Alpha Security — Page 15

Employee Theft is NEVER Funny, Or Is It? That May Depend On Your Perspective

September 7, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

What can make life miserable for a Human Resources or Hiring Manager? In the right circumstances, a Loss Prevention Manager can be the cause of much consternation for a Human Resources Manager. When more than one employee is being apprehended or fired for theft at the same time it requires shifting schedules, moving people around and hiring new people to take the place of the employees being removed. What makes it even more difficult for a retail H.R. Manager is if the employees work in a specialized job function. I confess (with a smile on my face as I write this) that I was responsible more than once for putting a Human Resource Manager in this predicament during my Loss Prevention Manager career. Don’t misunderstand, I was not taking pleasure in the misery of the Human Resource Manager or the Department Manager, for that matter; I was enjoying closing an investigation that netted around five employees in total, three who worked in the one area.

So what was this particular case and why was it funny to me? The case started out as a cash shortage investigation in our food service area. We had multiple departments in our store but the food services employees tended to be more specialized in their duties. Unlike other departments, there were not always employees in the store who could provide what we called back-ups to assist in food/drink preparations. For example, when the front lanes got busy, a call for back-up cashiers would result in employees from all areas of the store responding since everyone was trained as a cashier. The same thing could not be said for our food service area. We simply did not have the same number of trained people who could respond.

As I began developing my case, I conducted live camera surveillances of our food service area. Now a good investigator remains open to the possibility that there is always the chance that one “type” of case can lead to other activity and he/she is prepared to expand an investigation if necessary. Rushing to close a case simply to get a quick statistics is poor investigative technique, but I have seen it happen. It didn’t take long to identify the person I suspected was causing the cash losses, but I also found there was a second person causing shortages. That led me to conduct additional surveillances and watching all transactions that took place. Soon I was noticing drinks and food were being given at reduced prices or for free to other employees and even some customers. The passing of food and under-ringing became so routine it was comical to watch. There were customers I identified as “regulars” coming to the counter to get special deals that weren’t on the menu.

Eventually I identified three food service employees and two or three other store employees regularly getting free meals, in addition to the primary cash theft that instigated the investigation. There were several more employees who received a free drink or two but not on a regular basis. With the prior approval of my District Manager, I involved the Human Resource Manager since it was going to make a significant dent in her ability to staff food services for a little while. Needless to say, she was taken back by the amount of theft and fraud that had been taking place. She was absolutely shocked when it dawned on her that she was about to lose almost a third of her food service staff. To ease her pain a bit I let her know I was not going to go after the employees who received one or two free drinks. With her assistance, we would issue written warnings to those employees.

Because we had a good relationship, our H.R. Manager worked with me to schedule the employees at staggered times during the day so I could conduct individual interviews without one person having time to alert anyone else to what was happening. The day came when I conducted all interviews and a couple of people were prosecuted for cash theft and three or four were terminated for theft of food and policy violations. A couple of employees received final warnings for policy violations but were allowed to continue their employment with the company.

Coverage for the food service area was difficult for a few weeks, but we made it happen. I also had to chuckle because some of our “regular” customers stopped coming for food. A final word of advice to those in LP and management; build strong partnerships with each other, it is mutually beneficial for you and the store.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, Background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, Periodic inventory, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

How To Fight Organized Crime and Employee Theft

August 31, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Many new initiatives to prevent shoplifting have been put into effect at the state level, and around the world in hopes that police enforcement and retailers work together to fight this crime. The different methods, and the technology they use is up to the people involved, and in some cases the results are pretty optimistic. Fighting crime needs the collaboration of law enforcement and the management of the stores to have some success.

For more about this and other stories follow the links below.

A Formula for Fighting Organized Retail Theft

A Texas task force successfully challenged a criminal enterprise of shoplifters and fences through teamwork and communication.

What started out as a small meeting in Houston to discuss the problem of infant formula theft led to arguably one of the most significant positive examples of teamwork between private sector loss prevention, law enforcement, and government officials in the fight against organized retail theft. The lessons from these collaborative efforts in the early 2000s are still applicable in today’s loss prevention industry.

In the fall of 2002, several grocery loss prevention representatives met with Joe Williams, then president of the Gulf Coast Retailers Association, to discuss the growing problem. The standard deterrence and apprehension techniques used in the industry were having little effect on slowing the theft of formula. CCTV, electronic article surveillance (EAS), and even undercover shoplift agents proved to be of little value in significantly slowing the losses. In many locations, retailers were locking up formula just to keep it in supply for their customers. While this helped to slow the theft, it also was an inconvenience for legitimate customers and was damaging sales.

The Scope of the Organized Retail Theft Problem

By comparing notes on the apprehensions made in their stores, the loss prevention representatives found that in many of the cases the suspects detained for the formula thefts were primarily from South and Central American countries, specifically El Salvador and Honduras.

USPS Employees Theft: Suspects Include Ex-Postal Union Head

USPS employee theft has led to charges against 33 post office workers in the Los Angeles area, including embezzlement and failure to deliver 50,000 pieces of mail. One of the suspects is the former president of the mail workers union.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the suspects were connected to 28 cases involving mail theft and/or possession of stolen mail. Other charges included conspiracy, bank fraud, and making false statements.

“Arrest warrants were issued for six of the 33 defendants, who were recently charged as a result of investigations by the USPS’s Office of Inspector General,” said prosecutors. “Most of the defendants were charged in indictments that were returned by federal grand juries …”City News Service said one of those nabbed, Jarol Garcia, 33, is the former president of the local Mail Handlers Union. He was charged with conspiracy and possession of stolen mail. Garcia had worked at the Moreno Valley Delivery Distribution Center as a mail handler.

Forgery May Not Constitute “Theft” Under an Employee Dishonesty Coverage

Ruling in favor of the insurer on a motion for summary judgment, on July 29, 2016 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that under the terms of a commercial crime policy, proof of a forgery by the insured’s employee in extending $90 million of credit to a customer did not establish an unlawful taking as required by the policy terms. Tesoro Refining and Marketing Co, LLC v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, 2016 U.S. App. Lexis 13838 (5^th Cir. 2016).

Tesoro, a refiner and marketer of petroleum products sold fuel on credit to petroleum distributor Enmex. On several occasions the credit director for Tesoro, for unknown reasons, falsified and forged signatures on numerous letters of credit purportedly issued to Enmex. These acts enabled the Enmex debt to Tesoro to grow to $90 million before the forgery was detected. Once the forgery was discovered, Tesoro filed suit against Enmex for breach of contract and fraud, which lawsuit was settled. Tesoro also filed a claim with its insurer National Union under its crime policy. Tesoro claimed the loss fell under the “forgery and alteration” section of the policy (which section did not cover employee forgeries) and then amended its claim to proceed under the “employee theft” portion of the insuring agreement. National Union denied coverage under both provisions. After suit was brought by Tesoro against National Union for breach of contract and bad faith, cross motions for summary judgment were filed. Ruling in favor of National Union, the federal district court in Western Texas reasoned that the employee theft coverage could include theft that was facilitated by a forgery, but that it did not cover forgery losses independent of a theft, which always required an unlawful taking in order to trigger coverage. Tesoro did not demonstrate that any unlawful taking had occurred and, therefore, the district court granted National Union’s motion for summary judgment. On appeal the Fifth Circuit agreed.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, Background checks, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Training, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security and monitoring, security devices

Tips To Stop Shoplifting In Your Store

August 23, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Some of the advice security and loss prevention personnel give to retailers and small businesses is that greeting a customer and asking if they need help, are some of the easiest and cheapest methods to prevent shoplifting in their stores. Having a clean, well lit store is helpful and can help employees keep track of customers entering and leaving the premises. If your store is dealing with shoplifting cases in a regular basis, invest in having security cameras installed, anti-theft tags on the merchandise, or anti-theft devices at the entrances. Preventing shoplifting is a necessity that most retailers have to take seriously, and take adequate measures to mitigate their loses.

For more about this and other stories, follow the links below.

Juneau police give retailers tips on stopping shoplifters

“Greet your customer.”

That’s the most important piece of advice Juneau police Officer Ken Colon wanted his audience to remember at the end of his presentation on Friday. He was meeting with nearly 20 people in the backroom of Alaskan Dames, a consignment shop in the Mendenhall Valley.

“Shoplifters, they do not like being greeted. It hinders their ability, it takes away the opportunity and it reduces the desire to commit the crime,” Colon said.

Juneau police have reported burglary and theft rates significantly higher last year than in previous years, and they’re stepping up efforts to help residents discourage thieves before a crime is committed.

Colon has been on the Juneau police force for almost 11 years. He’s experienced the increase in property crime firsthand. He said when he responds to a theft, he looks for holes in the victim’s security so he can explain ways they can prevent the same thing from happening again. Now he’s taking the next step.

Theft is erasing some of self-checkout’s benefits

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A study of self-checkout kiosks in Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US found that self-service checkout technology likely increases shoplifting, according to The New York Times.

The study, which was conducted by the University of Leicester, audited one million shopping trips between December 2013 and February 2015 in detail, and found that out of 6 million items, 850,000 were not scanned. That represents a loss of 4% of total purchase value.

Some of self-checkout’s benefits could be reversed because of the increase in petty theft they might cause.

Retailers may turn to self-checkout because they want to save labor costs and boost sales. By substituting self-checkout for regular checkout lanes, stores hope to limit staff they need working and save on personnel expenses, though this isn’t always the case. These kiosks can also allow for easier implementation of loyalty programs and give stores access to consumer data. These devices can also increase average ticket size — at Cinemark movie theaters, self-checkout helped drive 32 consecutive quarters of increases in per-person concession orders, according to Kiosk Marketplace. That might be because without direct human interaction, consumers are more likely to purchase items that are hard to pronounce or that they’re embarrassed about, according to data from Kiosk Marketplace and the Harvard Business Review.

Springfield Police, Wal-Mart Cooperate In Attempt To Reduce Theft At Stores

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Police departments across the country are getting a little annoyed about how often they have to respond to calls at Wal-Mart.

According to an analysis by Bloomberg, a violent crime has taken place on a Wal-Mart property in the U.S. almost every day this year.

In 2013, Springfield Police responded to more than 900 shoplifting incidents at the city’s supercenters.

That accounted for about two-thirds of all shoplifting calls that year, and prompted police to ask the world’s largest retailer to take action.

After taking a closer look at where property crime occurs in Springfield, Major Kirk Manlove decided police needed a rollback on time spent at Wal-Mart.

“We’ve recognized since 2013 that the 5 Wal-Mart Supercenters were taking an enormous toll on police services,” Manlove said.

In 2013, Manlove sat down with corporate reps and asked them to do more to either prevent shoplifting, or catch thieves on their way out the door.

For about a year, he did not get the response he was looking for.

“It’s a huge corporation, no secret there and so to get decisions made down at the asset protection level is probably difficult, and budget driven,” Manlove said.

Manlove now meets with Wal-Mart quarterly, and feels the company is trying to address the concerns of local law enforcement.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Workshop, Periodic inventory, Perpetual Inventory, Prevent Shoplifting, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Stopping Shoplifting In Your Store

August 17, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Retailers around the world lose billions a dollars every year due to shoplifting and employee theft. And while the big retail chains can financially deal with the problem, there are many small businesses that cannot afford it, nor can they fight it for long.

The laws concerning shoplifting vary by state, and therefore you have to be aware of the steps you need to do while apprehending a shoplifter or an employee caught stealing. Prevention and safety should be some of the most important steps when dealing with shoplifting in your business.

To read more about this and other stories about shoplifting, follow the links below.

To stop a thief: Shoplifting is a daily battle for retailers

On any given day, more than $35 million worth of merchandise is stolen from retail stores across the country by shoplifters – amateurs and professionals alike – who steal clothing, jewelry, electronics and a host of other items, including food.

Some sneak quickly and quietly with the merchandise, others make bold getaway attempts.

In Tupelo, the retail and financial hub of Northeast Mississippi, the Tupelo Police Department gets hundreds of reports each year.

In 2014, TPD took 483 reports related to shoplifting, according to TPD Public Information Officer Chuck McDougald. Last year, that number fell to 260. So far this year, the department has taken 162 calls.

“Higher shopping volume days correspond to more shoplifting calls,” he said. “Those include weekends and holidays.”

As for the timing of when shoplifters are busiest, apparently they’re not early risers.

Low Prices, High Crime: Inside Walmart’s Plan to Crack Down on Shoplifting

The nation’s largest retailer is taking justice into its own hands.

The Walmart Supercenter in Camden, S.C., is a 24/7 retail oasis in an area with few options. There are Walmarts in nearby counties, but some of them aren’t open 24 hours a day. Camden’s location—close to Lake Watertree and a nearby river with few bridges—makes it difficult for residents to go anywhere other than the sprawling complex for everything from bread to tires to electronics. And it’s a place the Camden Police Department knows well. In the first six months of 2016, 14% of the department’s police reports originated at Walmart, most for shoplifting—a figure that could be much higher if you ask the town’s police chief.

“Sometimes they don’t call us,” says Camden Police Chief Joe Floyd. “They call us when they make an apprehension of a shoplifter. But they don’t call us every time something happens there.”

Police Officer Found Guilty Of Manslaughter In Shooting Of Unarmed Black Man

Stephen Rankin becomes one of the rare officers convicted of murder or manslaughter for on-duty conduct.

A white Virginia police officer was convicted of voluntary manslaughter Thursday in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old accused of shoplifting.

A circuit court jury found former Portsmouth police officer Stephen Rankin guilty for the killing of William Chapman in April of last year. It was the second time Rankin had killed an unarmed man while on duty. He now faces up to 10 years in prison, although the jury recommended just 2 1/2 years.

Earlier on Thursday, lawyers for Rankin had unsuccessfully urged the judge to declare a mistrial, citing video evidence showing a friend of Chapman’s family speaking to a juror. Rankin’s defense described this as a deliberate attempt to influence the outcome of the trial ― a charge that the friend denied.

Rankin, who was fired while he awaited trial, had originally been charged with first-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a felony.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Perpetual Inventory, POS ROI, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Safety First

August 10, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

3 Walmart Employees in Florida Face Charges in Death of Shoplifter -This is one of the many cases where employees or shoplifters die when a shoplifting incident occurs. It is not news anymore. It is too common to surprise people, and shoplifting as a social problem is not getting any better. As a retail owner or LP officer, what are some of the solutions that we need to be aware to mitigate these incidents in our store? Is the store layout a solution? More greeters at the door? More LP personnel? The billions of dollars lost due to shoplifting increases every year, and the loss of lives doesn’t seem to get any less. Do you need personnel training for your store? System solutions to help you with shoplifting? Contact us to help you reduce your loses and increase your profits.

The Mobile Side of Retail Loss Prevention

Today, retail loss prevention’s focus has grown from preventing the loss of inventory within a retailer’s stores to a variety of other activities ranging from HR challenges, crisis management, emergency situations and disaster recovery. However, the process for communicating emergency preparedness procedures with employees has remained stagnant. This could result in a tremendous loss in operations and profit for retailers. With brick-and-mortar retailers fighting for every dollar against growing online and mobile sales, empowering employees at each store location to protect assets has now reached a critical level.

Working with associations like the National Retail Federation, which recently addressed these issues at their loss prevention event NRF Protect, most retailers build robust loss prevention, risk mitigation, and emergency preparedness plans.

While corporate management makes a concerted effort to distribute these guidelines to each store manager, nine times out of ten, these plans are extensive paper-based manuals, posters, flip books, building diagrams, and websites that are too cumbersome to access quickly. Even worse, they are often lost or filed away in a drawer and not available when an issue arises.

LP101: Embezzlement in the Retail Environment

Embezzlement is a crime that involves a breach of trust.

Embezzlement is a type of theft involving a person or persons entrusted to property owned by someone else (such as an employee) who then uses fraudulent means to illegally misappropriate the property or cash entrusted to them.

Embezzlement is a breach of the fiduciary responsibilities placed upon a person. In this type of fraud the assets are originally under the control of the person lawfully, but the person then uses the assets for unintended purposes.

For example, a Cash Office Manager would be authorized to have control over cash in the cash office for business purposes and management. However, if the Cash Office Manager took possession of cash and illegally removed it from the cash office for their own personal use, this would constitute a form of embezzlement. If an attorney has control of an individual’s assets in order to manage their financial affairs, but misappropriates some or all of their client’s money into the attorney’s personal bank account, this would constitute embezzlement.

Elements common to embezzlement would include:

The assets must belong to someone other than the accused (such as an employer)

Store Worker Fatally Shot Trying To Prevent Shoplifting

CHICAGO (CBS) — An employee was shot and killed while trying to stop a person from shoplifting on the South Side.

The victim was working at a Family Dollar store in the 7900 block of South Ashland in Auburn Gresham when he was shot around 5 p.m. Tuesday.

When confronted, the shoplifter pulled out a gun and opened fire, hitting the worker in the chest, police said.

The 30-year-old man was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Customers said the victim was Jquinn McCune, the store’s manager.

“I’m so sorry this happened to him,” said Matthew Hobson. “I mean, he was a great, great inspiration to the young people in the neighborhood. He tried to get along with everybody, looked out for everybody.”

The man who fired the shots fled on foot in unknown direction

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft tags, EAS Devices, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, mobile POS loss prevention, Perpetual Inventory, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Could Good Training Help Prevent Deaths In The Retail Industry?

August 4, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

It is not rare when the news report another death from a shoplifting incident. Organized crime is a global and national problem affecting millions of people, and the retail industry loses billions of dollars every year due to shoplifting. LP personnel deal with highly strenuous situations every single day they try to apprehend shoplifters, and their safety is not always guaranteed. What are you doing as a retailer to ensure the safety of your employees? Are you doing enough? Is their training subpar, or are you enlisting the best possible training for them to do their job?

To read more, click on the links below.

Employees charged with fatally crushing shoplifting suspect

It was the middle of the night on Feb. 7, at a Florida Walmart Supercenter, when Kenneth E. Wisham, 64, allegedly decided to steal $380.74 worth of DVDs.

Pushing a shopping cart stacked high with them, Wisham tried to leave the store without employees noticing, but when they did — and then confronted him — the man ran, police said, tugging at his falling pants along the way.

At some time Wisham fell, the initial police report said, and three Walmart employees detained him.

Twelve hours later, Wisham was dead.

Reports from police at the time hinted at a medical mystery that had overtaken the 64-year-old man, who stopped breathing while he was being detained. Wisham never regained consciousness, despite lifesaving efforts at Walmart and the hospital, and died later that afternoon.

Two days later, the Polk County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy.

The cause of death, officials determined, was mechanical asphyxia by restraint, meaning his airwaves were suppressed during a struggle. Wisham also had 15 broken ribs.

INVESTIGATION: Female shoplifting on the rise at some Cleveland-area malls

A string of shoplifting incidents at several local malls have one thing in common — predominantly female suspects.

Strongsville police tell newsnet5.com that women have made up the majority of shoplifting arrests at the South Park Mall for several years. But the number of female arrests is on the rise.

In 2014, 66 percent of shoplifting arrests were female suspects. In 2015, 68 percent of shoplifting arrests were women. And so far this year, 71 percent all shoplifting arrests have been female suspects.

Beachwood had nine reports of shoplifting involving female suspects at Beachwood Place over the last two weeks, according to police reports.

A $5200 Chanel purse was stolen from Saks Fifth Avenue, along with clothing from H&M, jewelry from Claire’s and six different incidents at Sephora, racking up several hundred dollars worth of pocketed cosmetics.

GPS anti-theft device leads deputies to Saks shoplifting suspects

WESLEY CHAPEL, FL (WFLA) – Three woman suspected in a retail theft at the Tampa Premium Outlet Mall are in custody, each facing multiple theft charges.

Pasco County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Toccara Huff, Ayanna Palacio and Sharhonda Pedroso Tuesday. Deputies said the women entered Saks Fifth Avenue and ran out with $1,539.78 worth of merchandise. Investigators caught up with the woman 15 minutes later, about 8 miles away.

The arrest was recorded on a deputy’s body camera.

“You’re going to be going to jail for felony retail theft, OK, because the clothes you stole from the store had a GPS tracker on them,” the deputy says.

“I ain’t did nothing,” one of the suspects said.

Deputies used an anti-theft tracking device that was attached to merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue.

“It was a complete surprise to them,” Sgt. Richard Jones said.

Deputies said this is the first time they’ve caught suspects using a GPS tracker. “Obviously criminals will be more creative in committing crimes, so obviously, law enforcement, loss prevention have to be just as creative in catching those criminals,” Jones said.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Workshop, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, surveillance

Sometimes We Simply Do Not See The Obvious

August 3, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Sometimes we simply do not see the obvious even when it is right in front of us. For many years we have worked really hard to hide or disguise Checkpoint Labels. The thought being that the shoplifter will not be able to locate and possibly defeat the label.

But new studies show that although that is still a great strategy, you should also look at the opposite. Putting a clearly identified label in plain sight with a warning on it.

Here is a good example using one of the newer clear, Checkpoint Systems stock labels. The trademarked “lock” and wording has been tested extensively.

Rather than bore you with all the details of the study, I will simply tell you that it works and works well. Visible tagging can increase sales and reduce loss. The last study found:

As many of you know I, Bill Bregar have been in the loss prevention field most of my career. So now putting that hat on let’s look at this from another view. We know that shoplifters are broken into three distinct groups; Impulse, Amateur and Professional.

The bulk of shoplifters you encounter are Impulse. I teach this in my shoplifting classes, which by the way I conduct live, in person or by webinar and are FREE of charge to Loss Prevention Systems customers. I always explain that Impulse shoplifters are easily deterred with employee contact. In other words if you greet the Impulse shoplifter with eye contact, a simple hello and “can I help you”, many studies show that the Impulse shoplifter will most likely NOT shoplift during that visit.

Well if we now apply the thought of a Checkpoint Systems visual deterrence label it makes sense. Given the same circumstances where the Impulse shoplifter has not been greeted but is faced with a visual deterrence label it casts enough doubt into their minds that they do not steal.

Well if that is the case then why doesn’t a sign like this work?

Besides being funny to us I have learned that signs do very little. Probably because of sign “pollution”. They either don’t see it or it is really not a threat. But a specific label on the merchandise they are considering stealing, casts doubt. They do not know what other element may be protecting that merchandise.

Something to consider! If you would like some samples of these labels just reach out to us. We will get them in the mail to you at no charge.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, mobile POS loss prevention, Prevent Shoplifting, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

PROSECUTING A SHOPLIFTER – 101

August 2, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

How do I approach a shoplifting incident? This question is asked of me almost on a daily basis by store managers and owners. We always give advice and best practices on how to deter a shoplifter by using EAS devices, but what should you actually do if you are faced with a shoplifting incident that you personally witness? When should you call the police? When can you legally detain someone? While not every situation is the same, there are some basic best practices to follow. Here’s what I train my managers and can be a great starting point for you.

Establishing probable cause

Before you detain anyone for theft, you have to establish probable cause to do so. The best way to do that is to follow the LP industry’s “5 steps” to an apprehension. By following these steps, you always ensure that a detention is within the legal limits, which protects you and your store from any potential civil liability. Those steps are:

SELECTION

You need to witness the suspect select something from your display shelf/rack or peg. This lets you know that the product is yours, and that the customer did not come into the store.

DISPLAY INTENT

Displaying intent to commit a crime is a pretty big umbrella. A customer can display intent to permanently deprive you of merchandise is dozens of ways. Some of the most common are removing the item from its packaging, concealing it on their person, altering the pricing indicator, or even consuming the merchandise.

MAINTAIN POSSESSION

The most common way a shoplifter will display intent is to conceal the item on their person, or maybe in a shopping bag or purse. It’s vital that they maintain possession of your product at the point in which you detain them. You can get yourself into some legal trouble if you detain someone that doesn’t possess any stolen property, so it’s imperative that you keep constant, unbroken observation on the suspect.

FAILED TO PAY

This one is obvious. They have to not pay for the item. Pretty straightforward and simple.

EXIT THE STORE

Once you witness that shoplifter select your property, conceal it in their pants and then walk all the way up front, past the registers and out the door, you have now established probable cause to detain that individual.

There are obviously various scenarios that can throw a monkey wrench in the gears, so it’s also very important for retailers to know and understand your state laws regarding shoplifting. These can usually be very easily found by going to your Secretary of State’s website and searching for the statutes governing theft. Even though I’m well versed in my state’s laws and have been doing this job for a very long time, I still keep printed copies of the law in my bag that I carry at all times. I also encourage you to reach out to your local law enforcement agency for help. Most departments have a retail liaison or similar position that can help you to understand exactly when a crime is considered to have been committed and what they expect from you as the retailer when responding to calls at your store.

Lastly, I implore everyone to always prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. Don’t give one person a pass. Show that your store will not be a soft target and that you are committed to keeping prices low for your customers. By prosecuting each shoplifter, you’re also committing to keeping your store safe for your customers and your employees. There’s a theory in law enforcement called “broken windows”. It goes something like this:

You walk past a house or building with a few broken windows. The windows go unrepaired and that leads to other window breaking. Before long, the building is covered in graffiti and squatters may take up residence. Drug use inside proliferates and it attracts others with ill-intent. Fires could be set inside. This “moth to flame” action starts trickling down to other buildings and houses in the neighborhood and soon the area is a criminal hot bed.

While this is only a theory and is a matter of great debate in the world of criminology, it should get you thinking. If shoplifters know they can get away with stealing from you, they’ll come back. Eventually, they will get brazen enough to physically assault a store clerk that may intervene. If you’re not prosecuting these individuals, word gets out that your store is an easy mark. You may eventually get robbed and ultimately shut your doors because your customers refuse to shop at a store they feel is unsafe. You can stop this snowball effect by taking pro-active measures to prevent those from shoplifting as well as taking the necessary action to hold those accountable to the law that do take from your store.

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HOW SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HELP BUILD SUBSTANTIAL SHOPLIFTING CASES

August 2, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Facebook and other social media sites can be a proverbial gold-mine of information; especially if you are dealing with a rather stupid criminal. In my job, I see and interview dozens and dozens of “professional” shoplifters every month. My job is to get as much Intel as possible from them and make bigger cases. Often, that means working very closely with local and state law enforcement officials and even other retailers. No other time have I had such a prolific criminal than with “Jane”.

I first met Jane at my home store (I am responsible for 30). My agent apprehended Jane and several of her cohorts after they attempted leaving the store with several hundred dollars’ worth of clothing concealed on them. After they left for jail, I started my research. Facebook has become my first stop. 10 seconds later I find her page. Completely open to the public. First thing I see is this:

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. As a seasoned investigator, Just looking at this told me it was stolen. Based on some other photos, I knew this came from one of my stores. Since Jane was nice enough to keep her profile public and include a time, date and location stamp on those pictures, I started my research. Within an hour, I found corresponding CCTV footage of her entering another one of my store locations. Sure as heck, I had video of her stealing everything in this picture. I started scrolling from there. I found that she was also returning stolen goods for gift cards. She posted some shots of a few from my stores. In the comment section (which generates a lot of activity) she was kind enough to take a photo of the rear of the card. I suspended the funds ☺

With all this great information, I decided to compile it all and share it with law enforcement and my LP contacts throughout the state. I was able to make some significant cases on this very prolific shoplifter from some simple research on a social media page. In fact, the evidence was enough to cut several warrants for her arrest, which caught up to her relatively quick in a place, far, far from her home. ☺

To me, what’s even more ridiculous is reading the comments on her “items”. It would seem as though everyone on her “friends list” is well aware of how she is obtaining the merchandise and are even encouraging the actions. These are the types of people that hurt big box retailers and that can put small shops out of business. These are the shoplifters we need to focus on and the ones that the criminal justice system need to come down hard on. The only thing that will stop Jane from stealing is being behind bars. This is her full time job.

Jane is not alone. Across the country and in every city, there are shoplifters that are targeting your stores that do this for a living. They steal full time instead of getting a job. As Loss Prevention professionals, these are the cases that deserve prosecution to the fullest extent allowed by law.

So the next time you’re dealing with a shoplifter, take the extra step and see what you can’t uncover from their online footprint. You may be surprised at what you find!

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STEP NINE

August 2, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

It’s a normal day at the office. I’m working on a few cases and an email comes across from a manager at one of my stores. There’s not much to it; just says “John” called the store looking for you, here’s his number. Curious to who John is, I immediately give him a call. In my mind I’m thinking it could be a detective, or an Assistant District Attorney maybe.

Two rings and John answers with a very chipper, “Hello!” I tell him who I am and that I am returning his phone call. John was very vague. He said he wanted to tell me something, but really wanted to do this face to face. I had no earthly idea who this guy was and asked if we had ever met. He said no and after a bit of coercing, John tells me that it involves shoplifting and that he really wants to speak with me in person. I agree to have him come to the store the next day.

Not knowing what I may encounter, I asked a Sheriff’s Deputy friend of mine to be in the store, just in case. Turns out I didn’t need him, though. I finally met John the next afternoon. He gave me a hearty handshake, looked me directly in the eyes and thanked me for meeting with him. What happened over the next 40 minutes is something I’ll never forget in my entire life.

John is in his mid-thirties. On the outside, he’s an unassuming guy. Clean cut, well dressed and well spoken. Once the door was closed, he took a deep breath and told me that he was a recovering heroin addict and that he had stolen from my store in the past. See, John has been clean for 19 months and part of his treatment is to make amends for the wrongs he’s done.

I was interested in John’s story and how he cleaned himself up. As with any addict, he had to hit rock bottom. The final straw was living in a trailer, with no plumbing with 15 other addicts. John told me that using the restroom consisted of sharing a bucket. One evening he passed out after shooting up and woke up with both hands in that bucket. That was it for him. He went home and asked for help. 19 months later, he is clean, working and starting to support himself again. Those of you that have experienced what heroin can do to a person should realize just how much of an accomplishment this is. Most people don’t or can’t get clean.

Heroin is an epidemic that is destroying our neighborhoods. It is prevalence and ease of access is making a prolific comeback across the country. A good majority of addicts turn to shoplifting to help fuel their addiction. John was of those.

John told me that it started by making returns for other users of stolen goods. They’d get a gift card and run it to a pawn shop for quick cash. As time went on, John worked up the courage to steal. The very first thing he took from my store was a pair of shoes. “Stealing itself is an addiction as bad as the heroin” he recalled. From there he moved on to clothing and other high dollar items. He even would take orders for other dealers. He could trade items or gift cards for the heroin. This went on for months. He was never caught.

He reached into his top pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it to me and it was a list of everything that he could remember taking from the store, along with its approximate value; Nearly $8,000. John again looked me in the eye and said, “I’m going to pay you back every penny that I took from you.”

Speechless I stared blankly for a second. Never in my career have I been faced with something that has truly touched me in such a way. I felt inspired by his story. If this guy can get his life together and make things right, then any little problem I was having that week just seemed so insignificant. I had to stress that he was under no legal obligation to pay us, but he insisted. The feeling of a weight being lifted off of your chest was how he described finally coming into the store and having this conversation. For him, this put him one step closer to completing his treatment, and ultimately getting his life completely back. While I don’t often have a soft spot for shoplifters, John, for me is something more than that. He’s a person and he’s helped me understand how I can be more effective in protecting my company from loss while also understanding that the people that I come into contact with all have their own set of demons.

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