Kwan Auyeung owns the RN Market in Parlier and says people are stealing from his grocery store more now than ever before. The National Association of Shoplifting Prevention says one out of every eleven people who walk into his store will most likely walk out with an item they didn't pay for.
What they're taking might surprise you. Auyeung says people are taking meat, medicine, and baby formula on a daily basis. Alcohol is another hot item.
"We've gotten a lot of calls from our customers to add cameras," said Jim Adams with Central Valley Retail & Security. "The incidents seem to be growing with the economy, you know the holidays so it picks up a little bit this time of year."
Jim Adams is given the task of stopping shoplifting in the Valley. His security company installed 50 cameras responsible for watching every inch of the RN market.
Security experts can not only track someone inside, but as well as outside. They can follow them in their car and get their license plate number. Once they get that information they can then hand over to police. And it's worked in the past to catch a would be thief. Auyeung says he noticed a person who looked like he had stolen from the RN Market before. So he went to his computer and looked up the car a license plate similar to what's shown here.
Auyeung said, "When he come in, we keep our eye on him and stop him. And call the police."
Using this sophisticated software -- owners and security teams can view 16 cameras simultaneously. Experts say 35-percent of losses happen with help from a corrupt store employee. So Auyeung takes no chances by placing cameras above each cash register to ensure correct transactions are being made.
