Loss Prevention Programs For Your Business

January 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (4)The economy’s downturn has had an effect on the American consumer and retailers across the nation.  In an industry where every dollar counts, loss prevention is paramount to every retailer and can be the difference between profitability and losses in the company. Having an understanding and a program in place to educate your employees about loss prevention practices can save your company thousand of dollar every year.

Read more about this topic by following the links below.

U.S. Security Associates Shuts Down Shoplifters with its Loss Prevention Program

In 2013, U.S. Security Associates (USA) Loss Prevention Associates made over 25,000 successful apprehensions and effectively assisted in reducing shrink for retail customers nationwide. Every day, details reported by USA’s Retail Loss Prevention Associates help lead to the identification and arrest of individual shoplifters and ones associated with Organized Retail Crime (ORC) rings.

USA’s Retail Loss Prevention (LP) Services are developed to meet the shoplifting and theft prevention needs of the retail community and reduce shrink for clients. Among its suite of services, the LP Division provides uniformed retail security officers, store greeters and specially trained Loss Prevention Associates. In contrast to traditional, uniformed security officers, USA’s LP Associates work in plain clothes and covertly observe the behavior and actions of visitors to collect sufficient evidence to warrant intervention. LP Associates preserve the inviting atmosphere maintained by retail customer service personnel while performing a security service that is critical to the continued viability and improved expense control of retail businesses.

The Importance of Face to Face Loss Prevention

Technology has afforded us the opportunity to be in two places at once. Using remote connectivity, a person can be in one location conducting business, while “connected” to another watching video or conducting a video conference. Even though technology provides us this convenience to conduct business remotely, face to face loss prevention still provides greater benefits as it comes to a solid loss prevention program.

The Benefits of face-face loss prevention

Relationship Building: The success of any loss prevention program depends on the ability to get buy-in from store associates. That buy-in starts with building a positive relationship between loss prevention and associates of all levels. Working remotely doesn’t bring the personal touch that is necessary in building relationships. In-store presence provides more opportunities to get to know them and understand their needs so they may help your program be successful.

Why Do I Need a Loss Prevention Program for my Business?

The goal of loss prevention is to reduce the costs associated with running a business including workers’ compensation claims, equipment and contractual losses, employee and customer mistreatment, or other problems. Any loss prevention program can be tailored to reduce loss in the way affecting the company. Therefore, it’s important to take steps to start a loss prevention program in your organization.

A well-managed loss prevention program can help to reduce the frequency and severity of workers’ compensation claims. In 2010 alone, the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report estimated that there were some 4,690 fatalities caused by workplace injuries. This costs businesses millions of dollars in workers’ compensation claims, increased premiums, and loss of personnel.

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Why Do People Shoplift? The High Price of Shoplifting for Retailers

January 22, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (1)Shoplifting is a serious issue that affects more than just the retailers being stolen from. This hurts an economy that is struggling to recover from the recent recession because shoplifters are stealing approximately 25 million dollars worth of merchandise every single day.
There are several different reasons that people shoplift. A professional shoplifter is looking for a profit from reselling what he or she has stolen, but the majority of shoplifters is not professional and shoplifts for very different reasons. One reason non professional shoplifters steal is the emotional high or thrill they get from the theft.

Another reason is often the lack of funds to buy what the shoplifter wants. The shoplifter may also feel that they are entitled to take what they want if they can get away with it, or if they feel it is over-priced.

Not all shoplifters lack the funds to buy items, but feel pressured to steal by their peers. Emotional issues or kleptomania is a cause for some shoplifters. Whatever the reasons may be, the effect of shoplifting is hurting the economy. The attitude that many Americans have toward shoplifting is part of the problem. Shoplifting is often called the nations “silent crime” because it happens so often with so little consequence to the shoplifter. On average a shoplifter only gets caught one out of every fifty times he or she shoplifts.

Retailers are primarily the ones left with trying to stop shoplifting. Fortunately there are options available to help retailers curb shoplifting in their stores. An electronic surveillance system is a great tool in spotting shoplifters, and when it is used in connection with security tags on merchandise, the two become an outstanding line of defense for the store.

When potential shoplifters see a security tag detection systems at the front of a store, find security tags on the merchandise, a visible electronic surveillance system, and alert store associates, it might make shoplifters think twice about trying to get a five-finger discount from that retailer. For retailers, a good security system is a small price to pay in the struggling economy.

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Lawsuits Against Retailers

January 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (2)When do you file a suit against a shoplifter? Or should you?  Is detaining a suspect in your store believed to be shoplifting the proper procedure? The number of complaints and lawsuits against retailers continues inexorably, and the demand for alternative solutions to protect your business against shoplifters, or any loss prevention issues continues to be a priority for any retail business.
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Lawsuits against Retailers: The Expert’s Role

Contemporary loss prevention policies and procedures is a direct consequence of the so-called “litigation explosion” that dates back to the early to mid-1980s. Time was when a head-long pursuit through the parking lot and across heavily-trafficked public roadways was a way of life. To many it was exhilarating and the resultant capture of a shoplifter was rewarding.

However, I recall with clarity the case of two teenage brothers who were pursued by supermarket employees for the theft of a couple of candy bars and a 16 oz. can of beer. The two were struck and killed by an auto in the middle lanes of a nearby freeway. The subsequent lawsuit was punishing. It’s fair to identify that very case as the beginning of the end of hot pursuits in the retail industry.

Subsequently, other practices, heretofore invoking mild reprimands, became socially and legally unacceptable and everyday practices, such as wrestling a suspect to the ground and gaining control with an arm-lock, became suspect, again, magnified by lawsuits. Shoplifters died, invariably followed by a lawsuit resulting in the awarding of damages. Awards sent corporate policymakers, guided by their own legal counsel, back to the drawing boards.

The Litigation Process

Despite the greatly altered face and character of loss prevention today, complaints against retailers continue on, albeit not at the same pace of yesteryears, but continue none-the-less. Lawsuits driven by a loss prevention act or omission requires an “expert” to assess the event and educate the judicial community, which includes a jury, on justification or lack thereof of the act or event.

For example, was the forceful holding of a suspect to the ground, who then died due to positional asphyxia or a heart attack, reasonable or not? Such tragedies have been litigated time after time and experts, depending on the totality of circumstances, have opposing opinions.

Camera models that can help improve security in 2014

Many small business leaders have likely made new resolutions for improving themselves and their businesses in 2014, and security measures can play a big role in these means. Whether it means adding or improving cameras and alarms on hand, bolstering their means can be a big boost to improving functionality.

One new advance in camera technology comes from Samsung, according to Engadget. The latest SmartCam from the company works by recording 1080p video directly to an internal SD card. While that prevents it from benefiting from the potential of cloud-based information storage, compression efforts allow the company to only need about 30 percent of the bandwidth other cameras would require, reducing data sizes while still offering owners the ability to remotely watch live video.

Both of these models can be connected using WiFi, can connect to Android or iOS devices using two apps and have low-light video quality, ensuring most situations can be covered. In particular, there are two models of the camera, and the outdoor one can have a range of 50 feet. That outdoor model can also withstand plenty of weather-based damage without risking its power supply or WiFi module, which would remain inside at all times.

Shoplifter’s lawsuit against store owner underway

Should a store owner who shot a shoplifter have to pay for the injuries he caused? According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, that is what an El Paso County jury is trying to decide as the civil suit against Chang Ho Yi got underway this week.

In October 2010, Bryson Dewberry reportedly stole a bottle of vodka from Yi’s Colorado Springs liquor store, Austin Bluff’s Liquor. Yi chased Dewberry from the store and shot him in the face at point blank range as he attempted to get into a getaway car, the Gazette reported. The bullet struck then-22 year old Dewberry in the jaw and also hit a passenger in his car in the leg.

Now Dewberry’s attorneys state that the young man, who had aspired to be a rapper, suffers from a speech impediment. Dewberry is suing Yi for ongoing medical expenses as well as pain and suffering, loss of work, and loss of future business opportunities. According to an earlier report from KDVR when the lawsuit was filed in December 2012, Dewberry also claims that Yi’s actions were negligent and reckless and that Dewberry posed no physical threat that would warrant him being shot.

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New Technology Solutions To Reduce Shrinkage

January 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (11)According to Wikipedia, organized retail crime indicates professional shoplifting, retail crime rings and other organized crime happening in the retail industry.  Organized crime refers to professional thieves that are not taking a pack of gum only, but that consistently visit stores and shoplift hundreds of dollars every time.  The FBI has estimated that the retail industry loses an approximate $30 billion a year due to organized retail crime. Retailers in South Dakota alone estimate that they loose and approximate $95 million a year due to organized shoplifting crime, depriving the state of the sales tax revenue they would otherwise collect and hurting the local economy.

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Twelve Reasons Why We Need to Focus on the Fundamentals in 2014 

Reflecting back on my humble beginnings in loss prevention, I can still remember the first lesson that I ever learned; a message fundamental to everything that followed. While it may have been shared in different ways or with different words, it was the same message that all of us have heard, still echoed today in companies across the country. In fact, they’re words that most of us have repeated – many times over. But they weren’t words of shrink, or partnerships, or Five Steps. That came with time, and was built upon with experience. The words were more primal, yet far more important. Do you remember?

“There’s nothing in the store that’s worth the risk of anyone getting hurt.”

2013 gave us far too many examples showing just how quickly that message can be lost.

Clearly, the shoplifter is making a bad decision when they make a conscious effort to steal from the store. Those actions have consequences, occasionally much more severe than might be anticipated. But sometimes the cost is much too high. People can get hurt, and lives can change forever. In some cases, lives are lost.

1. January 04, 2013: Shoplifter Dies After Being Attacked by Other Customers

2. January 24, 2013: Police Shoot, Kill Shoplifter on College Campus

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Retailers support tougher shoplifting law

Legislation to help prosecute organized retail crime in South Dakota will be proposed during the 2014 legislative session, which opens Jan. 14.

“This is an issue we’ve seen exploding around the nation, and it’s starting to reach into South Dakota,” said Shawn Lyons, executive director of the South Dakota Retailers Association, which is working with the state attorney general’s office to craft the legislation.

Existing statutes speak only to prosecuting the occasional shoplifter, Lyons said.

“Organized retail crime is not shoplifting,” he said. “It refers to groups, gangs and sometimes individuals engaged in (taking) retail merchandise through theft and fraud in substantial quantities.”

Panasonic Highlights Retail Technology Solutions to Enhance Operations, Reduce Shrinkage and Improve the Customer Experience at NRF2014 Expo

Panasonic System Communications Company of North America, a leading provider of retail business technology solutions, is today demonstrating the integrated retail solutions at NRF 2014 EXPO (booth #1539). Featuring a wide variety of technology solutions designed to help meet the needs of retailers from the sales floor to the back office, delivery truck and everywhere in between, the Panasonic exhibit space demonstrates how rugged enterprise-grade tablets and wireless solutions can connect the retail environment. This connection enables stores to manage much of their technology portfolio, including surveillance systems, digital signage, point of sale and more from one handheld screen.

“As technologies continue to converge onto one network, 2014 will be the year that retailers truly embrace reliable end-to-end technology solutions that will connect data to customers, employees and managers to create not only a best-in-class customer experience, but also improve overall employee productivity, boost sales and reduce shrinkage,” said Ed McCabe, National Sales Manager, Retail, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America. “This convergence will also enable retailers to manage these technologies from a single device – like our family of fully-rugged Toughpad tablet computers.”

 

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5 Ways to Deter Shoplifters

January 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (10)Shoplifting remains one of the major problems facing retail stores across the US and the world as a whole, some reports claim as many as one in twelve customers actively shoplift items from retail stores. There are simple and effective ways to deter shoplifters from committing this crime, which costs business millions of dollars each year.

Awareness

The first step in deterring shoplifters is to make sure each person entering a store is aware of the company policy of actively prosecuting those caught shoplifting. Signs should be positioned at the entrance and exit to a store that make the pledge that shoplifters will be prosecuted. Follow through with this pledge, by prosecuting shoplifters a store will gain a reputation as one to be avoided by shoplifting gangs.

Alarms

One of the major aspects of a shoplifting crime is usually secrecy, which is required when a shoplifter takes an item and hides it on their person. Shop floor alarms on high priced items, which sound when the loop is broken or the item is carried out of the store often act as a deterrent for shoplifters.

Store Layout

As has already been mentioned one of the major things each criminal considering shoplifting needs is secrecy. Taking an overview of the layout of a store can identify areas acting as blind spots not visible to employees. Altering the layout, which can mean positioning a cash register close to the exit, can make it more difficult for a shoplifter to complete their crime.

Positioning Stock

In general, thieves want to steal the most expensive items they can to get the highest amount in resale value that are easy to access. High priced items can be positioned close to the register where staff members can keep an eye on them; removing parts until the item is bought can also make it more difficult for a shoplifter.

Cameras

Shoplifters rarely want to be identified; meaning the installation of security cameras is one of the major deterrents to potential shoplifters. When installing cameras a professional company will usually assess the store for the best location to make cameras visible yet effective.

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Monitoring And Uncovering Theft Through Data Analysis

January 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (8)Preventing and reducing shoplifting losses means companies can increase their profitability and invest in research and development or acquire better technology for their businesses. Losses mean the company has to cut on other areas, and hinder their ability to be profitable and cutting edge. Businesses have to deal with dishonesty from their employees as well. Is that something that concerns you as a business owner? Read the following articles to find more about retail software analytics, retailers return fraud, and the safety measures police departments are taking to provide safety to retails shoppers.

Retailers Raise Concerns About Continued Return Fraud

A recent survey by the National Retail Federation found fraudulent returns are expected to add up to a nearly $9 billion problem for the industry last year—with pressure ratcheting up during the holiday season.

With the holidays over, it’s likely that a few gifts might get sent back to the store. (Nothing personal; it just didn’t fit, Grandpa.)

While these kinds of returns are par for the course for many retail outlets, the National Retail Federation (NRF) is sounding the alarm about the dangers of return fraud. The association’s recent Return Fraud Survey projected that the practice cost the retail industry almost $3.4 billion during the 2013 holiday season. More details:

A widespread problem: Like credit-card fraud, which has drawn much attention in the wake of the Target incident last month, return fraud is something nearly all retailers have dealt with in some form, according to the NRF survey. The most common form, according to the retail loss-prevention executives polled, is the return of stolen merchandise: 94.8 percent of respondents say that their company dealt with such cases in 2013. Other common forms include return fraud involving employees (93.1 percent); returns of items purchased with fraudulent funding sources (69 percent); “wardrobing,” the return of already-used merchandise or clothing (62.1 percent); and retail fraud by organized crime groups (60.3 percent). While overall fraudulent returns were projected to see a relatively modest $50 million decline from 2012 figures, the amount for the holiday season alone was expected to increase by about that much.

Lavastorm Analytics Adds Bite to Compass Group Canada’s Loss Prevention Program with Data Analysis and Discovery

Compass Group Canada Reduces Shrinkage by Using the Lavastorm Analytics Engine to Uncover and Monitor Metrics and Patterns Correlated to Theft and Policy Breaches.

Lavastorm Analytics, a leading global analytics software company, announced today that Compass Group Canada, its country’s leading food service and support services company, which owns and operates 2,300 retail locations for nationally known brands, including Quiznos, Starbucks, Subway, Tim Horton’s and Pizza Pizza, as well as hospitals, schools and stadiums across Canada, has chosen the Lavastorm Analytics Engine to improve the accuracy and impact of its retail loss prevention program.

By using Lavastorm Analytics Engine, a powerful, visual and versatile analytic development environment and a key element of the Lavastorm Analytics Platform, Compass Group Canada has been able to uncover metrics and patterns that are reliable indicators of theft and to spot anomalies, which would previously have gone unnoticed, in the massive amount of point-of-sale (POS) data collected by its high-tech cash registers. In initial use, the system has been 100 percent accurate in identifying situations where theft or policy breaches were taking place.

With retailers suffering an average loss due to shrinkage of two percent of sales per year, Compass Group Canada, which had $1.5 billion in revenues in 2012, makes managing shrink a continual priority.

Beefed up holiday patrol deemed a success

Victorville station uses grant money for more retail enforcement.

Utilizing funds from a grant, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Victorville Station increased the number of patrol deputies in retail areas for a safer holiday season, officials said.

“We wanted to give residents a feeling of safety and confidence over the holiday season,” Sgt. Ken Lutz said. “A review of our efforts show it was very successful.”

From Nov. 29 through Dec. 31, officers from the Retail Theft Team, made up of six to eight members, were deployed in areas including the Mall of Victor Valley, Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Kohl’s and Winco, Lutz said.

The Retail Theft Team utilized marked and unmarked cars, uniformed and plainclothes deputies, depending on the operation, Lutz said.

Money for the holiday enforcement was made possible by a Justice Assistance Grant. During the targeted time period, 112 reports were written and 135 arrests were made for various retail crimes, which could possibly lead to future arrests, officials reported.

Lutz said deputies worked in cooperation with retail loss prevention officers for faster response times to calls for service and fewer vehicle burglaries in and around retail areas due to the increased law enforcement presence.

“On Black Friday (Nov. 29) we had one vehicle burglary reported,” Lutz said. “The results of the holiday enforcement period are very encouraging.”

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