Shoplifting News and Other Stories

September 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (3)Employee theft costs the retail industry millions of dollars daily, and although the majority of shoplifters are non professionals, the monetary harm they can inflict to a business can be devastating. Employee theft can be undetected by the employer or management for months or even years, and some of the small businesses do not report the theft to authorities when the shoplifter is caught. How can you protect your business from employee theft or shoplifting?Are you doing enough to protect your business from losses? Do you need solutions for your business and don’t know where to start? call us and we will be happy to talk to you about your business needs.

To read more about shoplifting news follow the links below.

Employee at Wal-Mart in Franklin charged with theft

The Franklin Police Department received a complaint Friday about a possible employee theft at Wal-Mart.

Police were told that the employee, Timothy Youngblood, 43, who worked in sporting goods, stole about $5,000 worth of merchandise over the span of a few months, according to a news release from Franklin police.

Two Franklin officers watched store surveillance video, and officers recovered about $1,068 worth of Wal-Mart property from Youngblood’s East Cedar Street home. Police found sporting goods, tents, appliances, cookware, gourmet coffee and high-end coffee brewers.

Youngblood was charged with theft by unlawful taking over $500 but less than $10,000. His wife, Shawn M. Snay-Youngblood,

Pennsylvania’s top court rules $75,000 fine for employee’s theft at casino illegal

The state Supreme Court on Tuesday found that a mandatory $75,000 fine imposed upon a poker dealer convicted of stealing $200 from the Rivers Casino is unconstitutional.

“The fine at issue here, both in an absolute sense and in a comparative sense, is strikingly disproportionate to the manner in which other crimes are punished in Pennsylvania. That the fine is mandatory merely exacerbates the disproportion,” wrote Chief Justice Ronald Castille in the unanimous, 33-page opinion.

Matthew Eisenberg, 29, was charged with misdemeanor theft under the Gaming Act after taking $200 in poker chips from Nov. 26-30, 2010, from the gaming table where he worked at the Rivers.

Knox Trustee’s ‘ghost employee’ found guilty of theft

A Knox County jury on Friday agreed with the state: Former Trustee’s Office employee Delbert Morgan was a “mystery,” a “phantom” and a “ghost.”

He rarely if ever worked. And yet he collected almost $152,000 in salary and benefits during the four years he was with the county’s tax collection office.

The jury, after a two-week long trial, found the 58-year-old Grainger County businessman guilty of felony theft, a charge that is punishable by eight to 12 years in prison.

Morgan, who can also receive probation, will be sentenced on Oct. 23.

“He may have done a little work, but the state submits that it was bad from the beginning,” prosecutor Bill Bright told the jury during closing arguments Friday.

Fellow prosecutor John Gill agreed.

After the verdict was read, he said that Bright “did an unbelievable job making a complicated case clear.”

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The Five Steps- Shoplifting

September 4, 2014 by
In the retail environment, there are five steps associates with stopping shoplifting in progress. While they may not correlate directly to a legal apprehension made by local law enforcement, these five steps are designed to keep a retail establishment in the clear from wrongful detainments.
If you are going to allow employees, whether it might be a manager, or a dedicated loss prevention employee (if you are so lucky to afford one), to make an apprehension, you need ensure these steps are followed to a T.
Loss prevention training is extremely important as the elimination of even one step can create a huge lawsuit and liability for your business.
The steps are as follows: First, you need to see the subject enter the store. The point is to see what they have, what they are wearing or carrying, so you can conversely know what merchandise they are stealing from you.
Next you need to see them enter the area where the merchandise is sold. You absolutely need to see them select (pick up) the merchandise in question. Again, this ensures you can verify the merchandise is absolutely your property and not theirs.
At this point you need to see them conceal the product or otherwise demonstrate that they are intending to steal.
Maintain constant observation of the merchandise. If you loose contact, can you be sure they did not discard the merchandise somewhere along the way? Some shoplifting suspects do get spooked and drop the product.
Finally they need to exit the store and pass the last point of sales. Loss prevention seminars are out there that can further expound on these steps, and explain the subtle nuances that can arise during an actual shoplifting stop.
For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

In the retail environment, there are five steps associated with stopping shoplifting in progress. While they may not correlate directly to a legal apprehension made by local law enforcement, these five steps are designed to keep a retail establishment in the clear from wrongful detainments.

If you are going to allow employees, whether it might be a manager, or a dedicated loss prevention employee (if you are so lucky to afford one), to make an apprehension, you need ensure these steps are followed to a T.

Loss prevention training is extremely important as the elimination of even one step can create a huge lawsuit and liability for your business.

The steps are as follows: First, you need to see the subject enter the store. The point is to see what they have, what they are wearing or carrying, so you can conversely know what merchandise they are stealing from you.

Next you need to see them enter the area where the merchandise is sold. You absolutely need to see them select (pick up) the merchandise in question. Again, this ensures you can verify the merchandise is absolutely your property and not theirs.

At this point you need to see them conceal the product or otherwise demonstrate that they are intending to steal.

Maintain constant observation of the merchandise. If you loose contact, can you be sure they did not discard the merchandise somewhere along the way? Some shoplifting suspects do get spooked and drop the product.

Finally they need to exit the store and pass the last point of sales. Loss prevention seminars are out there that can further expound on these steps, and explain the subtle nuances that can arise during an actual shoplifting stop.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

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Deviate From The Policy- Employee Theft

August 20, 2014 by
If you suspect that employee theft will happen, or is about to happen, you need to be more prepared than having a sign that says, “shoplifting will be prosecuted”. You have to train your employees that you are aware of different methods, and tactics used in employee theft. You have to be able to train the other employees to be eyes and ears when you are not there.
Loss prevention seminars help you have the information to guide your employees toward making better decisions. Employees who see the heightened awareness level in a store are less likely to steal. They are less likely to spend their energy coming up with ways to work around your systems.
The stores that have a blanket statement, but no training or awareness, are more likely to have theft issues. Without a clear understanding of how deep the awareness and prevention goes in a store, the more likely employees are to abuse the system.
When an employee is unaware of all of the different levels of security and protection you have in place, they think it is easy to get away with employee theft. Using loss prevention seminars shows the employees that policies and procedures are already in place to combat the theft. If they start to deviate from those policies, a red flag will go up and they will be caught.
For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

If you suspect that employee theft will happen, or is about to happen, you need to be more prepared than having a sign that says, “shoplifting will be prosecuted”. You have to train your employees that you are aware of different methods, and tactics used in employee theft. You have to be able to train the other employees to be eyes and ears when you are not there.

Loss prevention seminars help you have the information to guide your employees toward making better decisions. Employees who see the heightened awareness level in a store are less likely to steal. They are less likely to spend their energy coming up with ways to work around your systems.

The stores that have a blanket statement, but no training or awareness, are more likely to have theft issues. Without a clear understanding of how deep the awareness and prevention goes in a store, the more likely employees are to abuse the system.

When an employee is unaware of all of the different levels of security and protection you have in place, they think it is easy to get away with employee theft. Using loss prevention seminars shows the employees that policies and procedures are already in place to combat the theft. If they start to deviate from those policies, a red flag will go up and they will be caught.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

 

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Apple Store and Iphone theft

August 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (12)All across the country carrying a smart phone is like carrying cash in your hands.   Many thieves consider a smart phone as easy to steal as snatching a purse from an unsuspected woman. Lost and stolen phones are costing the American consumer millions of dollar a year according to some recent research and according to some news smart phone theft is happening at stores as well.

Follow the links below for more information about this and other stories.

Six Apple Store employees nabbed in iPhone theft ring

Sometimes it is those on the inside that you need to be worried about the most. In Fort Lauderdale, six Apple Store employees were snagged by the cops, as law enforcement smashed an iPhone theft ring that worked out of an Apple Store at the tony Galleria Mall. The six worked together to rip off the store out of 600 iPhones, valued at half a million dollars.
The scheme involved a number of thieves who wandered into the Apple Store, pretending to be customers. In the store, these “customers” would be helped by one of the six employees in on the scam, who would exchange a stolen iPhone for a brand new unit. The Apple Store employees who helped the transactions go through, were paid between $45 and $75 per unit for facilitating the exchange.

The cops arrested former Apple Store employees Devon Persad, Daniel Michael Scotti, Adam Alvarez, Anthony Joseph Tranchida, Sadia A. Dandia, and Otis Jerrell Ferguson. A seventh person arrested was Best Buy Mobile employee Sean Flynn. Flynn provided a list of serial numbers from smartphones on the shelves at Best Buy Mobile, to the other criminals. These numbers were used on the new iPhone models stolen from the Apple Store.

The cops are looking to identify those who brought the stolen phones into the Apple Store. They are also still looking to find the buyers of the new units that the stolen phones were exchanged for. A Broward Country prosecutor says that the phones were probably sold overseas.

Ex-Fairfax Deputy Headed To Trial On Shoplifting Charges

The case of the Fairfax County deputy charged with shoplifting at the Leesburg Target store will go to trial.

Robert H. Palmer Jr., 50, of Leesburg, appeared in Loudoun General District Court Tuesday morning. Judge J. Frank Buttery Jr. set a trial date for Sept. 23.

Palmer has been charged with two counts of petit larceny under $200, a Class 1 misdemeanor that carries a sentence of up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.

The case, first reported in May, gained national attention after Dallas Northington told The Washington Post he was fired as an assets protection specialist for Target after reporting two incidents of apparent shoplifting in which the suspect shown on surveillance tape was recognized by his superiors as Palmer, who’s worked for the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office for 20 years.

Northington said he filed a complaint with the Leesburg Police Department as he did routinely in such cases. However, days later he was fired, told by his managers at Target that he had not followed company procedures.

Following the publication of Northington’s story, the Leesburg Police Department released a statement July 14 about its involvement in the case. According to the department, the initial complaint was filed at approximately 11 p.m. Tuesday, May 27. “The report was documented however, the reporting loss prevention officer did not witness the actual theft,” it said. During that investigation, “the individual involved in the alleged theft was positively identified as a Fairfax Sheriff’s Office employee.” On May 30, Leesburg investigators notified members of the Fairfax sheriff’s office about the report.

There the case stalled.

Mother leaves kids in store after shoplifting

Published on Aug 15, 2014

DELAND, Fla. (WKRC) — A Florida mother’s attempt at shoplifting ended with her running from police and leaving her children behind.

Deland, Florida police said Rebecca Stoltz went shopping at Wal-Mart with her 6-year-old daughter and 9-year-old stepdaughter. When she allegedly tried stealing $44 of clothes, she got caught by security. In the panic of getting caught, police said Stoltz ran from the store and left her children behind.

Other parents shopping at the store said they were outraged.

Police said store security found the girls and they were both, “Clearly distressed and very emotional and both were crying.” Investigators said Stoltz knew what she did because she told a friend to go pick the children up from the store.

Police eventually arrested Stoltz who faces child abuse charges.

Follow us on Twitter @Local12 and LIKE us on Facebook for updates!

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Loss Prevention Certification- Loss Prevention Training

August 9, 2014 by
Currently there is a big push for Loss Prevention Employees to be certified through the Loss Prevention Foundation. They have two levels of certification- one for those beginning their careers and another for those who have been around longer. The point is to standardize loss prevention training throughout the industry.
This formalized loss prevention training and certification is expensive, too expensive for most small businesses to certify more than one or two mangers within the organization. That doesn’t mean that it is not beneficial to have this kind of information available for all of your employees.
By attending a more affordable loss prevention workshop, you can get your entire team involved and educated. Benefits to this kind of training include better job performance by providing awareness of methods and kinds of losses that retailer’s incur. They can improve competencies needed to resolve shrink losses and implications. They can also improve the perception of your company or business within the community.
When businesses take a stand against shoplifting losses within their walls, the community takes notice. It is not just the shoplifting that begins to go elsewhere, it is also the customers who have a better perception of your attentive employees. Instead of going somewhere else, they come to you. They begin to share a positive message of your stores, thus growing your business as more customers come to you for their shopping needs.
For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

Currently there is a big push for Loss Prevention Employees to be certified through the Loss Prevention Foundation. They have two levels of certification- one for those beginning their careers and another for those who have been around longer. The point is to standardize loss prevention training throughout the industry.

This formalized loss prevention training and certification is expensive, too expensive for most small businesses to certify more than one or two mangers within the organization. That doesn’t mean that it is not beneficial to have this kind of information available for all of your employees.

By attending a more affordable loss prevention workshop, you can get your entire team involved and educated. Benefits to this kind of training include better job performance by providing awareness of methods and kinds of losses that retailer’s incur. They can improve competencies needed to resolve shrink losses and implications. They can also improve the perception of your company or business within the community.

When businesses take a stand against shoplifting losses within their walls, the community takes notice. It is not just the shoplifting that begins to go elsewhere, it is also the customers who have a better perception of your attentive employees. Instead of going somewhere else, they come to you. They begin to share a positive message of your stores, thus growing your business as more customers come to you for their shopping needs.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

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Shoplifting Flash Mobs and Other News

August 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (5)How do you protect yourself from a mob of shoplifters? Is there a solution? Calling the police will eventually get things going, but rarely do they arrive in time to stop the shoplifting. Even an individual shoplifter can get away many times before he gets caught, and the loses your store or business suffers is big. Prevention and investing in shoplifting devices can be a helpful method for your store to prevent shrinkage and a deterrent to employees and other shoplifters from stealing from your store.

The Future Of Shopping In Three Trends

Back in 2012, I wrote a piece titled, Five Trends Driving Traditional Retail Towards Extinction. Looking back, I’m generally happy to see that the trends I examined are still valid, though “extinction” might be a little strong.

But the retail and e-commerce industries still interest me and living in New York provides a firsthand view into the petri dish that many of these companies use to experiment. So almost two years later, I’ve revisited the space to focus on three more trends that are changing the way we shop. (I’m leaving out an exploration of mobile for the moment, since it’s probably worth its own post.)

The Macro View

First, a brief look at the bigger picture.

Last month marked Amazon’s 20th anniversary, which is kind of amazing to think about since e-commerce seems both very new and indispensable at the same time. Either way, the world has had plenty of time to digest the trend.

Local Fox Anchor Arrested for Shoplifting; Fiancé Arrested for Arson

CBS 13 in Sacramento reports that a local news anchor was arrested for theft while in an unrelated case her fiancé was arrested for arson. Fox 40 news anchor Sabrina Rodriguez was arrested and charged with three felony counts of shoplifting while her fiancé, Nicholas Gray, is in jail on drug and arson charges.

On May 6, 2014, Rodriguez and Gray’s Sacramento home was ablaze; in the ensuing attempts by firefighters, one fire fighter was injured. The couple told authorities at the time that the cause of the fire was a stove exploding.

According to file footage from CBS 13, fire battalion Chris Ortiz said at the time: “The occupants were extremely lucky to get out. If they would have hesitated probably a minute or so they might be crawling out the back windows or we might be extricating them from the home.”

Gray was booked Thursday into the Sacramento County jail on charges of arson, battery, manufacturing meth, and possession of marijuana or hashish for sale. Investigators would not confirm the charges were related to the fire at his home, CBS 13 reports.

Police: Shoplifting flash mobs storm convenience stores

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. —

Police in Washington state are looking for a group of about 40 teens who allegedly stormed a Shell service station in Federal Way early last Sunday, KIRO-TV in Seattle reported.

“It’s pretty bad. … When 30, 40 people come into the store, I don’t think even cops can do anything right away,” said Ranji Rai, who owns the store. He said his clerk was alone at the time and couldn’t do anything to stop the crowd.

The clerk, Sukhvinder Singh, said that at first, he tried to stop the teens at the door, but they pushed through. Then Singh tried to grab one of the teens’ jackets, but another person threw a soda at him and just missed, Singh said.

>> VIDEO: Shoplifting flash mobs storm convenience stores, police say

According to Federal Way police, another group targeted a 7-Eleven about a mile away, only an hour and a half after the incident at the Shell station. KIRO-TV included portions of the surveillance videos in their newscast.

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How To Approach a Shoplifter- Loss Prevention Training

August 2, 2014 by
If you have a customer suspected of shoplifting in your store, what do you do? For some the answer is simple- you walk up to them accuse them of shoplifting and demand to search their bags to find the stolen items.
For others, the answer is to not confront them and to call the police to have them arrested. As for the rest of your employees, the best approach is one of denial- “He was a shoplifter? Really? I didn’t notice.”
While all of these approaches make sense depending on the type of person you or your employees are, none of them are the best way to go.
If you accuse a shoplifter directly, you open yourself up to a variety of scenarios. The first is an open/ aggressive confrontation can escalate into a potentially dangerous situation. The shoplifter might be armed, or prepared to fight his way out. If you do not have any proof, you might open yourself and your business up to a wrongful detainment/ accusation lawsuit. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars and potentially negative press. Same thing goes for calling the police without actual proof.
A passive/ non-existent approach can lead to shoplifters coming back because they do not fear getting caught. The best way is to learn the five steps retailers’ use and how to legally approach a shoplifter. Loss prevention seminars can walk you through the steps and answer most of the legal questions you might have.
For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

If you have a customer suspected of shoplifting in your store, what do you do? For some the answer is simple- you walk up to them accuse them of shoplifting and demand to search their bags to find the stolen items.

For others, the answer is to not confront them and to call the police to have them arrested. As for the rest of your employees, the best approach is one of denial- “He was a shoplifter? Really? I didn’t notice.”

While all of these approaches make sense depending on the type of person you or your employees are, none of them are the best way to go.

If you accuse a shoplifter directly, you open yourself up to a variety of scenarios. The first is an open/ aggressive confrontation can escalate into a potentially dangerous situation. The shoplifter might be armed, or prepared to fight his way out. If you do not have any proof, you might open yourself and your business up to a wrongful detainment/ accusation lawsuit. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars and potentially negative press. Same thing goes for calling the police without actual proof.

A passive/ non-existent approach can lead to shoplifters coming back because they do not fear getting caught. The best way is to learn the five steps retailers’ use and how to legally approach a shoplifter. Loss prevention seminars can walk you through the steps and answer most of the legal questions you might have.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

Filed Under: Seminar Tagged With: , , , , ,

If They Steal $1,000 That’s All I Lost….. Right?

July 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (13)Whether it involves employee theft, shoplifting or some other real loss, you actually lost a lot more than $1,000. And I mean real money. One of the advantages I have as the former Senior Loss Prevention Executive for several major companies, is that I bring a larger scope of experience to you, the small and medium business owner or manager.

Okay, so the thief got away with $1,000 of your merchandise but that ​​is ​​not all you lost. That merchandise had to be purchased, paid for, shipped, handled by your staff and made available for sale to your legitimate customers. In many cases we do not factor these tasks and the ever tighter profit margins we work with into the loss equation.

As an example, let’s say that your profit margin after taxes, labor and other expenses like rent, electricity, gas…. is 1.5%. Actually this is an average for most US retailers. Some have a higher profit margin others like grocery stores average less than 0.5%.

So take your loss, in this case $1,000 and divide by your margin, again in ​​this case 1.5% (.015). The result is $66,666.67. That is your actual loss. You are going to have to sell another $ 66,666.67 simply to BREAK EVEN on a $1,000 loss! How many more merchandise items will ​​you have to purchase and sell to do this? And remember that is only to break even on the $1000 loss NOT to make a profit.

Oh wait a minute – you have insurance. Few policies cover this kind of loss. If they do, try putting in for several of these cl​aims. You will probably find yourself looking for a new insurance carrier after they drop you or raise your rates through the roof.

There is only one way to do this and be profitable: prevention. You must stop losses before they occur. In addition your loss prevention efforts cannot consume all of your time or resources. Otherwise you lose focus on your sales. But the LP effort has to be a part of your standard operating environment, not on and off. You would not turn off the power to your sign every other day to save money. Why would you do that with loss prevention?

The really great news is that a solid loss prevention program is neither expensive nor difficult for the small to medium retailer. You should loo​k at loss prevention in three areas that are all working together at the same time.

First is Training & Awareness – have you set the standard right from the very beginning with your employees? Do they know what is expected of them and their performance including their responsibilities to protect your assets? Do ​​they understand you do not tolerate any theft by them or their friends regardless of size?

Second – do you have an operational audit or review of your operations? Do people actually know and believe that you look in depth into your operations and losses. Are you ACTUALLY holding them responsible for their performance?

Last is investigation. You must look into and understand why a loss has occurred. Then take action to keep it from occurring that way again. Thinking that it will go away or even worse fix it by itself is ridiculous. IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.

All of then feeds back into Training and Awareness. Once you start this cycle if will feed on itself. You will ​​even find that your core employees will pick it up and go with it. I have other techniques to this process that you may find helpful. Give ​​ me a call at 770.426.7593 x101 if you would like to discuss this or any other loss prevention issues. Again, remember shoplifting and employee theft losses can be controlled!

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Start Before It Becomes An Issue

July 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (2)Employee theft can and will happen to every small business at some point in time. The question of how you handle it, and what you can do about it relies on the protections you have in place before an incident occurs. Without these protections in place setting precedence, you might find your hands are tied in regards to the specific incident currently in front of you

The best place to start is in having anti theft verbiage in your employee handbook. That of course, means you need to have an employee handbook in place to standardize all of your business policies. If you do not have a handbook, you need to develop and implement one as soon as possible.

Within your handbook you need to be clear and broad all at the same time. A sentence stating that employee theft of any kind will under no circumstances be tolerated. Theft is defined as possessing or removing any company asset or another employee’s possessions without prior authorization from management.

You can further elaborate on the different types of company assets, or you can leave it open to all assets from pens and paper to merchandise and cash. Next you may want to include that the company will prosecute all cases of employee theft.

After having a written record of the company’s intentions, the policy should be verbally covered in employee on boarding and training. This way there is no confusion as to what the expectation is. Some businesses even have the employees sign a paper (to be retained in their employee file) that they are aware of this policy.

By clarifying up front, most employees will take heed to this warning. For those that do not, it is much easier to prosecute the employees for their theft, or misappropriation of company assets, when there is proof that the employee was aware of the consequences ahead of time.

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Beyond An Apprehension- Loss Prevention Workshop

July 19, 2014 by
Going to a loss prevention workshop isn’t only about learning how to apprehend a shoplifter. It is about finding ways to identify your store’s vulnerable areas and finding plausible, financially sound, and effective solutions for them. Some store’s do not want to make apprehensions, but do not realize there are other ways to prevent shoplifting.
The reality is most shoplifting is preventable. Some of them might be easy fixes, and some of them might require a more complex system to keep the shrink losses at bay. 
The more training and education you have, the better your chances of reducing your overall shrink losses. The key is in knowing what your specific store vulnerabilities are and how they happen. 
Maybe you have inattentive employees on the weekends. Perhaps your high theft merchandise would benefit from being placed at the front of the store where employees can watch it better. 
Can you use EAS and other retail anti theft devices to keep your desirable products on the sales floor for customers, but deterring theft at the same time?
Does your shoplifting happen at a certain time of day or week? What are your biggest loss items? Have you found evidence that the shoplifting seems to happen in the same location of the store (fitting room, back corner)?
By identifying the key areas, the information from a loss prevention workshop can be applied to how to deter shoplifting, saving you and your employees from actually having to apprehend a shoplifter. By deterring the theft ahead of time, you reduce your inventory losses without putting your employees at risk.
For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Going to a loss prevention workshop isn’t only about learning how to apprehend a shoplifter. It is about finding ways to identify your store’s vulnerable areas and finding plausible, financially sound, and effective solutions for them. Some store’s do not want to make apprehensions, but do not realize there are other ways to prevent shoplifting.

The reality is most shoplifting is preventable. Some of them might be easy fixes, and some of them might require a more complex system to keep the shrink losses at bay.

The more training and education you have, the better your chances of reducing your overall shrink losses. The key is in knowing what your specific store vulnerabilities are and how they happen.

Maybe you have inattentive employees on the weekends. Perhaps your high theft merchandise would benefit from being placed at the front of the store where employees can watch it better. 

Can you use EAS and other retail anti theft devices to keep your desirable products on the sales floor for customers, but deterring theft at the same time?

Does your shoplifting happen at a certain time of day or week? What are your biggest loss items? Have you found evidence that the shoplifting seems to happen in the same location of the store (fitting room, back corner)?

By identifying the key areas, the information from a loss prevention workshop can be applied to how to deter shoplifting, saving you and your employees from actually having to apprehend a shoplifter. By deterring the theft ahead of time, you reduce your inventory losses without putting your employees at risk.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

 

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