Detcordial

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?