1.1 Continue Westwind’s zero-tolerance policy towards shoplifting.

It’s the right thing to do – and it will pay off in the end in higher profitability because the chain’s reputation for being tough on crime will reduce overall losses from theft. Chris Dykstra, the person responsible for loss prevention at Westwind Electronics, took a deep breath before he launched into making his case for the changes that he was proposing to the company’s shoplifting policy. He knew that convincing Ross Chenoweth was going to be a hard sell. Ross, the company’s chairman and CEO, was the son of the founder of the local, still-family-owned consumer electronics chain.

He’d inherited not only the company, but also his father’s strict moral code.

‘I think it’s time to follow the lead of other stores,’ Chris began. He pointed out that most other retailers didn’t bother calling the police and pressing charges unless the thief had shoplifted merchandise worth more than $50 to $100. In contrast, Westwind currently had the zero tolerance policy towards theft that Ross’s father had put in place when he started the business. Chris wanted to replace that policy with one that prosecuted only individuals between 18 and 65 who had stolen more than

$40 worth of goods, and who had a previous history of theft at Westwind.

In the case of first-time culprits under 18 or over 65, he argued for letting them off with a strict warning, regardless of the value of their ill-gotten goods. Repeat offenders would be arrested