standard without unreasonable delay.
PRIVACY
Privacy is very important to people these
days. Privacy is necessary for the free-
dom to be yourself and do what you like.
Charter Realty recognizes this need and
has done something about it.
The noise problem
Sound conditioning is difficult to do.
About the only way it can be done well
City Goverment In Ann Arbor IS NOT An Abstraction-Your
Vote Counts
s--
r
Its
' ,y
' ;.
is in a bi-level - which
has about a foot and a
half of concrete between
the upstairs and downstairs.
Charter has more campus
The total history of Dentocratic victories in the Second Ward are:
1958-LLOYD IVES (Dent) won by 1 vote
1968-LEN QUENON (Dem) won by 2 votes
1969-BOB FABER (Deni) won by 56 votes
YOUR VOTE COUNTS-ON APRIL 5 CAST IT FOR
BOB FABER-Democrat-2nd Ward
located bi-levels than
anyone else in town -
134 of them - all are air
conditioned, all have dish-
washers, some have balconies and fireplaces.
Why see us?
The business of Charter Realty is pro-
viding students with housing which suits
the particular needs of student life.
Charter offers well-designed modern
apartments, convenient yet luxurious,
at excellent on-campus locations, And
the additional benefit of full time
management and maintenance staff.
There are many other advantages we feel
you would like to know about. Stop by
and ask for Cathy. Perhaps we can help
and there is a difference in candidates
If the Republican Mayoral and 2nd Ward Council candidates
are elected we shall probably lose.. .
1.-The marijuana ordinance.
2.-Effective Affirmative Action: hirina oroarams.
The frustrations of national racism, mili-
tarism and poverty are overwhelming. What-
ever small voice we now have in changing
these oriorities can be lost in this election.
r