anti-theft tags — Page 28

Employee Theft

October 7, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

The figures for employee theft are staggering. According to a report by the ACFE the loss for fraud in a typical organization is 5% of its revenues. That amount corresponds to losses of more than $3.5 trillion worldwide.

Employee theft is an ever growing social and economical issue that is affecting everyone. The retail industry alone losses are in the billions of dollars every year. Employee theft can be done by employees with seniority or low level employees that find an opportunity to commit the crime. More than three quarters of employee theft is done by employees with no previous record, or that have not been charged with a theft related incident before. To read more about employee theft, follow the links below.

Former Barnes & Noble employee accused of stealing $46,000 in merchandise from Mandeville store

A former Barnes & Noble employee was recently arrested for allegedly stealing about $46,000 in merchandise from the store over a three-year period, Mandeville Police reported Tuesday (Sept. 30). Tomas Santamaria, 32, is accused of selling more than 700 stolen items, mostly DVD’s and novels, on eBay and funneling the proceeds into his bank account, police said.

Santamaria, of 19246 Antenor St. in Mandeville, was booked Sept. 23 with money laundering, computer fraud and theft.

An investigation began July 31 of this year after the bookstore on U.S. 190 reported a suspected employee theft, the police department said in a news release. Detectives determined Santamaria stole about $46,000 in merchandise between September 2011 and July of this year, the release said.

Retail employee accused of stealing cash over time

A retail store employee was arrested Tuesday and accused of stealing thousands of dollars from her register over a period of several weeks.

Alexis W. Causey, 22, of 507 Church St., West Monroe, faces one count of theft.

An arrest report said Monroe Police were sent to Target at 4103 Pecanland Mall Drive in reference to employee theft. Once there, an officer spoke with an employee who said Causey took $2,000 from her register from the first part of September through Monday.

After being questioned, Causey reportedly said she took the money. Causey reportedly said she would remove the cash from her register and place it in a trash can. At the end of her shift, she would remove the money before emptying the can.

A&P Employee From Ossining Charged In Theft Of Meat From Store

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. — An Ossining man was charged with grand larceny on Tuesday after he was accused of stealing goods from his employer, according to State Police from the Cortlandt barracks.

Gregory Rodriguez, 46, was accused of stealing $1,200 worth of meat from the Cortlandt A&P where he worked, by hiding the meat on himself before attempting to leave, police said.

Rodriguez was arraigned before the Town of Cortlandt Court and remanded to the Westchester County Jail without bail. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Friday, Oct. 3, police said.

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, Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, Shoplifting Prevention

Who Are You Really Hiring?

October 2, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

So you run an ad to fill a position you have available. You receive some really good resumes and you move to step two, screening them. With the intense competition for employment, how do you know if what you have before you is real or maybe…a bit over inflated? There are a couple of things that you can look at to help you to spot potential problems.

I view resumes and applications as a “test” to see if the candidate can spell, write properly and comprehend the questions and information requested. After all this person wants the job, you have the job, you would think they would want to put their best foot forward in their first impression. Integrity is one of those.

In the years that I have been a hiring manager I have found a few items to look at that help me sort good from bad.

Dates of Employment: I have found this to be one of the most lied about items on a resume or application. Let’s say the candidate has had three jobs. They were fired from job number two and do not want you to know about it. Instead of listing job number two, they simply stretch the dates of jobs one and three to cover. So, verify the dates of employment.

Over- Inflated Titles: Many times when you look at the resume you will find that a title does not fit the experience or even the age of the candidate. The resume shows a string of titles like this: Dock Worker then Dock Lead then Dock Supervisor then Dock Manager then Director, Central Intelligence Agency, then Dock Manager, Central Intelligence Agency. The candidate is 24 years old. Okay, maybe this was a bit of a silly example but you get the idea. Pay attention to titles and age.

Resumes That Are Too “Slick”: Most of us are not the greatest writers. Look at me. But we can get across our experience in basic form. Someone whose resume reads like an advertisement for a new car company probably had some serious help which could mean a professional resume writer put it together. This may be all right for some companies. But you have to ask yourself is this the person I am really hiring. It could also mean that the professional writer, in some cases to make their customer happy, over inflated the candidate’s experience. Does the resume seem too good to be true? Then it probably is.

All Candidate’s Should Fill Out An Application: This is in addition to their resume. Compare the two. You will be surprised in some case when you actually compare the two. They may not remember the lies they told on the resume. Always require both and compare them.

If they lied at this point in the application process what do you think they will do when they work for you?

Bill Bregar is the CEO of Loss Prevention Systems. He can be reached at 770-426-7593 x101 or at www.LossPreventionSystems.com

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha High Theft Solutions, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, retail security and monitoring, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention

Should They Stay, Or Should They Go?

October 2, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

When you or your employees apprehend a shoplifter, you will need to make one of two choices as to what to do with them. You can either recover your merchandise and let the shoplifter go about their way, or you can take the shoplifter back to an office or other neutral location within your store. Both have their advantages, and both have potentially negative outcomes if not conducted properly.

The easiest thing to do is to retrieve your merchandise from the shoplifter and let them go. No muss, no fuss, and no lengthy apprehension process to deal with. You will need to document the incident and keep the report in a secured location. You need to document the time and date, the description of the suspect, what merchandise (include item numbers or UPC codes) was taken and recovered. Any video of the incident should be retained, and a photo of the merchandise should be taken also. Notate what happened to the merchandise- is it being kept as evidence, or was it returned to the sales floor after being photographed.

Don’t underestimate that a shoplifter will try and come back and sue your store for false detention and liable. They may assume that because you did not prosecute that you did not have enough evidence, which is why you let them go. Even if they were to loose the case (because you had everything well documented) you can still fight with your store’s reputation if the media gets involved, or simply the time and money it will cost you to fight the charges.

Of course this is assuming that the shoplifter stopped and willingly handed over the stolen merchandise they were carrying. If the shoplifter runs, fights, or is problematic, it might not be easy to recover your merchandise. Similarly, if the merchandise is hidden within a bag, or on the shoplifter’s body somewhere, you cannot go searching for it to get it back- especially if the shoplifter is denying having stolen anything.

If you do bring a shoplifter back to your office, you should do so with purpose. Do you need to recover product in a bag? The shoplifter will still need to hand it over to you; you may not search their personal belongings. If the suspect has hidden merchandise on their person, you may not make them disrobe to retrieve your merchandise. That is something that absolutely should be left for law enforcement to do.

Once back in the office, your witness should be taking notes as to what is being said, and what transpires. The shoplifter’s ID should be obtained and photocopied (as proof of who was stopped). You may question the suspect to find out why they are taking product from you and what were they going to do with it later. This is particularly important if you are experiencing multiple losses of the same products. Keep in mind that they may not talk to you, and they are not required to talk to you. You may not force them or coerce them into confessions or into giving up more information.

Your company should have a set policy on who is prosecuted and who is not (also why not). Commonly, elderly, young children or minors, and mentally disabled are not prosecuted. Generally it is because these categories of people do not have the mental capacity to distinguish right from wrong. Prosecutions and referrals to law enforcement should have standardization to them. This way, employees won’t need to make a personal judgment call on who is prosecuted and who is not.

Finally, keep you back office area, or where ever you will bring shoplifters to, clean. There should not be anything large or heavy (staplers, three hole punches, scissors) that can be turned into a weapon. This area should also be relatively remote. It should not be an area where customers and other employees can walk by. The suspect has a right to their privacy during the apprehension. They should not feel like they are out on display.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha High Theft Solutions, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, mobile POS loss prevention, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

You Are in Charge

October 2, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

There is a video of a shoplifting apprehension that has been making its way across the internet. The video is not a company sanction video or even surveillance based off of CCTV coverage. It is a video that some bystander started to record on their cell phone. Within the video, you see two employees making a shoplifting apprehension. The suspect is refusing to comply, and a physical altercation is ensuing. At some point, one of the employees is stabbed, the suspect ends up on the ground and the second employee starts to hit the suspect in the face.

The video is an interesting mix of several things that were done correctly, and several things that absolutely were not. Even more interesting are the comments that were posted that very clearly showed two completely opposite line of thought around not only what the video showed, but the interpretation of the events as well.

In the video, we do not see what happened at the start. We do not see what the merchandise is, or where it’s at, or even if there actually was stolen merchandise. All we see is the apprehension taking place in the parking lot between two cars. The suspect is clearly fighting off the employees and refusing to comply. One employee verbally states that he is (company name) loss prevention and to stop fighting. He says this a few times, clear enough that it is caught on the video.

This is a very important part of the apprehension process. The employee needs to make sure the suspect is aware that they are store employees, not random people that are assaulting him. Without a verbal identification, a shoplifting suspect can say they ran, or fought because they didn’t know who was coming after them. If an employee carries and shows some form of badge or employee identification, it only strengthens the employee’s clout during an apprehension.

This particular employee is also seen wearing a set of handcuffs, and later puts them on the shoplifting suspect. This is one of the points of confusion during the reader’s comments. Many believed that the store employee had no legal right to carry or use handcuffs. While each jurisdiction can be different, it is actually legal in most places for the use of handcuffs in a shoplifting apprehension by store employees.

The biggest part to remember is that handcuffs are used only to keep the employees and the suspect safe. There is a right and a wrong way to put the handcuffs on. They can be put on too tight or too loose, and the employee needs to execute the application correctly. Shoplifters should not be handcuffed to objects like tables or chairs. Shoplifters must also be protected from harm while they are wearing handcuffs. Needless to say, hitting a shoplifter with the cuffs, or throwing them at them is not legally or morally acceptable. All of this is the responsibility of the employee and the company if handcuffs are to be used.

Back in the video, as the suspect was finally on the ground being handcuffed, the second employee takes a few punches to the suspect’s head. What I see, based off of years of experience, is an employee who has not been properly trained, and is mentally and physically worn out from the fight and the adrenaline surge during the apprehension. This is not excusable, and the employee and the company could be held liable for assault. It is a sad reminder that employees who are to be used as a witness need to be selected carefully, and properly trained well before they act as a witness. This role should not be performed by the closest available employee as you are going out the door to make an apprehension.

Finally, it was shocking to see how many people commented about how employees and stores are not allowed to make apprehensions; that they should have let the suspect go and called the police. Again, it is important to check with your specific codes for your location. However, it is commonly acceptable for a retailer to stop a shoplifter. It falls under Merchant’s Privilege of the shopkeeper’s code. Basically, it is a citizen’s arrest.

If your stores do allow for apprehensions of shoplifters, it is important to make sure your employees are acting completely within their rights, and are well informed of what they can and cannot do. With this many people oblivious to the fact that apprehensions are legal, don’t take it for granted that your shoplifters understand they can be apprehended and prosecuted. A shoplifter who thinks that only police can stop them will be more brazen to steal, and also much more difficult to convince to surrender peacefully.

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, Prevent Shoplifting, Retail Anti Theft Devices

Loss Prevention and Solutions

September 23, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

The Holiday season does not start for some weeks yet, but if you are in the retail industry preparations for the busiest time of year begins months in advance. The retail industry loses billions a year due to shoplifting and employee theft making prevention all the more significant and solutions to decrease shrinkage pivotal in the profits and loss of a store. Read more about loss prevention by following the links below

Taking the Bite Out of Organized Retail Crime

“Store robbers…always work in gangs of two, three, or four in number, in order that their operations may be quickly conducted… The first thing to be done upon locating in a large town or city is to select the place upon which they design to work… When they finally decide upon a store to be robbed, they are fully posted with regard to everything that pertains to the business…”

A hundred and fifteen years ago, Allan Pinkerton, America’s “first detective” and founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, penned those words in his book “Thirty Years a Detective: A Thorough and Comprehensive Exposé of Criminal Practice of All Grades and Classes”. In 2014, the tenth year that the National Retail Federation (NRF) conducted its Organized Retail Crime Survey, ORC has remained a staple of criminal enterprise in the United States, accounting for known losses in the neighborhood of $30 billion annually.

The Tactics of ORC

Organized Retail Crime (ORC) has been the bane of retailers for years and was first addressed by merchants in the late 1980s. Since then, ORC has grown into a yearly multi-billion dollar business that not only injures the retailer, but also the consumer, who has to pay higher prices. There is another loss — the one to communities in the form of lost tax revenue, which has a direct effect on state and local governments and school budgets causing a direct impact on the quality of life.

Since the early days, when ORC was first recognized, retailers have taken great steps to combat the crime. The most important step was the education of lawmakers who have passed laws across the nation combating Organized Retail Crime. Many of today’s retail trade organizations such as the National Retail Federation (NRF), the Food Marking Institute (FMI), Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), along with many other organizations have taken up the fight.

BearCom Informs Retailers on How to Use Two-Way Radios for Loss Prevention

BearCom, a nationwide provider of wireless communications equipment and solutions, offered suggestions on how two-way radios can help reduce loss during the busy holiday shopping season and all year round.

Loss, also called shrink, consists of shoplifting, employee or supply fraud, organized retail crime and administrative errors. According to Marianne Wilson at Chain Storage Age, “Growing shrink concerns have put loss prevention high on the agenda of retailers.”

“More than $100 billion worth of merchandise is stolen from retailers every year. That’s about 1.5 percent of retail sales, just in the United States,” said Hugh Johnston, Product & Purchasing Manager at BearCom. “The most effective way to prevent loss is to have a vigilant and visible staff in constant communication.”

Johnston gives some suggestions for basic shrink prevention that are especially important during the hectic holiday retail season:

Inconspicuous communications – When an employee needs to contact a manager or security personnel, they should do it in a way that doesn’t bring attention to the situation. Two-way radios with earpiece accessories enable quiet and discreet communication.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha High Theft Solutions, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Training, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention

Shoplifting News

September 18, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

The people and the methods shoplifters use nowadays should not come as a surprise for any of us. From the elderly to the handicapped shoplifting is a crime that seems to have no age nor race attached to it. For a retail store, prevention seems the solution that makes sense, and can keep the store from losing its profits.

To read more about this follow the links below.

Shoplifting Suspect Shirley Mason Used Wheelchair Cart For Getaway: Cops

FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Police in Michigan say they arrested a shoplifting suspect following her slow-speed getaway in a $1,200 motorized wheelchair shopping cart taken from a Wal-Mart.

The Muskegon Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1wgjeQT ) says police located 46-year-old Shirley Mason about 2 miles away, riding the cart with $600 in clothing.

A customer called police Monday night to report someone riding a shopping cart from the lot at the store in Muskegon County’s Fruitport Township.

Police say Mason told them she couldn’t find anyone to pick her up from the store and took the wheelchair cart “because she didn’t feel like walking.”

Authorities say Mason told officers she planned to sell the clothing.

Mason is charged with organized retail crime and has a probable cause hearing Sept. 23.

Mason doesn’t have a listed phone number.

Police: Mom and DAughter caught shoplifting

HOOSICK — State Police say a mother and her 23-year-old daughter were caught shoplifting from a supermarket. Vicki Meyers, 43, and her daughter Toni were allegedly seen by employees taking items at a TOPS supermarket and hiding them in their purses. According to authorities, they left the store with more than $70.00 worth of merchandise. The pair have both been charged with petit larceny.

Teacher accused of shoplifting using child

Wesley Chapel, Florida — A Pasco County teacher has resigned from her position, accused of shoplifting and using her young daughter to hide the stolen electronics.

Friday, parents are in shock that a trusted middle school science teacher sits behind bars.

Investigators say Amanda Hammon took her three-year-old on the shoplifting spree and had the child carry her backpack stuffed with the stolen goods from a Walmart in Wesley Chapel.

Hammon was a teacher at John Long Middle School in Wesley Chapel, and now, she’s a Pasco inmate without a job.

Investigators say this wasn’t just a one-time crime. In the past week, the middle school science teacher is accused of stealing electronics from Walmart four times with her daughter in tow.

Arrest records show Hammon confessed she’s been shoplifting to support her drug habit.

Shrinking Margins? Internal Controls Can Help

September 18, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Occupational fraud is a problem for most businesses, both large and small. Fraud is committed when an employee, through a deliberate and usually illegal process, misuses or misappropriates the resources or assets of a business for their own benefit. It’s willful and deliberate worker misconduct, which causes the business to suffer financially due to theft of time, services, inventory or money.

This type of fraud is such a widespread and injurious problem that approximately 1/3 of small businesses close due to it, mostly because it goes undetected. This is a regrettable situation, because it’s largely preventable if properly monitored internal controls are in place. It’s usually uncovered only by accident or through a whistleblower.

Actively managed internal controls can prevent or detect most types of misappropriation of assets and fraudulent financial reporting. They’re processes created to track and achieve goals in specific categories (i.e. operations, time keeping, inventory, financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations). While most of these processes are universal, specific ones may need to be added to address unusual situations or particular fraud concerns.

These controls should include operations and finances. They’re designed to create a system which protects assets through prevention and timely detection of unauthorized or illegal employee behavior. Some of these processes include: monitoring the flow of paperwork; reading, understanding and acting on financial reports; noticing and acting on the behaviors and attitudes of employees; listening to and acting on employee tips and hints about problems.

To start creating internal control measures a business can review past and current procedures, events and concerns – the company’s strengths and weaknesses, investigate and evaluate employee complaints, acknowledge and list all of the problems/symptoms, etc. This is done in a methodical timely way. It’s important to note that the controls are fluid and will need to be reviewed and changed over time.

Well managed, easy to use and structured internal controls are considered to be one of the most effective deterrents to occupational fraud. However, these controls are only paper work if management doesn’t take action. No program, by itself, will keep employees from stealing. Supervisors must be responsible and take action if it’s to be effective.

Opportunity (lack of controls) and ineffective or no consequences are 2 of the main reasons employees commit fraud. It’s unreasonable and naïve for mangers to expect their workers to be atypical. Yet they do, only to be taken advantage of. Unfortunately, many have learned this lesson the hard way.

Nicole Abbott – writer, educator and psycho-therapist

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha High Theft Solutions, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, Employee Theft, internal Audit, Loss Prevention Seminar, Perpetual Inventory, retail security and monitoring, security devices, Shoplifting Prevention

Security and Operational Compliance

September 9, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

According to the most recent articles from Loss Prevention Magazine, the three major areas where the management or owners have to be vigilant about are internal theft, external theft and operational compliance. These three security areas have to be implemented correctly and to adhere to procedures the management or security team have dictated to be successful. For more information about this and other topics follow the links below.

Security Breaches Trigger Retail’s Big Players to Call for Major Tech Changes

The possible credit card breach at Home Depot Inc. prompted the retailer to speed up its implementation of chip-reading credit card terminals. Major credit card companies, too, have announced they will accelerate efforts to bolster electronic payments security and protect sensitive customer data. These moves could have a large impact on consumer confidence, which has suffered as a spate of cyberattacks hit major companies. But for retailers especially, the implementation of the new systems will take time, and are not a panacea for a company’s security risks.

Home Depot CEO Frank Blake told investors Thursday that the retailer would activate chip-reading technology on its new credit-card terminals by the end of this year. He said the company is “working around the clock” to find a breach linked to stolen credit and debit cards,” the WSJ’s Shelly Banjo writes, but stopped short of confirming an actual breach occurred.

Building A New Defense Team

As technology draws us deeper into a new age of business enterprise, we are continuously bombarded with waves of challenges and opportunities involving those with malicious intentions. These attacks come at us from every direction as the ingenuity of these criminal minds seek new and creative ways to infiltrate our information resources and engage in cyber warfare against our businesses.

In order to survive these reprehensible intrusions, retailers must fight back. We have to defend our ground and take the necessary steps to combat the threat. This requires that we build and recruit the resources that will help us win the battles. We must become cyber warriors in our own right; defending our computer and information systems against those seeking to seize and exploit the lifeline of our business.

Operational Compliance: Inspecting What You Expect (Part 1)

The evolution of the loss prevention profession has required a change in the way that we view what we do and the way that we approach the retail environment. First and foremost, we have come to recognize that shrink is a much more complicated problem than merely looking at the theft of merchandise. Shrink is a very complex issue that must take in to consideration a variety of different issues that can lead to losses. Shrink reduction is clearly seen as a vehicle of profit enhancement, and an integral part of the retail model. Additionally, we have perspective on how we can influence company profitability in other ways as well, which has allowed us to set our sights on the bigger retail picture. As a result our shrink management strategies require a multifaceted and broad-based approach in order to successfully design and administer the process.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha High Theft Solutions, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, internal Audit, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Workshop

How Do My Employees Steal From Me?

September 5, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

A better way to look at this may be to talk about what they steal and break it down from there. Employees can steal four types of things: cash, merchandise/product, supplies (& tools, equipment…) and time.

Cash in a retail environment is king. But we tend to put the youngest, most in-mature and least trained person in charge of it. Cashiers tend to fit that description. That is a fact of retail life. But we can manage through that. We have to put procedures in place to deter theft. It has to start at the time of hire. A clear message both verbally and in writing needs to be established. After that follow up is key. Many times we let multiple employees ring up transactions on one drawer so there is no accountability. One way to counter this is through random cash drawer audits. These unannounced audits will show if a shortage has occurred. Action can then be taken. Many times employees stealing cash will accumulate it in the cash drawer before removing it. If your cash audit reveals an overage that maybe what you are dealing with.

Merchandise or Product regardless of what it is, is worth something to someone; that is why you are in business. So if an employee can steal it, they could take it for their own personal use or for resale. Again we have to set up an environment where it is known that this will not be tolerated. Many times when employees are caught stealing, the business owner keeps them employed and has them pay it back. OMG, thinking about this, pay you back with what? They were stealing in the first place. Most likely they will do so again to “pay you back”. Remember, this person has proved that they are the worst of the worst. Oh yes, there may be a sob story. But they stole your assets, the reason does not matter.

Supplies, your equipment or tools are often over looked. I once conducted an investigation for a major resort that had a problem with a few thefts from guests only. It turned out that hundreds of thousands of dollars were stolen in cleaning supplies, furniture, toilet paper, fuel, etc.

We tend to overlook this area because we think it could not add up to much. You have to get your head around that. A roll of toilet paper and a can of cleaning solution every few days add up. Multiply this by a number of people and the situation is quickly a serious loss. Audit your supplies. Investigate when tools or equipment come up missing. Hold people accountable. You should assign or make certain employees accountable for these items. They can and should control them.

Both merchandise and supplies can be removed from your business on the employee’s person, discarded in the trash to be recovered later, out with a friend that is visiting or in collusion with a vendor.

Time is often never thought of in employee theft situations but can be one of the largest losses. Employees steal time by simply falsifying time cards or sheets. For example, a co-worker friend clocks them in but they are not there yet. Even 10 minutes, two or three times a week adds up to big dollars. From personal experience in the over 2300 employee theft investigations I have conducted, it has never just been 10 minutes here and there. This type of theft becomes addictive quickly and will grow to large amounts unless checked.

Time can also be stolen by managers who have control of payroll. I once had a manager set up a fake employee with a bank account. He submitted payroll information and deposited the checks. He embezzled around $20,000 before we investigated him.

All of these types of theft can be prevented. Policy and procedure that is followed and enforced is your very first line of defense but there are other techniques. You can learn more about them in our live- in- person or webinar training sessions. Contact us if you would like more information at 770-426-7593.

The Curb Rule

September 5, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

If you talk to anyone who works in retail security, they are probably familiar with something called the Curb Rule. It is a limitation made by many large retailers as to how far employees literally can go when they are making a shoplifting apprehension.

The Curb Rule usually states that when making a shoplifting apprehension, if the shoplifter attempts to flee, employees can pursue the subject as far as the edge of the curb of the store’s location. Generally, most stores have a sidewalk in front of them, and the employees should not go past the edge of the sidewalk in pursuit.

The ultimate goal of the rule is to keep everyone involved safe. The further away from the store employees go, the more likely it is that someone will get hurt. It’s not just about an altercation with a shoplifter either, even though a chased subject can be more pressured into trying to fight their way out of the situation.

In one particular incident, I stopped a shoplifter with a cart full of merchandise. The subject turned around and ran, almost getting hit by a car in the process. Had my witness and I gave chase, we most surely would have been hit ourselves. Remember, even shoplifters can sue a store/ company for personal damages if they are hurt during an apprehension.

One of my mentors used to tell stories of how he got a massive scar on his arm. He had been chasing a shoplifter who had climbed a chain link fence. My mentor, slipped while going over the fence, and the top barbs cut his arm. The shoplifter ended up jumping down an embankment and broke his leg. Needless to say, it was quite an expensive mess to clean up. Did I mention that all the shoplifter took was a twenty-dollar shirt?

The Curb Rule has its place as a safety feature as well as for maintaining profits. Often store and parking lot layouts dictate where the boundaries need to be made. Some stores who do not have a front sidewalk need to clearly inform employees of how and where to handle shoplifters, compared to stores with generous sidewalk areas.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha High Theft Solutions, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, Employee Theft, loss prevention, retail security, security devices, shoplifting