Shoplifting isn’t just a problem for retailers. It is a crime and it affects everyone in some way. Whether it be the retail store that suffers lost profits, the consumer who is faced with higher prices, or a community that is plagued with organized criminal syndicates all dealing in stolen property. For years, it seemed like I was fighting the shoplifting battle alone. I could deploy the most sophisticated camera systems, or use the newest EAS technology, but those career shoplifters were still targeting my stores on a daily basis. And getting away with hundreds of thousands of dollars in goods.
I felt the response from local law enforcement wasn’t what it should’ve been. Understandably, police usually see shoplifting as a petty crime. It’s a low priority in most jurisdictions, as it falls behind drug crimes, auto theft, burglaries and the more violent crimes. It wasn’t’ until two years ago that police in my parish began addressing the ever-growing shoplifting problem with a very unique solution.
The local sheriff’s office began reviewing shoplifting statistics and assigned two detectives to develop a program with local retailers to coordinate efforts and share information on shoplifters. At the onset, I was approached by these detectives. I was the regional LP manager for one the the largest retailers in the parish. It didn’t take much to convincing to get me and my company onboard. I reached out to my industry contacts and before long, over 100 different retailers were working in concert with local police to dismantle some of the most well-known shoplifting rings. These weren’t just big box retailers with LP departments. The vast majority were small, family owned stores and supermarkets who were tired of seeing the same shoplifters day in and day out. Once a quarter, everyone would meet in a large auditorium and swap cases and share photos of big time boosters, or unknowns. It didn’t take long for some very substantial cases to be made, as well as the sheriff’s office realizing just how bad the problem was.
Everyone was quick to see what we knew all along. Shoplifting was not being committed by a bored teenager. Most of our shoplifters were drug addicts who were hooked on heroin, which is making a massive comeback in the US. Gangs of 10-15 at a time would target stores across the area. They would steal merchandise, conduct fraud refunds; whatever it took to make enough money for their next score. As more and more information was shared, police came to learn that most shoplifters were also suspects in other, more serious crimes. Based on our partnerships, we bang identifying car thieves, drug dealers and violent offenders, al who hand their hands in shoplifting.
While we’ve only scratched the surface, preliminary numbers for 2014 show over 4,000 arrest for shoplifting in this one parish alone. Most of these originated from the partnership group. This is a staggering number to comprehend. The hope is that with more support from the DA’s office, this number will start to decrease. We’ve already seen prosecutors push for heavier penalties and even prison time for some of the biggest repeat offenders. Hopefully, these types of partnerships can continue to be forged, and our law enforcement agencies will continue partnering with the Loss Prevention industry to help turn the tide against shoplifting.
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