A plainclothes security guard whose job was to stop shoplifters was arrested for shoplifting at the home improvement store where he worked in Hiroshima Prefecture on 27 October, public broadcaster TBS reported.
At about 11 a.m., a plainclothes police officer saw the guard take a single rubber boot, hide it in his clothing and try to leave the Home Plaza Nafco in the town of Sera without paying. Police arrested him at the store.
The man, 66, admitted the theft and said he took the boot because he needed it. The store employed him as a manbiki G-men (manbiki jiimen) — a plainclothes guard who patrols for shoplifters — though it is unclear whether he was on duty at the time.
About a month before the arrest, the store had contacted police about a rise in shoplifting there, which put officers on high alert. Japan has seen shoplifting climb as retailers cut staffing costs, with some stores moving to automated checkouts.
Manbiki G-men have no police authority. They watch shoppers, follow anyone they suspect until the person leaves without paying, and then make a citizen's arrest.