SHOPLAND’S SECRET SERVICE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18259, 18 August 1921, Page 6

SHOPLAND’S SECRET SERVICE

A SHOP DETECTIVE TELLS P.W. READERS WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES. While the lady shopper is making her purchases she little thinks that there are unseen eyes watching her interests all the time. Pocket-picking and shop pilfering are crime’s twin sisters. In the jostling crowds at sale times, of course, it is almost impossible to detect poc-ket-picking, but shop detectives have many clever captures to their credit. Y'isiting a well-known establishment a lady discovered that she had lost her satchel, containing about £2O in cash and other valuables. Immediately she reported the matter to the manager. "Will you step this way madam ” he said, ushering her into his office. And there on the table lay the stolen property, while by the side of the detective stood the thief. It was one of the smartest bits of work I have known. Several West End establishments have a centralised “Scotland Yard" of their own—a secret service that covers a number of shops. The superintendent in charge, usually an officer who has had experience in the investigation of crime, select trains his own staff, and in this way saves his firm anything from £l,OOO to £2,000 a year. Many of the best detectives are girls who have shown an aptitude for the work by keep* ing their eyes open and reporting thefts while they served behind the counter.