How may I help you? (steal a vacuum)

Here is some news out of yesterday's Palm Beach Post. A woman walked out of a Super Target store last week with a vacuum cleaner priced at approximately $500. The store caught her on film but no one stopped the thief. So much for the supposedly 200 security cameras these stores are said to have by their Asset Protection(Loss Prevention) personnel. You'd think one of them would have seen the woman on camera. What were the employees doing too? The thief had to walk by the checkout lanes to get out of the store.

In addition to the article, a picture of the suspect leaving Super Target with the vacuum was included. I guess Target supplied this in order to catch the thief. They just look awfully dumb in the process. The thief walked out right underneath their noses. What does that say about the competence of everyone working in that store?

Open Post- Bright & Early, Cao's Blog,

An unidentified woman caught on surveillance tape while walking out of a Super Target with a pricey vacuum cleaner is part of a shoplifting ring that has been pilfering Dyson vacuums from stores throughout South Florida, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

The incident caught on tape about 2 p.m. March 2 at the Super Target at Boynton Beach Boulevard and Hagen Ranch Road is the first of the vacuum heists reported to the sheriff's office, but investigators learned from Target officials that several other of their stores in the region have had similar thefts, Detective Michael Ferrante said.

The Dyson vacuum stolen from the Super Target is valued at $500. Most vacuums in the line range from $400 to $600.

In the March 2 incident, a woman with fair skin and light brown hair in a ponytail walked into the store, removed the vacuum from its packaging and walked out, dragging the bulky vacuum on its wheels behind her, Ferrante said.