Thieves can't hide from pryin' eyes.

It's said that nobody likes a busybody, but security professionals are one exception to that rule. Highly curious and observant people scare off crooks and make excellent witnesses. For example, recent research shows that the presence of "busy-body" customers can deter store thieves.

"[A]ctive, random threats to shoplifters like moving, alert staff and too many nosy customers can be very effective," according to interviews of 1,500 shoplifters conducted by loss prevention expert Read Hayes for the Loss Prevention Research Council and the University of Florida.

Since busybody customers may be hard to come by, staff should be encouraged to act the part of the quidnunc. Motivated personnel must regularly approach and acknowledge customers. Keeping display and storage areas organized and tracking "hot" products limit theft and collusion, according to Hayes. The interviews indicated that plainclothes detectives can be effective if shoplifters know that undercover detectives might be present. In addition, protective merchandising, cables, and other "restrictive measures" can help to reduce shoplifting but will also hurt customer access, and thus may hurt sales.

Less effective measures include the use of store logo marks or stickers on products: "Data indicate that marking does little to affect the resale value of goods for fences," Hayes concludes. And the research corroborates earlier findings that CCTV and electronic article surveillance are often ignored by professional shoplifters.