Sage's Halts Shoplifting By Limiting Teenagers

A convenience store near Quincy House has restricted the number of high school students allowed in the store in response to a surge in shoplifting, a spokesperson of the store's parent company said last week.

Sage, Jr. Food Store on Mt. Auburn St. posted a handwritten sign two weeks ago stating that no more than two teenagers can be in the store together after 3:30 p.m.

Kevin J. Curtis, operations supervisor for Sage's parent company, said the rule had been adopted because the store's small staff cannot monitor the eight or 10 teenagers who usually enter the store when school lets out.

"They come in in bunches when there's one or two people at the counter, and we can't do anything about it," said Scott M. MacPherson, an employee at the store. He said he believed high school students stole about $22 dollars of candy last month.

Curtis said that two weeks ago, members of the Harvard University Police Department apprehended 10 students from Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School who had just stolen food from the store. Since the 10 were caught, fewer teenagers have frequented the store, he added.

Rindge and Latin junior Andrew G. Taylor, who said he knew people who have stolen from Sage, Jr., said he thought the rule was appropriate.

"I think it's a good idea because if they're getting their shirts ripped off, why should the owners have to put up with it?" Taylor said.

The restrictions do not apply to Sage's main store on Church St., according to Curtis.

Other Harvard Square merchants said last week that while shoplifting is a constant nuisance, they had not noticed increases recently.

Robert W. Taylor, day manager of Tommy's Lunch, said high school students regularly steal from the top counter where desserts are kept. Tommy's Lunch is next door to Sage. Jr.

"They come in, four and five at a time, and you can't see them steal," Taylor said. Taylor said Tommy's would not develop a a policy like Sage, Jr. but would rely on more traditional enforcement methods.

"They come in and play the machines, and when they finish and start hanging around, we get rid of them," he said.

And, Taylor said, high school students are not the only ones guilty of shoplifting. "I've seen Harvard students do it," he said.