Shoplifting is on the rise. So are solutions.

At a clothing store in downtown Seattle, a woman approaches the exit during the busy lunch hour. A security guard smiles at her. But when she passes through metal detectors at the store entrance, security tags inside her shopping bag trigger an alarm.

“Ma’am?” says the security guard.

Without turning around, the woman starts running. The guard dashes after her and stops her on the street outside.

“She actually did purchase a couple items, but she also stole a couple items,” says the security guard, who asked not to be identified. “Between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m., I say we probably catch 10 to 12 [thieves].”

This kind of stealing isn’t confined to just urban Seattle. Across the United States, retailers are undertaking extraordinary measures to combat