Ryszard Majer, Security Operations Specialist for the pharmacy chain, uses a tannoy to tell light-fingered customers they’re “being watched”.
A clip, shown on Channel 4 News on Tuesday, shows the scare tactic in action.
In the video, a man in a tracksuit in one of the chain’s stores is being monitored by the company’s central CCTV hub in Beeston in Nottingham.
The security staff spotted him pulling out a carrier bag from his pocket before taking products from the shelves and putting them in the bag.
But the security staff – halfway across the country – were able to talk to him over a loudspeaker using pre-recorded messages
Ryszard explained: “We put a message in to say the store’s being watched and that the store’s being recorded.
“He then hears that, takes the products out and puts them back on the shelf, acknowledges the camera to say ‘Yeah, you got me’ and then leaves the store without incident.”
Other messages include: “Put the items back and leave the store. You have been recorded. The police will be contacted”.
It comes after a Home Depot worker revealed the “dead giveaway” sign when criminals were boosting goods from stores.
The surveillance specialist aired his frustration amid a shoplifting crisis that has swept through the US.
He said: “I just see stuff getting loaded into a shopping cart.
“And people just go about their days oblivious to what is going on and unfortunately it is becoming more common.”
3