DEVICES TELL WHO'S BEING NAUGHTY, NICE; WIZARDRY NABS SHOPLIFTERS.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

Would-be holiday shoplifters, beware: Santa isn't the only one watching you.

As the holiday shopping season moves into high gear, stores have some highly sophisticated weapons at their disposal, ranging from hidden strips that set off alarms to closed-circuit cameras that keep a spider's eye on sticky-fingered shoppers - and employees - in every part of a store.

``We think that they're very effective,'' said John Gantenbein, vice president and director of security for Macy's West. Gantenbein oversees 84 stores in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. ``I think the (security) product availability is great. In the (23) years I've been in the business, I couldn't be more pleased.''

Still, the arsenal helps only so far and retailers continue to suffer substantial losses to shoplifters and dishonest employees, many of whom are hired just for the season.

According to the Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation, retailers in 1996 lost $16.8 billion to employee theft and $15.7 billion to shoplifters compared to a total of $2.4 trillion in sales.

Department stores generally operate at a 7 percent or 8 percent profit margin, so losses of 1.35 percent like those in 1996 cut deeply into retailers' bottom lines, said Richard Hollinger, associate professor and director of the Security Research Project in the University of Florida's sociology department.

``Most of these stores operate on a thin profit margin and a lot of people don't understand that,'' said Hollinger, who directed the university's recent annual National Retail Security Survey.

According to that study, retailers on average spent the equivalent of half-a-percent of their sales on loss prevention methods.

Though retailers have some two dozen antitheft measures like electronic tags or store detectives at their disposal, the sheer number of shoppers and temporary employees virtually guarantees an increase in theft during the holiday season, Hollinger said.

At Macy's, stealing shoots up by about 25 percent during the holidays, Gantenbein said. The chain uses a number of devices in addition to security guards to protect itself.

Among them are closed-circuit cameras, either hidden inside ceiling-mounted black globes or openly aimed at the entrances, that keep a watchful eye on the store's every nook and cranny. Also, merchandise is tagged with small plastic sensors that set off alarms if not deactivated by a cashier.

In addition, employees are trained to spot potential shoplifters, and given a crash course on the store's extensive security to ensure that they don't succumb to temptation, Gantenbein said.

A trend in the past year or so is ``sourcetagging.'' That's when wafer-thin, antitheft tags are planted into clothing, makeup and other merchandise at the manufacturing stage rather than at the store.

According to Hollinger, the two biggest players in the sourcetagging field are Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sensormatic Electronics Corp. - which provided an unrestricted grant for the National Retail Security Survey - and Thorofare, N.J.-based Checkpoint Systems Inc.

``They're in a tussle trying to get as much market share (as they can),'' Hollinger said.

The Sensormatic tags, used extensively by Macy's, can be hidden anywhere - in coat sleeves, lipstick cases, behind the mirror of an eye shadow case, even inside a bottle of vitamins - and don't have to be removed once the merchandise has been purchased.

The company introduced them in 1996, said Don Taylor, director of market planning for Sensormatic, whose other major customers include Sears, Home Depot and Kmart.

Thievery actually might be discouraged by hiding the sensors inside the merchandise, Taylor said. ``If I can't see it and I think it's there, I'm not as likely to steal that garment or item from the store,'' he said.

Also, they're small enough that they don't hide package information and help reduce bulkiness, which in turn creates more shelf space, he said.

High-tech antitheft devices also can be found at smaller retailers.

Dutton's Books in Valley Village, for example, has spent ``several thousand dollars'' within the past three years on closed-circuit cameras, said co-owner Dave Dutton.

Recently the store added more cameras - which not long ago came in handy, Dutton said.

``We apprehended an old man, one who some of my employees had suspected for some time - and I had defended him,'' he said. ``Our camera we just put in proved me wrong.''

In addition, the staff is trained to spot suspicious characters: someone with a large coat and/or bags, or someone who seems to be looking out for clerks, Dutton said.

Theft at the store in general is minimal, and only a handful of incidents actually are prosecuted, he said. For example, about four cases were turned over to authorities in 1996 and only one this year.

Dutton much prefers to make restitution arrangements with thieves he catches like the one he nabbed about two years ago who he learned had stolen over several visits to the store.

``We struck an agreement right on the sidewalk,'' Dutton said. ``The police were happy in that they didn't have to fill out reports and not go through the booking process. Everyone was happy - the man was exceedingly happy not to go to jail.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Chart

Photo: (Color) Shoppers at Macy's in the Glendale Galleria pass through security sensors at the entrance to the department store.

Phil McCarten/Daily News

Chart: (Color) BILLIONS AND BILLIONS IN THEFT

SOURCE: National Retail Federation