Is Your Store Protected From Employee Theft and Shoplifters?

According to the National association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP) shoplifting cost the United States more than $35 million per day.  There are more than half a million incidents concerning shoplifting every day, and the issue does not seem to be abating.  Security systems across the United States seem to be implemented in every retail store you encounter, but the problem of employee theft and shoplifting are very much huge issues with no solutions. Is it misinformation the issue?  Do your  employees know you will prosecute if caught stealing? Is it poor personnel training the issue? Here are three articles with information to prevent your business becoming a heaven for shoplifters and employee theft.

6 Security Lessons for Preventing Employee Theft of High-Value Property

How do you stop employee theft of high-value assets?

The harm from employee theft grows as the value of property increases. For example, the FBI says a vice president of product development at Tiffany & Co. systematically stole $1.3 million worth of jewelry from the company, checking out jewelry to show to potential buyers or for other marketing purposes and never returning the items.

That case pales in comparison with a theft that came to light in 2009. A vault manager at Jacmel Jewelry in Queens, NY, stole $12 million in gold over six years—500 pounds worth, one piece at a time—by hiding it in the lining of her pocketbook.

To the extent possible, it’s good to keep high-value assets and critical material separate from employees, but that’s not always practical. In casinos, for example, line workers need access to huge chunks of cash. In such situations, what security measures are effective for preventing employee theft? It’s a complicated issue that demands the evaluation of a range of issues, including:

• how employees are screened and monitored;
• how materials are accounted for;
• how investigations are conducted;
• how staff is trained and motivated; and
• how security is tested, assessed, and improved.

Are You Doing Enough to Secure Your Stores?

Theft and robbery continue to rise, but new technology and planning can deter.

NATIONAL REPORT — Whether it’s violent crime, robberies, shoplifting or employee theft, convenience stores have been dealing with store security issues for years. New technology is allowing operators to amp up prevention and react faster to incidents, but in many cases — in c-stores and the entire retail industry — the situation continues to worsen.

“I’ve been involved in the convenience store industry for 40-plus years and the risk of loss has not changed. The most worrisome is robbery, and as c-stores evolved into 24 hours, the violence level increased,” Chris McGoey of McGoey Security Consulting told Convenience Store News.

Robberies are up all-around, specifically in convenience stores, as the latest released FBI statistics show robbery up 16.8 percent in c-stores/gas stations from 2014 to 2015. Rosemary Erickson, researcher, forensic sociologist and president of Athena Research Corp., based in Sioux Falls, S.D., says this is the largest increase she can remember in all the years she has been studying crime. Erickson has helped NACS, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing, develop many of its security resources.

Arden Fair Mall Store Employees Accused Of Stealing Thousands From Registers

​SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Two alleged Christmas-time criminals are under arrest after each was caught stealing thousands of dollars from their own employer’s cash registers at the Arden Fair Mall.

Cops arrested Sears employee Rowan Chan for stealing $2,700 from his job, and Macy’s employee Imani Randle for stealing $7,700 from her job.

Both were booked within hours of each other.

A Sacramento Police spokesperson says each retail employee was in charge of a store register and in both cases, put company cash on their own debit and credit cards for weeks by ringing up fake returns.

“Basically we call it phantom returns,” Security expert Terry Brown said.

Brown owns Armor Bearer Protective Services. He says Christmas time is a busy time for store security, monitoring their own employees, and phantom returns are an old trick.