Macy's Security Has Arrest Quota, 'Race Code system' For Nonwhite Shoppers

Yeah I'm part of the problem for not supporting the unwarranted detainment and harassment of innocent citizens. Why not lock up every single black person in the US just to be on the safe side? Oh how I've missed you Looney lol

 

Damn, your victim mentality if fucking through the roof.

 

you are the problem because the majority of the time you don't know what you are talking about and you argue just because you like to argue...why on earth would we lock up more black people...that is just pure stupidity on your behalf but because you have no other solution it does not surprise me that you would flip something so ridiculous

if you owned a store and had major theft issues...how would you handle it? what would you do to change your loss prevention people from profiling black people? mind you, you are losing hundreds if not thousands of dollars every day...

 

Why do you post here? I'm sure racist site has room for you.
They support treating blacks like second hand citizens you'll fit right in buddy.

 

Numbers and north agree so are they the problem too?
According to this www.shopliftingprevention.org/whatnaspoffers/nrc/publiceducstats.htm
Shoplifters come in all ages and genders so who do we profile to be part of the solution? Just stick with mythos that blacks are criminals huh?
How about better sensors that make stealing harder to do all together.

 

:smt043you crack me up...who cares if north and numbers agree with you...is that somehow supposed to change my mind...I agree that all ages, race and gender shoplift...you will get no argument from me there...that is why I don't get your victim mentality...

should store loss prevention people have a goal or quota...absolutely!

better sensors...that's a start
more staff...better customer service
more coverage on the sales floor

 

Perhaps we can talk "to" each other instead of "at" each other..

The article below does a good job of describing this historical/present problem, as well as some helpful suggestions. As someone who has first hand experience of the "driving while black" discrimination, it is infuriating and insulting. I think some here who may have not experienced this discrimination first hand might feel differently on this issue if they did. Lastly, I think Condoleeza Rice's reaction below was great, but it should never have been necessary in the first place.

"You may be familiar with the phrase “driving while black.” This term refers to racial profiling—specifically law enforcement’s practice of pulling over African American drivers and detaining or searching them with no probable cause. They simply stop black drivers due to the perception that African Americans are likely to break the law. Well, the term “shopping while black” is related. In this case, store personnel “profile” black customers due to the perception that African Americans often shoplift. Such profiling may consist of treating black patrons rudely or following them around shops to ensure that they don’t steal. Even high profile African Americans, such as Condoleezza Rice and Oprah Winfrey have reportedly been victimized for “shopping while black.” So, how can you tell if you’re being racially profiled while shopping, and what can you do about it?
How Common Is Racial Profiling in Retail?

Just how often are customers of color racially profiled? While it’s now common to require police officers to record the race of those they stop and the reason for stopping them, there’s no legislation that requires retailers to record the race of customers they follow, question, ignore or otherwise disrespect. Given this, tracking racial profiling in retail is difficult. The data that exists on the subject is widely based on surveys of people of color about their experiences shopping. According to a 2004 Gallup poll on racial profiling, for example, 65% of blacks and 56% of Hispanics think that retail discrimination is widespread. Meanwhile, just 45% of whites agree. Perhaps this is because whites are the group least likely to be racial profiling victims.
Why Racially Profiling Shoppers Doesn’t Work

Blacks, particularly males, frequently experience racial profiling in retail, but a 2004 University of Florida study found that African Americans and Latinos aren’t more likely than whites to shoplift. Other stereotypes that the study challenged were that women are more likely to steal than men, and young people are more likely to steal than older people. In fact, the opposite is true in both cases. Such findings indicate why shopkeepers would be better served if they focused on a patron’s behavior rather than on a person’s race, age or gender. Despite such findings, some retailers will inevitably continue to train salespeople to profile customers of color. So, how can you tell if you’re a victim?
How Racial Profiling Plays Out in Retail

If a salesperson is hot on your trail, you’re likely being racially profiled. Don’t expect to be openly followed, though. Many salespeople have learned to stealthily track clientele of color throughout stores. These salespeople may pretend to be rearranging items as they move in your general direction. And when you move to another section, they will pretend to work in that section also.
Some salespeople will repeatedly ask customers of color if they can help them with something. If a customer of color tries on clothes in a dressing room, the salespeople may repeatedly “check in,” knocking on the door numerous times to inquire if the customer needs anything. In some cases, these salespeople may be genuinely trying to help. But if you sense that a salesperson’s attentiveness is not rooted in customer service but in something more sinister, listen to your gut. In addition, observe other salespeople and determine if they’re being just as attentive to customers of all races. Be just as vigilant when you’re at the cash register. Does the sales clerk ask everyone who pays by credit card for identification, or just minority clientele? If the way you’re being treated by staff stands out and you’re a minority, racial profiling may be at play.

Other Examples of Racial Profiling

Sometimes theft isn’t the foremost issue on a salesperson’s mind when they racially profile. Rather than worry about a customer of color shoplifting, a salesperson may racially profile by presuming that minority shoppers can’t afford merchandise. Accordingly, these salespeople may ignore shoppers of color. They won’t wait on them, act annoyed if minority customers ask for help or take longer to serve such customers. If a minority customer asks to see expensive goods, the salesperson may point out how costly the items are, implying that the customer probably can’t afford such a purchase.
In biography The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy, author Glenn Kessler writes about former Secretary of State Rice experiencing such behavior in a jewelry store. A friend of Rice recalled witnessing a sales clerk bringing out costume jewelry after Rice asked to view the store’s wares. When Rice asked to see nicer jewels, the clerk grumbled, to which Rice reportedly responded:
"Let's get one thing straight. You are behind the counter because you have to work for minimum wage. I'm on this side asking to see the good jewelry because I make considerably more." With that, a manager brought Rice the luxury jewels, according to Think Progress.
How to Avoid Being Profiled

There’s no real way to avoid being racially profiled. If salespeople are determined to racially discriminate against others, they’ll find a way. That said, customers of color may receive better service in stores if they’re dressed well. They may also arouse less suspicion if they shop alone rather than in a group. Customers of color who patronize establishments often enough to familiarize themselves with staff will also reduce their chances of being profiled. If you’re a loyal customer, the staff will not only be inclined to trust you but appreciate you as well.
While these steps may help, they’re not foolproof. Moreover, it’s not a person of color’s job to prevent being profiled. It’s the job of retailers to train their staffs not to discriminate.
Take Action if You Are Being Profiled

If you’re racially profiled while shopping, you can deal with it immediately. Ask the salesperson you believe is following you around or ignoring you what’s going on. “Funny, everywhere I go, you go too. Why is that?” you could say. If the salesperson’s answer isn’t satisfactory, ask to see the manager. If the manager’s the one doing the profiling, ask to see the manager’s superior and on and on. Detail the incident in a letter to company higher-ups.
Don’t make a purchase to prove that you’re an honest person who can afford to shop at the establishment. Instead, make a point not to patronize the store again. Tell friends and family about what happened to you and blog about it like Jasmyne Cannick did to let the whole world know.

 

You're a walking contradiction. You insist on the world being colorblind, when you're anything but....any slight, question, or negativity from ANYONE to you, is because your black....

 

You are the worst troller of all time.

 

I'm not lumping myself into anything. I've been pushed into the group by security guards and store clerks who gave me shit on numerous occasions when I was minding my own business.

Or are going to tell me that I'm too fucking stupid to understand situations that I've dealt with firsthand since I was a teenager?

 

Lippy, as I have said before I have never had a drop of alcohol in my life, yet I have been pulled over 3 times in my life on suspicion of dwi. The last time the first thing the cop asked me was "is this your car" (I drive a mercedes) and what I was doing in the neighborhood (I was half a block from my house, this was about 8 years ago). As a Black man, just minding your own business is no guarantee that things "should be just fine". That is why you are seeing such a strong reaction from many in this thread, if you have not experienced such degrading racism it will be hard to identify with the emotions in this thread. Of course business owners/corporations should keep a watchful eye for stealing, the point is that treatment of customers should be based on individual behavior, not skin color. It seems that some corporations will not learn this lesson until they are forced to by having to pay out large sums in law suits.

 

I would venture to say paying a few lawsuits won't make a retailer like federated even flinch in comparison to what they are losing to theft by store...they have loss prevention departments for a reason...to watch cameras all day and foot track customers stealing in the store...unless you are on the other side you will never understand...

I've been played many times in a store...group comes in...lots of questions...needs lots of help in all different corners of the store while the other members of the group grab thousands in fragrance or another higher priced item that they can then sell out of the trunk of their car at a gas station...

so I have a question, did you file a complaint against the officer that stopped you? you had every right to do so just like what happened to these people in the store...if you didn't then you allow that officer to go on doing the same thing over and over again...instead of it becoming a coaching opportunity

you are talking about something that happened to you 8 years ago...

i don't like that the TSA goes through my suitcase every time i travel but there is not a damn thing i can do about it...i work in cosmetics and often time carry gratis with me...i'm sure they think i'm a terrorist and going to blowup a plane

every time i go through airport security i get pulled aside for a touch on my right knee...i have no idea why they always want to touch my knee but i never say anything i just do what they say and go on my way...i have had my bag searched and dumped out many times in airport security...i am a white female traveling for business and get stopped regularly

in the presence of police, security and TSA I automatically take it down several notches so i don't think i am suggesting anything i wouldn't do myself...i see a police car and i automatically look at how fast i am driving...i don't think it's unusual for police to ask where do you live, where are you going? why are you in this neighborhood, drivers license and registration, have you been drinking, is this your car? all very legitimate questions

if you or others don't like what is happening to you...file a complaint! don't stew on it for 8 years...do something about it and become part of the solution

 

Wow seriously wow. Why are you on here again Lippy? If you have such little sensitivity and understanding towards the very real obstacles black men face in this country why even date black men. Apparently this shit is all in our heads or we aren't doing enough stop it. Loki shared a situation that many of us can relate to. And I would agree those questions would be harmless if everyone had to be subjected to it but I can almost guarantee had it been you or any other white person no one would ask you if the car was yours or why you were in that neighborhood.
It's wrong to profile especially when it's based on nothing other than just your skin tone or does your individual experience prevent you from seeing that?

 

Being optimistic about the way I think the way the world should be doesn't prevent me.from seeing how it really is. Try to keep up.

 

^^

Hmm. Sort of like always painting others as having "victim mentalities" when you can't/don't relate to anything they have to say in regards to the conversation.....

 

This is a great article. Sadly, I do believe there is a lot of racial profiling going on in the retail industry. I do agree that any person, regardless of race, will be less of a target if they are dressed well when they go into a store, high end or not. And refusing to or grumbling about showing a customer expensive items is a lousy attitude for a sales associate to have. It's none of the his/her business as to whether a customer can afford an item. The customer is asking to see it - show it to him/her. I often like to window shop and MANY times, I can't afford what I'm looking at. But I can still admire and dream. That luxury should be afforded any customer regardless of race or financial status.

 

file a complaint...sue them...follow through and make change...these people have to do their jobs...period end of story...you can't make change if you just join a forum and complain about every damn thing that happens to you while being black...

this topic is about stealing and stores having quotas...just because macys is the store in question doesn't not mean that every department store in the usa with a loss prevention department isn't also using a quota system (I would be surprised if they didn't)

without a video of the people in question shopping I can't tell you if they displayed suspicious behavior...or if they were targeted unfairly...if they win their case they send a message...good for them for speaking up about the injustice that was done to them...I hope they win lots of money in their settlement and then spend it somewhere else

TDK...you like to twist things around and when the opinion doesn't match yours all of a sudden that person must not really like black people...forgive me for having a mind of my own and not following a mob mentality

in sales you can't win...I read through the data that loki presented and it is a catch 22 for a customer service representative...

offer to help a black person = you are watching them
do not offer to help a black person = can a black person not get any help around here

be too helpful = you think i'm stealing
don't help = you don't think I have any money

:smt081it's funny and then it's not funny and then when you really think about it...you are walking on egg shells

 

I will share this, due to my political connections I did file a complaint and when some of the higher ups in local government heard what happened to me, they arranged a private sit down with the officer who stopped me that night. As you might imagine he was falling all over himself apologizing, yet at first he still tried to meekly 'justify' his stopping me by bringing up a string of burglaries in the area. When I asked him how many thieves are dressed in a suit and tie and obeying all traffic laws, it looked like he was about to cry. I don't know to this day if he 'got' the fact that it was humiliating and infuriating to be stopped in your own car in your own neighborhood, and have your neighbors (who saw me being stopped) ask you the next day "why were you stopped?" But he left that meeting in fear for his job and I would be willing to bet he will think twice in the future about stopping someone for 'driving while Black'. Now I never asked for him to be fired, just that he attend some further diversity training (and that's what happened), but the fact is if I did not have the contacts I have, filing a complaint through the regular channels would have most likely never amounted to much.

 

Now I can fully understand why some black men say they'll never date white women, some of them truly don't get us and never ever can relate to the struggle.

 

:smt038even if only one person was educated...he more than likely shared his experience with a few others...