Shoplifting Height of Fashion As Crisis Continues

 

Retail chains are seeing an increase in shoplifting, but do not seem to be in a hurry to spend more on their security systems.

The incidence of shoplifting at Lenta stores increased by 33 percent during the first half of 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to the supermarket chain's press ser­vice. The press service of X5 group said that shoplifting had risen by 66 percent in its local Pyatyorochka stores, by 18 percent in Perekryostok stores, and by 10 percent in Karusel stores.

A representative of a clothing retail company said that the volume of thefts had risen and the resulting losses amounted to two to three percent of the company's turnover. The gen­eral director of the Bukvoyed bookstore chain said he had also noticed an in­crease in shoplifting, and that his stores were seeing more amateur thieves than previously. The security department of X5 said that it was mainly expensive goods being stolen with the aim of sell­ing them on in smaller shops, rather than for personal use.

A representative of Lenta said that shoplifters tend to go for coffee, expen­sive kinds of sausage, caviar, cognac and vodka, and that the theft of non­food items such as clothes, multimedia and cosmetics had become twice as common. He said that thieves were of­ten groups of two to three shoppers or minors unaccompanied by their par­ents, as well as cleaning company staff.

The head of the public relations department of Realgipermarket said that retail companies that op­erate on a self-service basis generally include the factor of the expected cost of losses into the end price for small or expensive products such as make up, creams and small souvenirs. She did not say what the size of the price markup usually was, saying only that " for the consumer it is usually kopecks, but can signifi­cantly minimize losses in the company's turnover."

 

An analyst at Uralsib Capital said that shoplifting losses are taken into account when pricing certain categories of goods, and that the markup does not exceed 0.5 percent of the price.

Shoplifting is not the biggest prob­lem, as about 70 percent of goods lost at the supplier - consumer level are the re­sult of internal theft at warehouses and shops, said a representative of a discount chain who asked not to be named.

Most thefts from shops fall under the administrative violations codex, and shops try to protect their expensive goods with magnetic detectors, said the head of the State Department of Internal Affairs (GUVD) for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast. According to data from the GUVD, since November 2008, about 250 thefts, including those from shops, have been registered per month in St. Petersburg. He said that secu­rity guards do not always call the police.

In a six-month period, 15, 416 peo­ple were detained at Lenta stores for shoplifting. X5 group said that criminal proceedings were only brought against 10 percent of those detained in their stores. " We let old ladies, children and ill people go after we have taken back the stolen goods; you have to feel sorry for them, " said the X5 representative.

At Karusel and Pyatyorochka, the total losses avoided this year increased eightfold to several million rubles. Sales of the northwest branch of X5 to­taled $576 million in the first quarter of this year.

The discount chain representative said that in order to prevent losses, which are felt particularly keen in times of crisis, the company is introduc­ing an IT system that will allow them to control the movement of goods. Install­ing the system at six checkouts in a shop costs on average 500, 000 rubles ($16, 165), excluding expenses on the software, said the head of the retail systems department at 1C: Bukhuchyot i Torgovlya.

The head of the systems integrator department at SM Trade said that a security system for an 8, 000 to 12, 000-square meter hypermarket, in­cluding CCTV, controlled access and alarm system costs from 4.5 million to 8 million rubles ($145, 000 to $259, 000).

He said that sales of security systems are falling, as most retailers want to cut back on technical expenses and are shift­ing the responsibility for finding a way to reduce losses from theft onto staff.

Bukvoyed's manager said that spend­ing on security had not increased, but that the company was paying closer at­tention to training its staff.

Words to be memorized:

 

Shoplifting – магазинная кража

Retail chains – сети розничной торговли

Security system – охранная система

Amateur thief (pl. thieves) – вор-любитель

Steal (stole, stolen) – воровать

Theft – кража

Minor – несовершеннолетний подросток

Staff – персонал

Losses – убытки

Consumer – потребитель

Turnover – товарооборот

Markup – наценка

Warehouse - склад

Violation – правонарушение

Detain – задержать, арестовать

 

Tasks:

 

I. Questions:

 

1) What goods are stolen in most cases?

2) How do some companies try to avoid shoplifting losses?

3) How much is usually the size of the price markup?

4) What codex considers most thefts from shops?

5) How much does a security system, including access and alarm system, cost?

 

II. Translate from Russian into English:

 

1) Многие магазины пытаются обнаруживать и задерживать магазинных воров с помощью магнитных детекторов, установленных на выходе.

2) Администрация магазинов розничной торговли не торопится тратить больше денег на охранные системы.

3) Магазинные воры – это обычно группки из двух-трех покупателей или подростки без сопровождения взрослых.

4) Иногда предположительная стоимость убытков от краж включается в конечную цену дорогой косметики.

5) 70% убытков происходят в результате внутренних краж на складах и в магазинах.

 

Text 4.

Law in Great Britain

British law is divided into two parts — civil and criminal. There are also two types of courts — dealing with civil jurisdiction and the other, with crim­inal jurisdiction. The law of Britain distinguishes offences into main cate­gories: a) indictable offences and b) non-indictable offences. Indictable offences are the more serious crimes, which must be tried before a jury. Non-indictable offences are all the rest and they are tried by the Magis­trates' Court. However, nowadays there are many offences which may

ei­ther be treated on indictment by a jury or by a Magistrates' Court. When a person is brought before the magistrates' Court charged with one of the overlapping offences, the court may in many cases treat the charge as be­ing (for a non-indictable offence. The principal courts of ordinary criminal jurisdiction in England and Wales include:

a) Magistrates' Courts, which try the less serious offences and conduct preliminary inquiries into the more serious offences. They are presided over by Justices of the Peace;

b) Quarter-Sessions which take place at least four times а уеar. They deal with more serious offences and are presided over either by legally qualified chairman with a group of magistrates or by a single lawyer;

c) Assizes which are branches of the High Court and are presided over by High Court Judges. They deal with the most serious offences and cases presenting special difficulties..

 

 

Law in the USA

The third branch of government is the federal judiciary. Its main instru­ment is the Supreme Court, which watches over the other two branches. It determines whether or not their laws and acts are in accordance with the Constitution. Congress has the power to fix the number of judges sitting on the Court, but it cannot change the powers given to the Supreme Court by the Constitution itself. The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. They are nominated by the President but must be approved by the Senate. Once approved, they hold office as Supreme Justices for life. A decision of the Supreme Court cannot be appealed to anу other court. Neither the President nor Congress can change their decisions. In addition to the Supreme Court, Congress has established 11 courts of appeal and, bellow them, 91 federal district courts.

The Supreme Court has direct jurisdiction in only two kinds of cases: involving foreign diplomats and those in which a state is a party. All cases which reach the Court are appeals from lower courts. The Supreme Court chooses which of these it will hear. Most of the cases involve interpretation of the Constitution. The Supreme Court also has the “power of judicial review”, that is, it has the right to declare laws and actions of the federal, state, and local governments unconstitutional. While not stated in the Constitution, this power was established over time.

Words to be memorized:

Legislative branch – законодательная власть

Executive branch –исполнительная власть

Judicial branch – судебная власть

Civil – гражданский

Criminal – уголовный

Jurisdiction –юрисдикция, сфера полномочий

Offence - правонарушение

Indictable – подлежащий рассмотрению в суде; уголовный

Charge –обвинение

Justice of the Peace – мировой судья

Assize – выездная сессия суда

Judicial review – судебный пересмотр

 

Tasks:

1. Questions:

 

1) Into how many parts is British law divided?

2) What court tries less serious offences?

3) How often do quarter sessions take place?

4) What is the main instrument of the federal judiciary?

5) What court has the power of judicial review?

2. Translate from Russian into English:

 

1) В Британии есть два типа судов – гражданские и уголовные.

2) Мировые суды рассматривают менее серьезные правонарушения и проводят предварительное расследование более серьезных правонарушений.

3) Выездные сессии – это ветви Верховного cуда.

4) Главного судью американского Верховного суда и его помощников назначает Президент, с одобрения Сената.

5) Верховный суд США имеет право судебного пересмотра.

 

Text 5.

Licensed to Kill.

By Jamison Firestone

In the summer of 1993, I set up a law firm in Moscow with an American friend, Terry Duncan. All of the lawyers were Russians. They were the brightest of the bright.

Young Russian lawyers from the best schools who believed in Russia, the rule of law and the future of their country. We shared a common vision: Russia was the place to be. History was being made, and we were at the center of it. Law mattered, Russia had a bright future, and lawyers and law were central to that future.

One of those young men who shared this vision and passion was Sergei Magnitsky, who worked with me for more than 10 years. I believe that he was killed in prison by corrupt law enforcement officers.

There are those who would question my use of the word killed. Some would call it an overreaction. It is not.

Magnitsky testified against a group of Interior Ministry officers who we believe stole more than 5 billion rubles from the Russian treasury. One month later, those same officers arrested Magnitsky on completely false charges that made no legal sense. They held him in prison in horrible conditions. When Magnitsky’s health deteriorated, they denied him access to doctors, medicine and a routine but critical operation. He died Monday evening.

Magnitsky did not die by chance. He died because corrupt Interior Ministry officers killed him. They knowingly imprisoned an innocent man, destroyed his health and denied him access to medical treatment. Maybe the Ministry just wanted to put pressure on him. But when detained people are tortured, they sometimes die, and in this case the people applying the pressure become killers.

Magnitsky’s story is all the more terrible because it is now routine. Let’s be honest, the so-called law enforcement agencies are detested by everyone and respected by no one. Corrupt officers routinely open criminal cases against the innocent, imprison people, kill people and steal with impunity. They are not above the law. They are the law. They are in effect licensed to kill.

One of the most interesting things about reading the articles and Internet blogs about Magnitsky’s death is how universal this opinion is. Nobody believes the Interior Ministry, and everyone understands that Magnitsky was effectively killed, and that he is just another of the many victims of the country’s abuse of police powers.

“Russian law” has become an oxymoron.

When are these crimes carried out by law enforcement agencies going to stop? When are we going to take back this country from the gang of criminals in uniform that has decided that it is the law?

Although I support President Dmitry Medvedev’s statements about fighting legal nihilism and corruption, he should publicly acknowledge that law enforcement agencies and the courts are now the main forces that threaten the ordinary citizens of this country.

Medvedev asks Russians not to give up hope and fall into legal nihilism, and then he allows a bunch of bandits in uniforms to rule over us. Corrupt officers steal and kill, and the government does nothing. Occasionally a statement is made about how the president or prime-minister cannot interfere with law enforcement agencies, but law enforcement agencies are now Russia’s largest problem. They are the enforcers of the new mafia. If Medvedev is not prepared to interfere, who will? The few who try to interfere, like Magnitsky, die.

 

 

Words to be memorized:

To set up – открыть

Bright – способный

Rule – правило

To share – разделять

To matter – значить

Passion – энтузиазм

Enforcement – защита, принуждение к выполнению

Overreaction – крайнее противодействие

To testify against – свидетельствовать против

Treasury – казна

Completely – полностью, совершенно

Sense – смысл

To deteriorate – ухудшаться

To deny – отрицать, отказать

Access – доступ

Corrupt – продажный

Innocent – невиновный

To destroy – разрушить

Detained – содержащийся под стражей

To torture – пытать

To detest – ненавидеть

To respect – уважать

Impunity – безнаказанность

To license – разрешать

Oxymoron – оксюморон (стилистический прием, обозначающий нарочитое сочетание противоречивых понятий)

Gang – банда

Bunch – горстка

To interfere – вмешиваться

The few - те немногие

 

Tasks:

I. Answer the questions:

1) What kind of Russian lawyers were in the law firm of Jamison Firestone in Moscow?

2) Why was Sergei Magnitsky killed in prison?

3) How can corrupt officers open criminal cases against the innocent and steal with impunity?

4) Can you explain the meaning of the word “oxymoron” in English? Give examples of this device.

5) What does Medvedev ask Russians not to do and what does he then allow bandits to do?

 

II. Translate from Russian into English:

 

1) Некоторые хотели бы спросить у меня, зачем я использую слово «убили».

2) Месяц спустя те же самые чиновники арестовали Магницкого по совершенно ложным обвинениям, которые не имели никакой правовой основы.

3) Они умышленно заключили в тюрьму невинного человека, разрушили его здоровье и лишили его медицинской помощи.

4) Никто не верит министерству внутренних дел, и все считают, что Магницкий является еще одной жертвой зависимости страны от правоохранительных органов.

5) Получается, что президент или премьер-министр не могут вмешиваться в действия правоохранительных структур, но именно эти структуры сегодня крупнейшая проблема России.

 

Text 6.

 

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