Cvs Racial Profiling: Placing Tags On Black Hair Care Products; None On White Products.

[CatSuga]

A pharmacy with locations in the Twin Cities is accused of targeting African Americans by placing security tags on products they typically purchase.

CVS Pharmacy places the tags marked “Security Label” on certain products. The tags will set off alarms at the stores’ exits if not deactivated by cashiers.

Woodbury resident Krista Betts was shopping with her daughter at a local CVS when she noticed the tags on products targeted to African Americans.

"I started looking at the products where most of the African American hair products are, and I kept noticing all the white labels,” Betts said.

She did not notice the tags on products marketed to customers of other ethnicities. "I looked over and saw a package of Rogaine, and it said $45.99, and I just kind of picked it up ... No white label,” she says.

"I was just really offended,” Betts continued. “I left my basket, all my products in there and left.”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigators went to the CVS in Woodbury with a hidden camera and verified Bett’s claims. We also noticed the same situation at a CVS location in St. Paul.

John McCullough of the Retailers’ Protection Association identified the labels as security tags. “This is a radio frequency tag, it’s very common,” he says.

McCullough also says decisions about which products are tagged are based on theft rates of certain products.

"I don't see a retailer justifying putting tags on just for behavioral issues or a perception issue,” he says.

A spokesperson for CVS says the tag was *not* put on at the Woodbury store, but by the distributor or manufacturer. The company says it is ‘absolutely untrue’ to say the tag was put on for racial reasons.

The spokesperson also said other, ‘non-ethnic products’ have the same tags, but we did not find any in the Woodbury location. We were also told razor blades and teeth whitening products are also tagged, but were unable to find those tagged products on store shelves Wednesday morning.

Originally posted by AngleKitty-BHM

If this is true, I don't think we should be THAT upset.

I worked opposite a CVS a few years ago. This was in a run-down, 99.99% black area. Every single day people would come into my office and try to sell things that they stole from the CVS. I often wondered why they didn't just close that branch down since almost everything was being stolen. Anytime I was at a mall or department store in a mixed area, and the alarm at the door went off, it would always happen to be a black or hispanic person.

Anyway, my point is... Anyone witnessing actions like this will automatically be wary of black customers and take extra precautions to try to protect their business. It's just a few bad seeds making it bad for the rest of us. It's not Honest black people's fault just like it's not CVS's or any other merchant's fault, and they shouldn't have to turn a blind eye and allow themselves to go bankrupt. Also, if we don't have anything to hide, what's the big deal?

In closing, no it's not a good thing, but it's not a big deal.

[Nikolite]

I don't really know what to say about this. It is saddening to hear about; but this can be thrown onto a huge pile of racist things that we experience day to day. It is definitely racial, IMO. I doubt that black products are the main things being stolen, because that would be saying that if blacks are stealing, they only steal our hair care stuff/make up, etc. There is mouthwash, soap, batteries, and 95% of the rest of the items sold at CVS and they are trying to tell me that thieves only steal black products. Even if shoplifters are mainly black, why would they only steal things saying African Pride, etc? Why exclude earrings or chips or magazines? Most stores have security tags on expensive items (they lose more profit here) not 99-cent hair grease. Just sounds dumb to me.

Not enough for me to get angry over, though. It's the stores' only sad loss if they would rather lose out on a fortune of other stolen products to single out security tags for blacks. They are the ones losing in this equation. Besides, I'm not a shoplifter, so I don't have anything to worry about regardless. Although, it does bother me that white criminals can get away with things easier than black criminals.

[thunderstorm]

i used to work at a cvs in college and we had to security tag all the batteries, the pain relievers, cigarette lighters, relaxers, and heartburn medication!

once we started tagging this merchandise, we caught a lot, i mean, ALOT of shoplifters that would otherwise have successfully stolen tons of stuff. many of them were elderly people, which was always sad to see because you could imagine that maybe they couldn't afford to pay for the pain relievers that they needed. our white manager would call the cops. the black manager would pull them into his office, talk to them, and give them a warning and let them know that we'd be watching them if they returned to the store.

we caught this dude who had shoved about 15 packs of batteries underneath his baby in its stroller and tried to say that the baby pulled them off the rack. IT WAS AN INFANT that could not possibly have lifted those things off the display case. :lol:

what the heck does a person need 15 packs of batteries for anyway?

another factor in what was tagged was how far away from the checkout the products were located. the pain relievers were out of sight of the front register, so it was impossible for us to have eye contact with customers who were lanes away, possibly shoving products into their bags and pockets.

another factor is that we were in a high-crime area where even the neighboring market often caught shoplifters (people trying to steal roasts and bags of diapers!).

[EvesDilemma]

All I can say is wow.

I'd be offended if I still bought those products, but I haven't bought what could be termed an African American hair care product in over two years.

[ladytmarie]

If I own a cvs chain and all my products being stolen are black hair products and I don't have enough funds to tag everything- hell yea I'ma tag those black hair care products. Now it would be profiling if there wasn't really any difference among products being stolen. Otherwise, if that's whats being stolen then tag it. Shoot, probably perm stuff, hot curlers, grease with mineral oil in it- don't need that stuff no way. Lol they're doing black hair a favor.

My question though is if the products indeed came from the manufacturer like that, why those products? Did cvs report those products being stolen a lot and ask for the tags or what? otherwise it just seems random and dumb.

[Zanzibardotcom]

If you notice at Sallys Beauty the cash registers are in the black hair care products aisle.

[wannabenappy]

If you notice at Sallys Beauty the cash registers are in the black hair care products aisle.
[/b]

Damn....now that you mention it I have noticed that! :unsure:

[Mae]

If you notice at Sallys Beauty the cash registers are in the black hair care products aisle.
[/b]

Or go into a record store or a bookstore with a music section and notice where the hip hop and r&b cd's are....right in front by the register....

[Mz_Poetick]

Wow...

[momi]

maybe they just tag the things that have the highest rate of theft?