I Felt So Safe

I went to Best Buy this morning. The never ending thirst for computer games, but that's another story. This is about physical security. Best Buy has a big investment in security. They pay a person to stand by the door and compare the receipt you are bringing from the check stand five feet away to the items in your bag. There is another person sitting right next to the door monitoring multiple security cameras. This outpost is skillfully placed so that you can't help but see it on your way into the store.

Clearly, shoplifting is being discouraged. I can't say I blame them. There are a lot of very small items in their store that carry very weighty price tags. The local mini-mart doesn't need that kind of precautions. If someone slips the occasional candy bar in their pocket it isn't a catastrophe. When a seven hundred dollar video card goes out the door in someone's sock that's a whole different thing.

But all of that is deterrent for shoplifters. Good for the store, but not what made me feel secure personally. In this modern age that takes something else. Like the line of ten inch diameter steel reinforced concrete posts in front of the entrance! I'm not sure if they are a theft deterrent or a defense against terrorist attack. Either way it was good to know that any carload of gun wielding maniacs that wanted to take over the Best Buy would have to park out in the lot like everyone else rather than crashing through the doors.