“Skip scanning” at Walmart self-checkouts forces police to take more action

Police said they were forced to take extreme measures due to increasing thefts at Walmart stores’ self-checkout lanes.

Police officers in Port St. Lucie, Florida, about 80 kilometers north of Palm Beach, said they had to make arrests because they had “failed” to carry out checks.

This term refers to people who use self-checkout systems to deliberately avoid paying for certain items.

These shoppers may pay for some goods but steal by bagging other items without scanning them.

Police said there has been a sharp increase in reported thefts from the area’s three Walmart supercenters.

One of these stores saw a 500% increase year-over-year, and over 50% of these reports were suspected of using skip scanners.

Port St. Lucie Police Chief Richard Del Torro shared a video of two women arrested for shoplifting.

According to NBC affiliate WPTV-TV, the video appears to show a suspect scanning one product but placing two in a shopping bag.

“People scan some items and not others,” Del Torro said.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable to take a loss when you steal from someone.”

He warned thieves and added that they would continue to crack down on this type of shoplifting.

“We are here to protect not only our people, but also our businesses and the people who visit those businesses,” the police chief said.

He also explained what led to police catching suspected “skip scanners.”

“We solve about 87% of the crimes reported to us, which is a very high crime clearance rate,”

“Often it is because there is a good video.

“We are relentless in our follow-up.”

This police department has confirmed that it will work with these three Walmart stores on a “multi-pronged approach” to crime prevention, according to a press release.

This also includes more police officers patrolling in and around shops.

JUMP AWAY

As the US Sun previously reported, a shocking survey found that a large proportion of high earners admitted to having committed this crime at the self-checkout.

Nearly 20% of Americans earning six figures or more said they “didn’t scan” items.

60% of these people said they felt bad about their actions, while 44% said they would probably do it again.

The US Sun has contacted Walmart and Port St. Lucie police for comment.