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So, my state (Washington State, USA) just approved the
privatization
of liquor, meaning it can now be sold by privately owned
supermarket chains like Wal-Mart, Safeway, Win-Co, etc. Having
worked in loss prevention for several grocery chains here in
Spokane (Safeway, Yoke's, Super 1, Trading
Company
Stores,
IGA) I
can testify to the difficulty in securing alcohol from theft by
minors.
We used to get hit by 'beer runners' all the time. Now, we are
dealing with much more potent liquor that is sold in much more
expensive bottles, yet I've seen no effort on the part of the
grocers
to secure it beyond putting a security tag on the bottles that sets
off an alarm if it leaves the store.
The problem is, beer runners aren't deterred by door alarms, so
why
would rum runners? They get in the store, grab the booze, run
out
and jump into a waiting getaway car and they're long gone before
security can catch them.
So. We need a way to physically prevent the alcohol from leaving
the premises before it's paid for. Apparently, putting it behind a
counter with the tobacco products is too much of an
inconvenience,
so is hiring extra security.
We at 21st Century Quest Engineering believe that most, if not
all,
of life's problems can be solved with a creative application of
detcord. So we combined
the standard security tag with a loop of extra thin detcord (see
my other idea titled Det Thread) and 2 extra alarm
beacon posts, placed 10 feet beyond the first.
If unpaid for liquor passes the first beacon post, it simply sounds
an
alarm as usual. If, however, the security tag has still not been
removed when it passes the second beacon post, the detcord
loop
is triggered and removes the bottom of the bottle. If it also
happens
to remove a few thieving fingers, then so be it. That'll teach them
to
ignore warning signs and audible alarms now, won't it?
Glasgow off-licence piccy
http://1.bp.blogspo...vN491s8/s320/-1.jpg [not_morrison_rm, Jun 04 2012]
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// most, if not all, of life's problems can be solved with a
creative application of detcord //
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Why have two control points at all? A public service
announcement campaign run for six weeks previous to the
det-tagged bottles hitting shelves will make it perfectly
clear what could happen if the bottles are removed from
the store without paying. When a bottle with an armed
det-tag passes through the control point, the alarm sounds
maybe a half-second before detonation, giving the thief
time to voluntarily drop the bottle. After that, it sucks
tobe him.
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Passing _back_ through the control point should dis-arm
the det-tag in case the smart-ass decides to toss it back
into the store. |
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The first control point is to provide protection to the
consumer from minimum wage cashiers who forget to remove
the tags.
"Warning: the security tag has not been removed from your
merchandise. Please see a retail sales associate for assistance." |
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However, destroying a bottle of 18 year old Single Malt is in itself a crime that cries out for vengeance.... |
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The good stuff will be kept in a locked glass cabinet, like
they do now with video games and new-release Blu-Ray
movies. |
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I doubt you're going to find much, if anything, more expensive
than Hennessy at Wal-Mart, and the world could stand to have
a few bottles of that overstated chav bait go down the drain.
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And if they do carry it, what Alter said. It'll go in a locked case. |
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Ban alcohol and cut off the hands of infidels who
drink it. Oh, wait, this is jesUSistan, not Pakistan? |
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Use anti-burglar paint; after a few greasy bottle
smashes, theft will soon lose its charm. |
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// video games and new-release Blu-Ray movies //
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So ... lock up the alcohol and the entertainment, but leave the ammunition and accelerants on free access ... ?
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Interesting sense of priorities, there .... |
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No, in places like Wal-Mart they keep the ammo locked up,
too. Lile in RiteAid, a regional pharmacy chain (which in
the US means a miniature department store with a
pharmacy in the back), where the puny 'sporting goods'
section includes a locked cabinet containing ammunition,
but every caliber they carry is for handguns. Hmm...
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Of course, in places like the locally-owned gas station and
general store down the road from my house, the
ammunition is just sitting
out on the shelf where anyone could take it. But it's also
sitting in the chambers of the double-barreled Ithica under
the counter, and in the cylinder of the Smith & Wesson .44
Magnum under the cash drawer, and in the magazine of the
Winchester 30-30 cradled it the antlers of the mounted
deer bust proudly displayed on the wall behind the
cashier... |
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Not that I subscribe to the notion myself, but there _is_ a rather
sizeable contingent that believes it's the alcohol and violent
movies that make kids misuse the firearms and accelerants. |
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It's more likely to be the social conditioning and
apparent behavioural cues of assumed parental
approval that makes it possible for youth to conceive
that it might be OK to mix alcohol, screen violence,
firearms and accelerants. |
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//difficulty in securing alcohol from theft by minors
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I read that as "by theft from minors" first time and I was thinking shame on you...anyway, the buggers can run too fast and you have to give it back... |
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Sorry, but nope. (-) Wow, I haven't down-voted anything in a looong time. If'n I ain't allowed to booby-trap my stuff, then retailers ain't allowed to booby-trap their stuff neither. |
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Go right ahead and booby trap your stuff, I won't say nothin... |
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I have a "harmless" python, about 12ft long, living in
my shed. I see her occasionally, and she accidentally
trips the motion sensor on the lights in the shed
every so often. No need for det cord. |
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You have no idea how long it too me to track down a photo of the inside of a Glasgow off-licence. See link.
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Was in one yonks ago (that's a BSI Yonk, none of you Whitworth nonsense) thought I'd gone to another planet or something.... |
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That's a large tantalus, [nmrm]! |
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I've never understood why young people rob off-
licences rather than just sneaking down to their
parents' wine cellars. |
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With all respect, m'Lud, the root of that lies in your
ignorance of the fact that most people do not have wine
cellars. |
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Well, where on earth do they lay down their wine,
for goodness' sake? |
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In their kidneys, typically. |
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Would you like some cheese with that upper-class
whine, [Sir Max]? |
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He's actually crucially aware that not everbody has wine cellars. |
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//some cheese with that upper-class whine//
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Wine with cheese? Well done! We knew you lot
would get the hang of it some day. |
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We have a lamp-post with your name on it. Say hello
to Mussolini for us, would you? |
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