Staff Editor — Page 29

Suggestions On How To Improve Inventory

December 29, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Each year retailers take inventory of their merchandise, counting what they have in the store, reconciling that information against sales receipts, vendor credits and receipts and markdowns. Usually the result is some amount of shortage or merchandise shrink due to merchandise that cannot be accounted for and losses due to certain markdowns and damaged products. I have in rare instances seen overages, but those are usually the result of offsets from prior year shortages often attributed to paperwork errors. The store objective each year should be to improve upon the prior year inventory result. Certainly the best case would be to have zero dollar shortages every year, but that is not a realistic expectation. I try to explain to employees that if one package of gum were to be stolen during the year, you have incurred shortage. There are steps a store owner or manager can take to work towards that yearly improvement and shoot for a zero dollar shrinkage year.

The first step to improve inventory is to look at merchandise protection strategies in the store. Are retail anti-theft devices being used to prevent shoplifting as well as employee and vendor theft? A theft prevention system includes having an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system installed. This would encompass EAS antennas at entry/exit points, EAS soft tags, labels and hard tags on as many pieces of merchandise as possible and deactivation pads and detachment tools at checkout lanes. By protecting merchandise with retail anti-theft devices, shoplifters and potential dishonest employees are deterred from trying to steal. EAS protected merchandise also activates alarms if a shopper forgets about an item on the bottom of the shopping cart that has not been paid for and a tag is not removed or deactivated. Remember, if merchandise hasn’t been paid for, regardless of the intention of the customer, it is shortage.

There are other things that a store can do to improve inventory results from one year to the next:

Consider offering incentives to employees who deter a theft through great customer service. Employees on the sales-floor are your first line of defense against shoplifting. If they are walking their areas offering assistance, they will walk upon a customer attempting to conceal merchandise, remove items from packaging or tamper with EAS tags. Offering assistance, remaining in the area and communicating with managers is an effective method of deterrence without accusing someone of stealing. An incentive for reporting this type of activity may be the purchase of a drink or putting the employee in for a weekly or monthly drawing for a $5 gift card. Be creative.
Education/Training – Make sure employees know what your inventory results are and how much was lost in the last inventory. I always made it a point to share that information and celebrate it when we had good results. Let your employees know that they make a difference. Employees also need to know how to properly respond to EAS alarms and recover merchandise without making accusations. When training is not continuous employees become complacent and begin to wave people out the door who set off an EAS alarm. Eventually that complacency turns to ignoring the alarms altogether and the system is rendered useless. Alarm activations also need to be recorded so managers can review for trends and ensure there are no malfunctions.
Make employee receipt checks and bag checks mandatory for EVERYONE. Managers should be the first to show their purchases to an employee for verification. When employees see that no one is exempt, they will not mind doing it themselves. Accountability helps prevent theft.
Have a program in place for marking merchandise that is purchased for store use. If you have to get a pack of pens from your sales-floor for office use, purchase it or account for it through a ledger and then keep the package and mark it with a date and write “store use” or put a sticker on it. It is easy for merchandise to start being used and not accounted for and it will accumulate in offices from the sales-floor. Account for EVERYTHING, even a paperclip if it is store use.
Small, independent stores may not have corporate markdowns sent to them. These stores need to evaluate their merchandise and if it isn’t selling, mark them down, but do it incrementally. Start at 10 or 15% and see if you can move it. You don’t want to lose profit margin.

Improving inventory is not an impossible task. Utilize EAS technology to deter and prevent theft. Educate and train employees and empower them with knowledge on shortage issues and how they impact it. Profit from reduced shrinkage!

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In An Economy Predicted To Improve Here Are Some Things You Can Anticipate

December 29, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

After a long and contested election cycle, a new president will be inaugurated and with this result, some experts are predicting the economy will begin to improve significantly. If the rebound is as strong as these experts are predicting retailers will be one of the beneficiaries, with an increase in customers and sales. Likewise there may also be more shoplifting activity that takes place. An increase in sales would seem to make sense given that there would be more people with jobs and potentially more money in their pockets, but why would there be an increase in shoplifting? There are a couple of possible explanations, for example during those periods when the economy is slumping retailers tend to order less merchandise. The result is shelves may stay empty longer or there may be fewer high ticket goods available for criminals to steal. Less product displayed can translate to less opportunity and opportunity is one of the necessities for a theft to take place. There is also the chance that with fewer customers in a store, employees are more readily available to offer customer service to shoppers and this is certainly a deterrent to shoplifters. One of the first recommendations I always make for improved shortage results is for a store to focus on customer service.

Along with increased sales and the potential for more shoplifting, what are some other things you can anticipate with an improving economy? You may find you are in need of more employees to help in your store. Cash stands that may not have been very active could start to see new life as lines begin to increase. Customers don’t want to wait for service so it is important to have enough staff to meet the demand. Sales floor coverage will likely be stretched thin again impacting shopper perception of wait time. Hiring could be crucial and in an improved economy you could be fighting for talent. Don’t settle on a warm body, ensure you conduct pre-employment screenings so you can be confident that the person you hire is the right fit for your team and has no hidden skeletons in the closet.

An improving economy means more transactions and that means cash registers have more money in them and credit card swipes. Make sure credit cards are the only thing being swiped and then only during the customer transaction. More cash in a register is a tempting target to an employee who may be experiencing a personal financial crisis. Make sure your front end or cashier supervisors are doing random cash drops at the registers, taking most of the money and leaving enough in to continue ringing sales. Watch for cashiers who may be tempted to swipe a credit card and forget to hand it back to the customer. If you see credit cards lying beside a register, question where it came from and pick it up and retain it in a lost and found.

Anticipate the need to replenish shelves more quickly. During slow economic times merchandise doesn’t always sell quickly and so filling empty spaces on shelves and fixtures may have been able to wait until the next truck load of freight arrived. If sales improve as predicted it is important to have plans in place to address “holes” more quickly. Prepare to monitor for out of stocks during the day and get it refilled from your stockroom quickly. If you are selling a lot of vendor supplied product, such as soft drinks, bread, cereals and snacks, etc., partner with your vendor representatives to increase deliveries and representative visits.

If you require an increase in floor replenishment, don’t forget to protect product with retail anti-theft devices before it gets to the selling floor. Remember I mentioned there could be increased shoplifting with an improving economy. It is easy to overlook the protection of merchandise as it flows from the stockroom. I should note that I would prefer to see merchandise protected as it arrives to the store, but some stores do wait until it gets sent to the sales-floor before applying Checkpoint tags and labels.

The potential for growth in sales is exciting for retailers. Don’t miss the boat by not being prepared for it. Have a plan to meet the needs of an expanding customer base. Be ready to fill your sales-floor and don’t forget to prevent shoplifting by protecting your merchandise before it gets to the floor. Going green will take on a whole new meaning in the coming years!

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Can An Improving Economy Lead To A Case Of “Keeping Up With The Jones’s” And An Increase In Employee Theft?

December 29, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Have you been keeping up with the news? It appears the stock market is on the verge of breaking new records. People are gaining confidence now that some economists are expressing optimism that we are about to see a jump start in economic growth. Does that mean EVERYONE is going to benefit? Unfortunately, the answer is no. There are many people who will continue to work in their current jobs and experience little personal benefit in their own eyes. What do I mean, “In their own eyes?” Just this, there are some people who are not satisfied with their job, or financial situation, or any number of things in their life and do little or nothing to try to change that. What they WILL do is get jealous when they see others who do well. It may be a co-worker who gets a promotion, a friend who has received a pay raise, a relative who has purchased a new car, there are lots of things that people can get jealous over. Sometimes this jealousy turns into an attitude of “Keeping up with the Jones’s” and can result in someone engaging in dishonest activity so they can have new things too. Frequently those who steal because they haven’t gotten that raise or promotion will try to justify their actions by rationalizing that they deserve it and aren’t being recognized for their contributions.

So what does this mean for the employer? You are excited about increasing sales, selling more merchandise, perhaps hiring more people and even expanding your business. First, you have to be alert to the people you currently have working for you. You should also include involving your supervisors in this since they may be closer to your workers and more likely to hear scuttlebutt than you will in the various work areas. If you have an employee who has been passed over for promotional opportunities make sure you explain to them why they were not chosen and provide feedback and even create a professional development plan with that employee if they express interest. If they don’t want feedback and don’t seek input on their development, they are probably not really interested and may be looking for a promotion for the sake of a promotion. Often this is the employee who will go back to their work center and complain and gripe. You must address this quickly and if the behavior continues get rid of this type of worker, they can create a negative work environment and it does influence others who may normally be great workers.

Watch for employee theft, especially from the disgruntled workers. There is a tendency to see themselves as victims and deserving of something, even if they have to steal it to get it. You may start to see extra money in your registers in an improving economy. You could have a disgruntled cashier who sees that money and since they only received a 2% pay raise on their last review, they decide they are going to give themselves a raise. Watch for all cash shortages, some stores make a minimum of $5 missing before it is addressed. In many instances I had cashiers who stole two or three dollars for lunches for quite a while before moving up to greater amounts of cash theft. If you start to see any trends, you need to address it early.

Then there is the employee working in the electronics department (as an example) who sees friends or acquaintances buying new televisions, laptop computers, or the latest techy gadget. This is the employee who gets green with jealousy because they aren’t making “enough” and can’t afford these goodies. It is unfortunate but it happens and I have apprehended employees in very similar circumstances. When it came down to the bottom line, after all the excuses were done it was usually a case of, “I just wanted it.” Employee package checks and receipt checks and the use of Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) retail anti-theft devices often discourages much of this behavior. I would still suggest you have a discussion with an employee if you hear them complaining or get word of it. You may get a better feel if it is just idle chatter or a potential problem waiting to happen.

An improving economy is exciting for store owners but watch out, those Jones’s may have what your employee wants and that could come at your expense. Make sure you spend time with your employees and listen to what they are saying. Your investment of time may save you headaches in the future.

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Put The Freeze On Cooler Theft (And Other Merchandise) With Alpha Cable Locks

December 27, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

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Put The Freeze On Cooler Theft (And Other Merchandise) With Alpha Cable Locks

As I was preparing to write an article on Alpha Security products, my wife came to me with a newspaper article and asked if I had seen the story about a name brand cooler that has become the target of thieves. I had not, so I was interested in what the report had to say. I was surprised that anyone would be interested in stealing coolers until I saw that the newspaper reported the price range of these items from $250.00 to $1,300.00! Well, this was a local newspaper so I had to put on my investigator hat and start digging a little more. Was this a local issue, or is it impacting other regions of the country? I was finding reports of this item being stolen in Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Texas. That was enough to convince me this is a major problem for retailers. I had one more thing I wanted to verify. I went to the company’s web site and wanted to confirm the prices of the coolers, yes indeed, I found the prices ranging from $299.99 – $1,299.99! What advice would I give to any retailer that is selling this product (or high ticket product for that matter) to prevent shoplifting? I would recommend using an Alpha Cable Lock to protect the merchandise against theft.

Many Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices come in 2-alarm and 3-alarm styles and this includes the Alpha Cable Lock. The 2-alarm version provides electronic alarm system (EAS) protection by causing EAS antennas to activate when a tagged piece of merchandise is carried into the area of the door where the antennas are located. They are also tamper proof, sounding a built in alarm if someone tries to cut the cable or defeat the device. The 3-alarm version of the Alpha Cable Lock has an added feature that activates an internal alarm in the lock if someone gets out the door with merchandise protected by this retail anti-theft device. Concerned that someone could try to cut the cable to the lock? You can be confident that this would not be an easy task. The locks are made of 7×7 aircraft grade coaxial cable. How strong is this? According to the Fastenal website https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/45501 the breaking strength of 7×7 galvanized aircraft cable is around 480 lbs.

In addition to the strength of the Alpha Cable Lock and the 3-alarm feature, I also like this retail anti-theft device for this product because it can prevent box stuffing of this cooler. My concern as a Loss Prevention Manager was not so much the theft of a cooler, ours were never in this price range, I was concerned with merchandise being stuffed inside and the customer getting it past the cashier. The coolers, as I am looking at the images and information, have holes for a small padlock to secure the lid to the frame. This hole could fit a cable through it, leaving some slack in the cable so that a customer can look inside, but not enough room to hide merchandise. If used strategically, a store could prevent shoplifting and box stuffing with the Alpha Security device.

Lest I leave you thinking that the cable locks are one trick ponies these retail anti-theft devices also prevent shoplifting of other merchandise. They can be used to secure coats, bicycles, baseball gloves, even high priced detergent bottles with handles. Anything that has a place the cable can be looped through is a candidate for being secured with a cable lock.

I don’t know whether your store carries high priced coolers that may be targeted by crooks, but I feel certain that you need to prevent shoplifting of some type of merchandise. Before you get cleaned out by thieves, contact Alpha Security and find out more about the 2 alarm and 3 Alpha Cable Locks.

Alpha Cable Locks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

I don’t know whether your store carries high priced coolers that may be targeted by crooks, but I feel certain that you need to prevent shoplifting of some type of merchandise.

Alpha Cable Locks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 2 Alarm, Prevent Shoplifting

Preventing Shoplifting This Holiday Season; Inform Your Employees

December 20, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Many stores, public places, and government buildings display firearms law posters on the wall where everyone that enters their place will undoubtedly see it. Some retail stores display their shoplifting policy where customers can see it. But, many of these places though, fail to educate their employees as to their store policy when stopping a shoplifter. Who is responsible of making sure every single employee knows the policy of the store? When is this supposed to happen? At the time of hiring? For many retail stores, preventing shoplifting begins by educating their employees about the policies and procedures they need to follow when stopping a shoplifter.

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

Home Depot employees fired after following suspect

PALM COAST, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) – Four former employees at a Home Depot in Florida were fired after they attempted to stop a shoplifter in November.

Jeffrey Miller, 59, George Ippolito, 56, Joe Spector, 29, and Jazmin Kelly, 27, all worked together at a Home Depot in Palm Coast, Florida. On November 19, the 4 employees attempted to track down a customer who appeared to be shoplifting at the store.

However the co-workers did not know that their act to prevent crime went against company policy.

The Home Depot released a statement in regards to the incident: “Pursuing shoplifters in the store or in the parking lot is extremely dangerous and risks the safety of everyone, which is why we only allow trained security personnel to do so. We’ve had instances of serious injury and even fatality in our stores. No amount of merchandise is worth risking the safety of others.”

The employees expressed shock by their termination as Fox 35’s Kelly Joyce reports from Flagler County in the video above.

The suspect has been identified as 22-year-old Brandon Charles Edward Mullins Lowe of Hastings, Florida who allegedly admitted to stealing close to $1,000 worth of tools from the store. Lowe was being held in the Flagler County Jail on grand theft charges.

Police: Shoplifting doubles near holidays

As shoppers hit area stores for the impending holidays, so will shoplifters, say area police.

“It probably doubles during the peak of the holiday shopping season,” said Logan Township Police Chief Tim Mercer, referring to the number of retail theft calls the township’s officers will handle.

Mercer said officers typically get one to two calls each week, and with the increase in retail thefts also comes increases in other crimes related to shopping, such as identity theft, where people are opening up credit cards in other people’s names, and thefts from vehicles.

Most of the incidents of retail theft and other thefts occur at two highly concentrated shopping areas — Logan Town Centre and the Logan Valley Mall, Mercer said.

Stores are reluctant to talk about shoplifting, either out of a fear of calling attention to their stores and becoming targets or because they don’t want to divulge exactly how they deal with retail thefts.

One store manager of a longtime township store, who spoke only if his name of business wasn’t published, said stores take two approaches to dealing with shoplifters — either they try to catch them or they try to prevent them from stealing in the first place.

Five Steps to Recruiting the Right Loss Prevention Professionals

The success of any organization is determined by the talent of its people. In his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t, Jim Collins put it this way: “People are not your most important asset. The right people are.”

Whether it’s a company, a loss prevention and safety department, or a sports team, the more talented people within the organization, the greater chance it has to succeed. Loading any organization with talented loss prevention professionals requires a comprehensive five-step people strategy.

Want an awesome LP career? Download this FREE Special Report, How to Find the Best Loss Prevention Jobs and Build a Successful Loss Prevention Career.

Recruiting. The first component of this strategy is recruiting. It all starts with a sound recruiting strategy to ensure there is a sufficient pool of applicants.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, Background checks, EAS Devices, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, Prevent Shoplifting, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Alpha Bottle Locks Reduce Theft And Increase Profit

December 14, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

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Alpha Bottle Locks Reduce Theft And Increase Profit

So yesterday on my way home from work, I stopped by one of the local liquor stores, to pick up some Huckleberry Vodka for our weekend trip. Before you start judging me, I don’t drink very often and although technically the item was for my husband, I do occasionally partake in a good Moscow Mule. I am not sure if you have had one before, but they are pretty delicious. Anyway, we are going to my Aunt’s wedding on Saturday and thought I would pick some up just in case. While in the store, another patron came in and I overheard her ask where the Fireball had moved to. Apparently, that shopper was a more frequent customer, by the sounds of it. The store clerk said that she had to move the Fireball to a shelf near the counter, because having it displayed by the door was resulting in it, “walking away”. Now being in law enforcement for over 15 years and in loss prevention for over 3 years, I am very familiar with what she meant by “walking away”. I have responded to my fair share of alcohol thefts from the local grocery stores, resulting from stacking product in close proximity to the doors. As most people in law enforcement or loss prevention know, this results in a quick get-a-way, and lengthy investigation. These types of investigations rely on a low quality camera system to identify the subject. Often times a suspect cannot be identified in this process. If you are a retail store owner you want nothing more than to increase your bottle security, but is there a better way? I am here to tell you there is. Bottle locks are devices that are designed specifically for protecting bottles of any kind from “walking away”.

These bottle security devices are some of the best on the market, not only do they prevent someone from removing the cap without the bottle shattering, they can also be equipped with RF technology to prevent thieves from exiting the store with the bottle. I am not sure if you have had the opportunity to see these devices in person, but I have, and I tell you they are a huge deterrent. In the military we had liquor stores that sold liquor, beer and wine, and the majority of them had this type of bottle security to prevent shoplifting. The best thing about Bottle locks is they can be used over and over again. The store clerk simply removes the device with a specially designed key at the time of sale, and those Locks are then placed on other merchandise. They come in various sizes and shapes to meet any retailer’s product and stocking needs.

You have to ask yourself, why would your average thief want to try and steal an item with bottle security, when they can go somewhere that doesn’t have them and get what they want much easier? Although these devices can be used in liquor stores they can also be used in convenience stores and grocery stores that sell wine or liquor. They can also be used in taverns, nightclubs and restaurants to prevent employee theft of stored inventory.

I would say most liquor stores I have been to, are small locally run businesses. They have limited staff on hand and profit margins tend to be a lot smaller then some of the major retail chains. So as I was standing there pondering which brand of Vodka to buy, I couldn’t help but think about how unprotected that small business was to theft. There was only one employee working at the time, which is probably pretty common on a Tuesday afternoon, yet there were three customers wandering around the isles unattended and unsupervised. I imagine some small businesses see these and other types of security devices as an added expense, but even though upfront costs may be greater, preventing shoplifting will only increase profit margins long term. It also ensures lower prices for your customers, which is always a means for bolstering sales and increasing profit. Bottle Locks lead the industry for bottle protection and can provide the small business owner with added protection and peace of mind.

For more information about Bottle Locks, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.

Filed Under: Security Tagged With: bottle lock, bottle locks, bottle security

How To stop A Shoplifter?

December 13, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Police Departments across the nation are busy this holiday season launching operations aiming at catching shoplifters. Serial shoplifters go from store to store stealing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from each store. Police and retailers alike have been working together to stop this vicious and financially crippling crime. Shoplifters are not necessarily from the area where they commit their crime, there are serial shoplifters that go from state to state, and from store to store, stealing as much as they can. For a retailer, the hundreds of dollars stolen from their store is a financial burden, and jeopardizes their ability to stay open for business.

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

How local law enforcement are working to stop organized retail crime

BUFFALO, N.Y.–

Organized retail crime is rising across the country, according to the National Retail Federation. In Western New York, local law enforcement said they’re constantly working to stop it.

“They’ll steal goods and products from various stores, sometimes taking orders,” Officer Craig Johnson, field intelligence officer for the Amherst Police Department, said. Johnson said organized shoplifting rings operate locally and even statewide.

“[They’ll go] down the thru way through the major cities, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, even to Erie, Pennsylvania,” he said. HE said the thieves use stolen ID’s and credit cards to rent cars. They’ll even sometimes steal a license plate from another car to put on their rental. Then they spend hours stealing from stores, including items like clothing, medication, baby formula and even appliances. They then move on to another city by the time law enforcement is notified.

“They could be from different states. They could be from downstate New York. It’s very hard to find out that information of who these people are,” Johnson said.

Serial Shoplifters Target Burlington Stores

It was a busy day for Amanda Bean. First, she stole several hundred dollars’ worth of merchandise from a store that shares her surname — L.L.Bean. Burlington police cited her for retail theft and released her. Two hours later, Bean allegedly stole goods valued at several hundred dollars from the Skirackon Main Street. Bean was again charged with retail theft and let go.

Since that day in April, Bean, 33, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty to the L.L.Bean theft, but her stealing apparently hasn’t stopped. She has been arrested on similar charges twice — including on October 22, while she was serving a community-based furlough for the L.L.Bean theft. All told, Bean has been arrested more than 20 times and has at least nine retail theft convictions, along with convictions for other crimes.

Downtown merchants are frustrated with frequent fliers like Bean. While other crimes such as burglary are declining in Burlington, retail theft is escalating, police say. Between 2012 and 2015, annual retail theft calls to Burlington police increased from 341 to 423. This year, the trend continued. The number of calls between January and November 1, 2016, totaled 404, compared to 374 over the same time period last year.

‘Operation Blitz’ To Target Professional Shoplifters

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — As we look to get started on our holidayshopping lists, police will be looking for professional shoplifters.

Beginning on Black Friday, more than 30 Twin Cities law enforcementagencies will launch “Operation Blitz.”

The first-of-its-kind partnership in the state will target organized retail theft and financial fraud.

Police showed WCCO how these professionals do their best to avoid detection.

Take what police say happened at a St. Paul CVS two weeks ago, when a man walked in with a gym bag and loaded it with cleaning supplies. He was out of the store in under 40 seconds.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Training, 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

Avoid Being A Victim This Holiday Season

December 7, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Happy Holidays! Or, are they really? Retailers are not the only ones that suffer from theft during the holiday season. Yes, shoplifting, employee theft, and merchant thefts occur more during the holiday season than at other times of the year for retailers, but people around the country are more and more vulnerable to theft that occurs at their front door. Have you bought anything online? Has it been delivered? There are many stories of packages being delivered, but never actually received by the recipient. Where is it? Some of them at least are at the hands of thieves that go prowling neighborhoods in search of delivered packages left at your front or side door. If you ordered something online and won’t be at home during the day, asking a neighbor to accept the package for you is not imposing, it is just neighborly. Take precautions this holiday season to avoid being the victim of theft.

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

Chamblee Police: Tips to Avoid Becoming a Holiday Crime Victim

Chamblee, GA, December 5, 2016 – The Post Reports – The Chamblee Police Department provides the following information on why thieves love the Holiday season and what you can do to prevent becoming a victim.

Why Thieves Love the Holiday Season

All the hustle and bustle going on over the holidays gives thieves what they want, almost as much as an unlocked bank vault and that is the opportunity to become invisible. Thieves can move through big crowds of rushed and distracted people without anyone noticing them. They can pickpocket and shoplift and when their victims realize that they have been robbed, they will have no idea who did it.

Thieves Feed on Opportunities

Thieves know that the police are overloaded during the holiday season and they take full advantage it. They thrive on the fact that the police and stores’ loss prevention staff have their hands full with amateur thieves who are hauled to jail for trying to steal from the electronics departments or waiting for the parents of teenagers who pocketed the latest video game.

In the meantime, the professional thieves are busy breaking into cars in the parking lots to steal gifts, cell phones and electronics or stalking and robbing. Some thieves prefer burglarizing homes. They spend their time walking neighborhoods, looking for houses that appear that the homeowners are away. Darkened homes nestled between neighbors with front yards bursting with holiday lights will draw their attention.

Albany police encourage businesses to be on constant crime watch

businesses should increase their vigilance, watching for crime in their stores, as shoplifting and thefts increase during the holidays.

It’s a serious issue, because a large theft in a small store could mean a merchant having to go out of business.

Chuck Roberts has owned John Ross Jewelers at his Dawson Road location for 30 years, and one reason he has been so successful is he was already thinking about criminals when he designed the shop.

“We built this store the way it’s built, to stop the shoplifting,” explained Roberts.

Police said that during this time of year, shoplifters and thieves increase their activity, because stores have more customers to hide among, and there is more on hand to steal.

“They have more merchandise available. So there will always be someone who is looking to find an illegal way to acquiring that merchandise,” said Albany Police Chief Michael Persley.

Roberts has well established trade practices to deter thieves and lots of surveillance cameras watching customers, because he has thousands of dollars worth of jewelry in his store cases, and knows crooks will go to almost any length to steal them.

Consumers beware of holiday crimes

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) – The winter months cover a time of seasonal giving and cheer.

Unfortunately, crime doesn’t pause for the holidays.

Especially after major online shopping events like Cyber Monday.

Ryan Adamson with the Terre Haute Police Department says you have to watch out for the occasional Grinch looking to steal.

He says, “Thefts of packages increase this time of year. Somebody is at work, they get a notification on their phone that UPS, or Fed-Ex, has dropped off a package. They get home and lo and behold, it’s not there. So be mindful of where your packages are going.”

Criminals are looking for an easy steal, so what is easier than an unattended package on a door step?

Adamson suggests, “If you can have it delivered to work, do so. Or, try to have them sent to a friend’s house or a relative’s house. Just somebody that’s going to be home. Or, make it to where somebody has to sign for the package, so the package is verified that somebody is there for it.”

Adamson also says to be careful where you place your presents once wrapped.

He says, “Don’t put your gifts in plain view right in front the window where everybody can see. Don’t put your big expensive TV right in front of the window. If you’re not going to be home, let your neighbor know. Have somebody check on your house for you to make sure everything is okay.”

Unfortunately, your car isn’t safe from winter scrooges either.

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, anti-thefts devices, employee background checks, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, Periodic inventory, Retail Anti Theft Devices, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Unexpected Advantages Of A Checkpoint Security System – Detect Missed Bottom Of Basket Merchandise Before It Leaves The Store

December 7, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

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Unexpected Advantages Of A Checkpoint Security System – Detect Missed Bottom Of Basket Merchandise Before It Leaves The Store

When you think of Checkpoint systems, what comes to mind first? Anti-shoplifting equipment? Retail theft prevention? You would be correct in your choices, but there are other benefits of having a Checkpoint security system that might not come immediately to mind. A large portion of merchandise shortage does result from criminal activity and it is important to stop shoplifting and employee theft. However, it is important to know that shortage can be caused by operational issues. Think of a time when you had a shopping cart full of merchandise, you checked out and pushed your cart to the parking lot. After you put your bags in the trunk you realize there was an item on the bottom of the buggy, perhaps a bag of dog food, or even a small item such as a pen or cosmetic item that was not scanned. Most of us would be honest and take the merchandise back to the store and pay for it, or leave it with the customer service counter and decide it isn’t worth the time to go back through the checkout. This isn’t always the case. There are people that overlook items and once outside decide to take it and blame the cashier for not catching it. Other people see it left in a shopping cart in the parking lot and just walk off with the merchandise. Regardless of how the merchandise was missed it was still not paid for and amounts to shrinkage. A Checkpoint security system can prevent operational losses and stop shoplifting at the same time.

Checkpoint systems use radio frequency waves transmitted from Checkpoint tags and received by Checkpoint electronic article surveillance antennas to create a protective screen for stores. As merchandise is paid for at a point of sale, hard tags are removed from merchandise using a Checkpoint detachment tool and the tags are ready for reuse. Deactivation units at the point of sale deactivate Checkpoint labels so they are unable to cause antenna alarms. Protected merchandise that does not pass through a point of sale causes an antenna alarm to activate. Staff members respond to those alarms and conduct receipt checks to locate the merchandise that has not been paid for and can offer to ring it up or return it to the store if the customer chooses not to purchase it. Either way, merchandise is recovered or sold thereby accounting for it and preventing a loss.

Just how big a deal are non-crime associated losses to stores? According to the 2014-2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer Report, administrative and non-crime related losses accounted for 13% of shrinkage in North America, translating to approximately 4.78 BILLION dollars (pg. 53)! The report does not break down these losses any further, and we know that some of this loss is paperwork and accounting related. On the other hand we also know that some of this loss is due to unpaid merchandise unintentionally being removed from the store. If all merchandise in a store was protected with Checkpoint tags or Checkpoint labels, that merchandise would be detected by a Checkpoint security system antenna before it could get out of the door.

The primary reason to invest in Checkpoint systems should be to stop shoplifting. Checkpoint tags and Checkpoint labels deter thieves when they see merchandise is protected. They cause EAS antenna alarms when people attempt to steal merchandise and result in recovered merchandise from items abandoned by thieves or through receipt checks. Whether it is intentional or not, it is important to remember that any merchandise recovered adds to the profit line. THAT is the benefit of investing in a Checkpoint security system!

Get more information on a Checkpoint security system. Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint labels, checkpoint security system, checkpoint systems, Checkpoint tags, retail theft prevention, stop shoplifting

Partnership With EAS Technology And Policy

December 5, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

If you are reading this, chances are you are experiencing a shoplifting problem. Shoplifting takes a toll, not only on your stress level, but your bottom dollar. When people have a problem, they research a solution. One way to prevent shoplifting is having an electronic article surveillance system installed by a reputable company. Searching for such a company can be daunting. Shoplifting is an issue that needs to be addressed and resolved quickly. Why would you choose Checkpoint equipment from Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI?)

Checkpoint has been paving the path for EAS systems and building RF technology for over 40 years. All equipment is new and installed by factory trained technicians. Checkpoint and LPSI never sell refurbished equipment. The founder and owner of Loss Prevention Systems Inc., Bill Bregar, has over 30 years of experience in loss prevention. The small retailer may not have the resources for a loss prevention department. Our background and expertise in Loss Prevention sets us apart. Over the decades, Bill has taught and created successful Loss Prevention policies and procedures for the small retailer to send shoplifters elsewhere. Both companies partnership provide a path to decrease shrink and increase profit.

Checkpoint offers several different types of EAS systems for different situations. A favorite antenna system for small to medium retailers is the P10. This system is known as a workhorse. As part of the EVOLVE line, it has people counting capability and remote access. With an internet connection, a trained technician can access the system remotely to perform preventative maintenance and typically resolve potential issues. With its strong frame and Evolve capabilities, it will last a long time and is “future proof”.

What tips and suggestions can the small to medium retailer apply to their business? Compliance and enforcement. Create, implement and abide by policies to keep the business on track. Loss of compliance equals loss of control. Employees need a reliable example and understand what is expected of them. It’s up to you to enforce the process and standards of your business.

Combine your Checkpoint technology, people and process to prevent shoplifting. Having and EAS system is only as good as the people using it. With the right people following the right process, the technology will do its job.

Protect your business with qualified staff, effective procedures and the latest EAS technology. Take control of your success.

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, Background checks, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Training, retail security and monitoring, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance