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?-- 21 Quest, Jun 03 2012 Glasgow off-licence piccy http://1.bp.blogspo...vN491s8/s320/-1.jpg [not_morrison_rm, Jun 04 2012] // 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.
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.-- Alterother, Jun 03 2012 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."-- 21 Quest, Jun 03 2012 What [Alterother] said.
However, destroying a bottle of 18 year old Single Malt is in itself a crime that cries out for vengeance....-- 8th of 7, Jun 03 2012 The good stuff will be kept in a locked glass cabinet, like they do now with video games and new-release Blu-Ray movies.-- Alterother, Jun 03 2012 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.
And if they do carry it, what Alter said. It'll go in a locked case.-- 21 Quest, Jun 03 2012 Ban alcohol and cut off the hands of infidels who drink it. Oh, wait, this is jesUSistan, not Pakistan?-- UnaBubba, Jun 03 2012 Use anti-burglar paint; after a few greasy bottle smashes, theft will soon lose its charm.-- Phrontistery, Jun 03 2012 // video games and new-release Blu-Ray movies //
So ... lock up the alcohol and the entertainment, but leave the ammunition and accelerants on free access ... ?
Interesting sense of priorities, there ....-- 8th of 7, Jun 03 2012 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...
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...-- Alterother, Jun 03 2012 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.-- 21 Quest, Jun 03 2012 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.-- UnaBubba, Jun 03 2012 //difficulty in securing alcohol from theft by minors
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...-- not_morrison_rm, Jun 03 2012 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.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 03 2012 Go right ahead and booby trap your stuff, I won't say nothin...-- 21 Quest, Jun 04 2012 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.-- UnaBubba, Jun 04 2012 You have no idea how long it too me to track down a photo of the inside of a Glasgow off-licence. See link.
Was in one yonks ago (that's a BSI Yonk, none of you Whitworth nonsense) thought I'd gone to another planet or something....-- not_morrison_rm, Jun 04 2012 That's a large tantalus, [nmrm]!-- UnaBubba, Jun 04 2012 I've never understood why young people rob off- licences rather than just sneaking down to their parents' wine cellars.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 04 2012 With all respect, m'Lud, the root of that lies in your ignorance of the fact that most people do not have wine cellars.-- Alterother, Jun 04 2012 Well, where on earth do they lay down their wine, for goodness' sake?-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 04 2012 In their kidneys, typically.-- Alterother, Jun 04 2012 Would you like some cheese with that upper-class whine, [Sir Max]?-- UnaBubba, Jun 04 2012 He's actually crucially aware that not everbody has wine cellars.-- rcarty, Jun 04 2012 //some cheese with that upper-class whine//
Wine with cheese? Well done! We knew you lot would get the hang of it some day.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 04 2012 //get the hang of it//
We have a lamp-post with your name on it. Say hello to Mussolini for us, would you?-- UnaBubba, Jun 04 2012 random, halfbakery