DARREL MAGER wonders who wins in a documentary on shoplifting ... the thieves, the shop owners or the security firms?
The nicknames come straight out of the movie Reservoir Dogs and they make their jobs sound oh, so glamourous.
"It offers you a wonderful lifestyle," says Mr Red.
"You can make up to $1000 a day, no problem," adds Mr Blond.
These guys are career criminals. And, while their offending isn't on the same level as Tarantino's fictional gun-toting bank robbers, a pack of career shoplifters like Red and Blond can easily do as much real financial damage in a single day, as shown in tonight's Inside New Zealand documentary The Business of Shoplifting (8.30, TV3).
It's very big business with an estimated $1.5 million walking out New Zealand shop doors daily under the coats and in the bags of shoplifters, who seem to range from baby-faced kids to silver-haired grandparents.
Each year, supermarkets and retail chains spend millions of dollars on security as they try to stem the flow of what is essentially 20 truckloads of unpaid goods exiting their doors each day.
At times the doco feels like a recruitment campaign for shoplifters as thugs brag about the perks of the trade (when they don't get caught) and reveal their tricks.
At others it seems like one big advertisement for a security industry which thrives on the store-owners' misery.
It's an enlightening hour though as in-store security cameras take us inside the world of the shoplifters that statistics reckon cost each household $400 a year through the increased prices businesses must charge to cover the thefts.
Welcome inside the world of a petty crime that packs a big punch.
The reasons vary for the five-finger discounts: a dare, pure impulsive greed, or to fuel a thriving steal-to-order business or drug addiction.
One woman was making off with thousands of dollars worth of goods each week from supermarkets to on-sell cheaply to a string of corner dairies. Others grab expensive items like dehumidifiers or DVD players then simply walk out of the store - looking innocent, as if they'd paid for it - then flog it off later at the pub or in boot sales.
Mischievous kids and amateur shoplifters will be able to take notes from the pros - who speak on camera with faces blacked out - which makes you wonder whether the documentary offers too much of an insight.
Others, like store detectives, will probably argue that the show will make honest shoppers aware of what has been going on right under their noses, and allow them to notify staff.
Only one of the shoplifters spoken to refused to reveal the tricks of the trade.
The programme also gives an insight into the life of the lifter's nemeses, the store detectives, and how they go about catching their prey.
There's Sue Collins, who has personally recovered more than $2 million in stolen property in her career. She's "Mrs Average Shopper" who walks the isles pretending to be a customer.
One wonders whether this tactic will work so well for her in the future after having her face broadcast around the country.
Petty crime packs punch
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