retail security and monitoring

Is Low Income A Reason To Shoplift?

May 20, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Lawmakers across the nation have been asking for harsher theft penalties for shoplifting. California and other states have passed laws that anything below $950 dollars worth of stolen merchandise is a misdemeanor. The punishment for shoplifters is negligent, and small business owners wonder whether the laws are there to protect the small business or the shoplifter. Many government officials believe that an increase in wages will help the fight against shoplifting, but many small business owners are skeptical.

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

N.J. Senate committee to take up $15 minimum wage

A New Jersey Senate committee is expected to act Monday on a plan that would phase in the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next five years.

The National Federation of Independent Business says raising the cost of labor will be a blow for small businesses. It predicts the move will cost 70,000 jobs in New Jersey over the next decade.

Senate President Steve Sweeney disputes that. He says giving low-income workers more money to spend will make the economy stronger.

“We raised the minimum wage last time. They predicted thousands of layoffs. Guess what? There were thousands of jobs added,” said Sweeney, a Democrat from Gloucester County.

William Rodgers, public policy professor at Rutgers, says the number of job openings has increased but companies are not filling many of those positions because the salaries are low.

“So by raising the minimum wage you’re going to help some of these employers fill those vacancies that they’ve been having for a long period of time,” he said. “You’re also going to see improvement in morale. Productivity is going to improve.”

Change in law results in big jump in California shoplifting

ROCKLIN, Calif. (AP) — Perry Lutz says his struggle to survive as a small businessman became a lot harder after California voters reduced theft penalties 1½ years ago.

About a half-dozen times this year, shoplifters have stolen expensive drones or another of the remote-controlled toys he sells in HobbyTown USA, a small shop in Rocklin, northeast of Sacramento. “It’s just pretty much open season,” Lutz said. “They’ll pick the $800 unit and just grab it and run out the door.”

Anything below $950 keeps the crime a misdemeanor – and likely means the thieves face no pursuit and no punishment, say retailers and law enforcement officials. Large retailers including Safeway, Target, Rite Aid and CVS pharmacies say shoplifting increased at least 15 percent, and in some cases, doubled since voters approved Proposition 47 and ended the possibility of charging shoplifting as a felony with the potential for a prison sentence.

Shoplifting reports to the Los Angeles Police Department jumped by a quarter in the first year, according to statistics the department compiled for The Associated Press. The ballot measure also lowered penalties for forgery, fraud, petty theft and drug possession.

$37,000 in goods shoplifted, couple arrested

The couple allegedly stole from Safeway, Target and Fred Meyer.

SALEM, Ore. (KOIN) — Salem police, with the assistance of a region retail theft prevention coalition, arrested 2 people for unlawful racketeering.

Salem Police Lt. Steve Birr said Michael Rascon and his wife, Maria Rojas, were arrested on Thursday morning after detectives executed a search warrant in the 100 block of Connecticut Street Southeast.

A large amount of new retail items still in their original packaging was located at the residence, police said.

Rascon and Rojas will be charged with unlawful racketeering, money laundering, organized retail theft, and first-degree theft by deception.

Investigators with Safeway/Albertsons, Fred Meyer and Target collaborated as part of the Northwest Organized Retail Crime Alliance to build the case against them.

KOIN 6 News has learned the two were selling stolen items online, buying stolen merchandise and even had “shopping lists” of things that they wanted stolen so they could turn around and sell.

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

Prevent Shoplifting – Focus on the Basics

May 13, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

For decades the gold standard of learning theory was that people needed to be told something 3 times before they really understood and remembered it. If you wanted people to learn something you were supposed to: tell them what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you just told them.

Not anymore. People’s attention spans and retention abilities have dramatically decreased over the last 10 – 15 years. Depending on the research it’s now believed the average person needs to hear something 5 – 7 times before he understands and remembers it.

This new standard in learning has changed the way effective businesses conduct their training. Training modules are shorter and on-going, which gives employees the chance to retain and integrate the material.

The new normal is particularly important in retail. Well-trained employees are still one of the best ways to prevent shoplifting. Therefore, a successful store will combine new training methods with fundamental shoplifting prevention techniques.

Pay attention at all times

Distracted employees are a real problem in retail and it’s getting worse. Training includes, but isn’t limited to: the store’s policy on cell phone use, avoidance of personal on-the-floor conversations, proper customer service, common shoplifting tactics, and how to handle “lingering” customers.

Greet and be attentive to every customer

Friendly, conscientious employees are a natural deterrent to shoplifters. Impulse or thrill thieves are less likely to act and professional ones are more likely to go somewhere else where the employees are less diligent.

Monitor the high risk areas/merchandise

Ongoing reminders of at-risk areas are useful. When people get familiar with their environment they don’t “see” it any more. The dark area in the corner gets ignored because they stop seeing it as a prime shoplifting site.

Some items will always be a target for theft, while others are just the most recent trend. It makes employees’ jobs easier if they know that pink T-shirts are now disappearing, rather than the blue ones that were 3 months ago.

A solid, basic training program which provides a solid, basic education to employees is still the most effective way to prevent shoplifting. An additional bonus is, when done correctly, it can increase morale and employee buy-in.

Nicole Abbott is a professional writer who’s had over 200 articles published. She’s a business consultant and former psycho-therapist with over 20 years of experience in mental health, business and addiction. She’s a coach, lecturer, trainer and facilitator. She has conducted over 200 workshops, trainings, presentations, seminars and college classes.

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, Background checks, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Periodic inventory, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, surveillance

Get More Out Of Your Burglar Alarm System

April 28, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Is your burglar alarm giving you all it’s got? Technology keeps updating but there is one area you may not be thinking about getting more from your dollar: your burglar alarm system.

Alarm systems can now do so much more for the retailer. First, if you are still transmitting alarm signals via your phone line, then you are very vulnerable. Phone lines are really terrible for transmitting signals. They are slow and unreliable. Your phone line goes down and your alarm is not going to communicate with anyone. Change to cellular communications and you will get the signal out. You see, alarm systems communicate on a different cellular channel than your voice “can you hear me now” channel. That channel is very strong. You may not have good voice service in your store but chances are your alarm system cellular service is great. Cellular signals are MUCH faster also. Cost? Should only add a few dollars a month to your monitoring invoice.

Heard about or been a victim of copper theft. You know, copper, the metal that your roof top or side of building air conditioner units tubing is made of. Thieves will tear up your a/c just to steal that copper to sell it. This leaves your business down until replacement and repair can be completed. Your alarm company can put a sensor on your outside a/c unit that will trip your alarm, if they try to tamper with it. Cost of the part is about $70 +/-.

Do you have valuable property at your business such as equipment, artwork….. that is never to be moved or removed from the premises? Honeywell makes a wireless sensor that is about half the size of a pack of cigarettes. This sensor attaches to that item. It can be programed different ways to notify you if the item is moved or removed. This sensor is monitored by your burglar alarm system.

Your alarm company can guide you. If they don’t have a solution or don’t understand, then you should look for another vendor who can think outside the box.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, retail security and monitoring, shoplifting violence

FOUR STORY FALL FROM GRACE

April 28, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

It’s not too many industries where I can share two separate stories of a crook falling four stories after trying to steal. This is why I chose Loss Prevention as my career. It’s not the thrill of the chase, or the feeling I get when I close a big case; no, it’s the funny stories I get to tell!

I’m a Regional LP Manager for a medium sized company. I have about 30 stores across a few states. That also means I’m on the alarm call list for all 30 stores. Basically, if there’s an alarm activation, the monitoring company contacts the store managers, in order of proximity to the store. If they go down the list twice, with no answer, they try the district manager. If the DM doesn’t answer, the call goes to the regional manager (who of course never answers). If none of those folks answer the phone, I get the call. ( I always answer). You would think that it wouldn’t be too common for me to get this call. In fact, as I’m typing this I had to take a break to answer one. Most of the time, it’s false alarms and a manager needs to respond in order to reset the alarm. Sometimes, however, it’s an actual burglary.

About 4 years ago, it was a little after 1am on a Saturday night. I wasn’t quite asleep yet when I heard the company cell ringing from the next room. It’s the alarm company. I greet the caller, who knows I’m the last person on his list and he very hesitantly tells me that there’s been an incident at a store and police are requesting a key holder respond immediately. The store, luckily for me, is right down the road from my home (it’s where I office). I tell the alarm company I’ll respond, but to keep calling managers until one wakes up.

When I get to the store, I see fire, police and EMS at the rear. I get out just as an ambulance pulls away. After a few minutes of searching, I locate the officer in charge of the scene. “You’re going to love this one!” he says with a smirk.

A Darwin award candidate was able to gain access to our roof. Turns out, there was some roof repairs made earlier in the week, and a manger never secured the ladder. This guy climbs up with the idea of stealing the copper wiring out of our HVAC units. Great idea on paper… What he didn’t consider was the near-life ending shock that would result from that attempt. A shock so powerful that it threw him out of his shoes and off the side of the building. He was lucky to survive.

Same scenario, but different store. Due to a manager’s failure to secure the roof ladder after some repairs, a genius had the bright idea to rappel down into the store from the skylight. I would assume that he watched some James Bond movies before trying this. Big difference here was that this young fellow lacked the upper body strength of Mr. Bond.

After scaling the roof, he smashed through the skylight with a hammer. Very crudely, he tied one end of a long rope to an AC unit and threw it down the skylight. He did so right in front of a camera dome as luck would have it… Our cat burglar then begins to scale down the rope by hand; only problem is that he isn’t quite strong enough to support his own weight. He falls. About 4 stories down and the camera captured everything. When he hit the ground, he literally bounces. There’s no movement for a good 5 minutes. Dazed and confused he eventually comes to his feet, only to realize that he has no way out. His plan was to steal several high end items and then climb back up the rope. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. He spent the next several months behind bars; and that was after spending a few weeks in the hospital for a fractured skull and broken femur.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Nano Gate, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, Periodic inventory, Prevent Shoplifting, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

A RETAILER’S WORST FEAR-STORE ROBBERY

April 28, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

It was 4:30am on a Tuesday morning. My company cell phone pierced through the quiet halls of my house. At first, I didn’t get out of bed; perhaps it was a wrong number. Silence. As I doze back off, I hear the familiar tone once again. Who could be calling me and for what reason at this hour? I let it ring. I hear the chirp of the voicemail. Before I can muster the energy to get out of bed, I hear my personal phone ringing. This one is next to me on the night stand. Something is wrong, I immediately think to myself. When I reach for my phone in the middle of the dark room, eyes still blurry, I see the caller ID. It’s a sheriff’s deputy that I’m good friends with. My heart is in my throat as I answer. “You’re morning crew was just robbed at gunpoint. Get to the store now.”

I don’t think I even gave my friend a response before leaping out of bed. I quickly get dressed and race down stairs. Those two missed phones calls were from a panicked and frantic store manager. The other from the general manager. I jump in the car and speed across town; waking the VP of Loss Prevention, the regional VP and the media relations department. All with the news that no LP manager wants to say. “Our team was just robbed. I have no info on the wellbeing of our employees. I’ll update you as soon as I gather info.”

I get to the store and see close to a dozen police units. There’s crime scene tape and the local new stations are already setting up shop. I rush to the front door and see that it’s been shattered. Later, I find that the robber fired two shots from a .45… one round came within inches of a stocker, into the door, gaining entry into the store. At this point, I don’t care about the damage, I don’t care about the money. I head straight to the staging area and am suddenly taken into an embrace by the morning manager; someone I’ve worked alongside for 10 years. She’s shaken up, but OK. So is the rest of the team. I finally have good news. I send a quick text to my boss that all employees are safe; no injuries. We lost $9k and have a broken door. All replaceable.

It was no accident that our team made it out of this ordeal safely.

Every single week, our company’s robbery policy and procedure is covered with our teams. While a robbery can happen at any time of the day or night, they are most likely going to occur early in the morning, or late at night. Training your team to react to this scenario greatly increases your chance of getting out unharmed. So we train, constantly on three very important points.

Comply – there is no need to argue with a guy with a gun. Everything in the store can be replaced. The company brings in several billions of dollars each year; the amount of cash that can physically be taken is nothing compared to your safety.
Give them whatever they want — if they want cash, give them cash. If they want the entire electronics department, let em’ have it. If they want you to open each cash register for the change, then that’s what we’re going to do in order to get them out. Do not argue, do not deny. Your job is to get them out of the store as quickly as possible and without incident. Let our cameras and law enforcement partners’ worry about trying to identify them.
Never, under any circumstance, contact the police while there is an active robbery – We never want a robbery to turn into a hostage situation. If the police show up quickly, the robbers could panic and hold the team hostage. There is also the possibility of a shoot-out with police and the potential for injury to the team. This point cannot be stressed enough. Wait until you are positive that the robber has fled the scene before making that call; because once you do, you’re going to have every free unit across the city rushing to your doors.

While I hope to never have to see one of my teams go through an ordeal such as this again, I know that there will always exist the remote possibility of it happening again; whether it’s to one of my stores, or to one of yours. If you’ve never thought about implementing a robbery policy/procedure before, I would highly suggest doing so now. The better you plan for such an act, the better your chances of coming through without injury. Remember, money and merchandise can be replaced; a team member cannot.

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, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Periodic inventory, Perpetual Inventory, POS ROI, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Is Your Loss Prevention Team Ready?

April 20, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Employee theft, shoplifting, and administrative mistakes are the three major sources of retail shrinkage in the United States. Shoplifting according to the National Association for Shoplifting prevention, is done by millions of people and is costing the country billions of dollar’s worth of merchandise that is being stolen. The millions of dollars spent by these retail stores to prevent shoplifting, is minor considering the billions of dollars lost by employee theft and shoplifting. Among other preventive measures your retail store is taking, is a well trained prevention team included? For more about this topic, follow the links below.

Bar the Door

Anti-theft glass makes storefronts less vulnerable to break-ins

With all the talk about the very real need to protect the security of customer information and an enterprise’s data, it can be easy to forget the reality of in-person threats to a retail establishment. Theft and other forms of shrinkage are no small matter — in 2014, retailers reported average shrinkage of 1.4 percent, according to the most recent National Retail Federation/University of Florida National Retail Security Survey. That equates to $44 billion.

Shoplifting and organized retail crime represented 38 percent of inventory shrinkage for the 100 retailers that participated in the survey; in 2014 the average dollar loss was $318 per shoplifting incident. Criminals gain access in any number of ways; some brazenly walk in during operating hours while others break in while the store is closed.

A gas station/convenience store owner in Daytona Beach, Fla., experienced a number of storefront break-ins that involved criminals smashing the glass of the front door.

How to implement smarter employee theft detection

No retail business wants to believe that they might be subject to theft from their own employees. Unfortunately, it is a very real problem. It might be stealing items on their person, or exploiting employee discount privileges to significantly reduce the price – either way, employee theft can account for as much as 28 per cent of unexplained inventory loss globally, according to the recent Global Theft Barometer Report.

In order to prevent it, it is first important for employers to be aware why employees might feel the temptation to steal – from financial pressures in their personal lives, to general disgruntlement with their employers. But irrespective of the emotional reason that causes employees to consider stealing, it all boils down to something very simple: they think they can get away with it.

Deterring employee theft

A deterrence, of course, breaks the urge to do so. Whilst establishing predetermined consequences of theft will of course work to an extent, implementing a sophisticated detection system is arguably the most effective deterrent. Prevention is the best form of protection when it comes to retail shrinkage.

Coaching Lessons for Managing Your Loss Prevention Team

Loss prevention managers should know that the strength and quality of their teams can be directly proportional to the results achieved by team efforts.

Some of the most rewarding experiences in my work life have involved building teams. It has always been my opinion that the strength and quality of your team is directly proportional to the results.

With responsibility for loss prevention, new store development, and service operations, my primary function at work is leading teams of individuals to success. After 20+ years of retail experience, I thought I understood loss prevention team leadership. But in raising and coaching my son, I learned some things that have changed the way I view my teams at work.

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

Ideas to Decrease Employee Theft

April 18, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Employee theft continues to rise. In some retail settings it’s surpassed customer theft. There are a variety of reasons for the increase. One of them is that many managers have a hard time believing that “My people would do such a thing”. And because they have a hard time believing it they don’t take steps to combat it.

Here are some of the things they say: “It’s not in my personality to believe the worst of people.” “I try to promote a family atmosphere.” “I don’t want to offend the honest employees by punishing everybody for the few bad apples”. “I don’t want to be a security guard.” “I want my store to be a place where people like to come to work.”

But, whether you want to believe it or not, chances are your staff has, is and will steal from the store. So, what do you do? How do you balance stopping the thieves, while not alienating the honest people? Conscientious managers struggle with these questions. Here are a few answers.

Do surprise register checks – Random cash drawer reconciliations let everyone know you’re paying attention, while not singling anyone out. It’s business, not personal.

Highlight inventory control – Have all staff members take turns helping you spot check inventory records with actual product. Let them know you take missing items and incomplete records seriously. Employee theft thrives on a manager’s inattention to detail.

Check the tapes – Tell and show your employees that you check the tapes. Are the z-tape’s numbers sequential? If not, why not and who’s responsible? What are the average “no-sale” numbers (x-tapes)? Do they go up on a certain shift or day? If so, why and who was working? Asking for explanations is not the same as making accusations.

Promote anonymous tips – We all have ideas about “narcing, snitching and tattling,” many of them negative. But, it’s one of the most effective ways to stop workplace fraud. It gives people the chance to step forward without fear of retaliation.

However, a tip is not a fact and shouldn’t be seen as one. It’s a starting place for you to carefully look into the accusation. A tip can’t be used to get back at someone or unfairly accuse them if you are thoughtful and cautious about pursuing it.

There isn’t a way to completely stop employee theft. But, if you make it difficult most won’t try it and others will get caught quickly, which increases staff morale. Honest, hard working people don’t want to work in a store where management turns a blind or incompetent eye on dishonesty. They want a store that’s fair, openhanded and safe for everyone.

Nicole Abbott is a professional writer who’s had over 150 articles published. She’s a business consultant and former psycho-therapist with over 20 years of experience in mental health, business and addiction. She’s a coach, lecturer, trainer and facilitator. She has conducted over 200 workshops, trainings, presentations, seminars and college classes.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, anti-thefts devices, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, Periodic inventory, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Preventing Shoplifting In Your Business

April 13, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Many people steal because they need the rush of the theft. Some steal because they have a mental illness, and many others steal out of necessity. The reasons of why they steal are many and varied, but the fact is that retailers big and small and consumers like you and I have to pay for the theft. Retailers make you pay a bigger price for the things you buy to counteract the money they are loosing with the shoplifting. The fact is that as a society, everybody looses. What kind of protection can you have as a store owner to prevent shoplifting in your store? Are all systems equally effective? If you have questions about loss prevention systems and what are the best ones for your business, contact us and we will be happy to talk to you.

To read more about this topics, follow the links below.

Kids used as distraction for stealing

By Victoria White

Shoplifting continues to be problematic for retailers with some people even using their children to get away with stealing goods.

Retailers said a group of adults and children went into optometrist stores in the Napier CBD last week, with adults taking items while the children were used to distract staff.

The stores realised the connection when stolen goods from one store were left at the next one hit.

At Specsavers Optometrists the group got away with three pairs of glasses.

Co-owner Mark Blades said there had been “a bit of theft of late”.

“It happens all day everyday,” he said, “it’s nothing new to me, I’ve been in retail for a long time.

“It’s unfortunate but it happens in all societies.”

Another retailer, who did not want the name of her store reported, said the group had taken $500 worth of goods from her shop.

“It was a gang of four adults and four children,” she said. “They used distracting tactics … the four kids were running around the shop and the adults were taking things, one was trying to get behind the counter.

“It was four adults using their young kids as part of the crime which is really sad.”

Staff were able to get the group’s car registration number, and identify the people for police.

ECSO starts neighborhood watch for businesses

Having alarms, locks and security grates are a good way to protect a business, but there are other ways to increase security.

One of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office’s suggestions is involving friends and neighbors.

The ECSO has launched a free crime-prevention program for local entrepreneurs called the Business Watch. The concept is simple. It’s like a neighborhood watch, only for businesses.

Lynnea McCray of the Sheriff’s Office’s Community Services Unit said that the goal of the program is to facilitate better communication between businesses and the Sheriff’s Office, as well as share information that can help prevent and solve crimes.

“A lot of times in a neighborhood, you don’t know your neighbor but you should,” McCray should. “It’s the same with businesses. They should definitely look out for each other.”

Through the program, the Sheriff’s Office plans to create contact lists of businesses based on types and regions. So if a store owner notices someone passing counterfeit bills or shoplifting, they can quickly send out an email the Sheriff’s Office will use to notify investigators and the employers’ peers.

Police ID Walmart worker killed by shoplifting suspect; gunman on the loose

Authorities have identified the Walmart worker who they say was shot and killed by a suspected shoplifter outside of Atlanta.

Lilburn police Capt. Thomas Bardugon tells news outlets that 25-year-old Jaseramie Dion “JD” Ferguson was shot Sunday night when he and another guard approached a man who was attempting to steal three televisions from the Lilburn store.

Police released a photo of the suspect from surveillance video. They say the man fled in a red or dark red four-door sedan, leaving the TVs behind.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Ferguson was a married father of three and had worked at the store seven months when he was shot.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the probe.

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-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Training, POS ROI, Prevent Shoplifting, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Are You Confused ?

April 12, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Are you confused about how to stop shoplifters? Many Retailers are. Often I hear something like “I have a CCTV camera system to stop shoplifters”. The reality is that shoplifters couldn’t care less. Cameras are a very tiny deterrent to a shoplifter. They know you do not have the time or payroll dollars to actively watch. And it is easy enough to create a diversion or simply take your merchandise and move to another location in your store that does not have camera coverage.

Keep in mind that Loss Prevention Systems also sells and installs cameras. So I have quite a bit of experience with this subject. Cameras are great tools but they have their limits. They are great for employee theft prevention and investigation, robbery prevention, burglary prevention and so on. But cameras are NOT proactive (passive)in the case of shoplifting. The shoplifter will be long gone by the time you figure out what is going on if at all.

However, a Checkpoint EAS system is PROACTIVE. It is working 24/7 even when you or your staff are not paying attention. Checkpoint Systems labels and hard tags are applied to your merchandise and if the thief tries to steal you products the Checkpoint System at the doors goes into alarm. We can even send an instant message to your cell phone or other mobile device at that time.

A Checkpoint System never takes a day off, is never sick, doesn’t want a pay raise, and doesn’t want a $15/hour minimum wage. Don’t you wish your staffing was that simple?

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, Periodic inventory, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

WHEN YOU THINK THEY CAN’T GET ANY DUMBER

April 12, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Everyone I know loves a good “dumb criminal” story. In fact, I can’t go a day without someone (store managers, district managers, executives, family…) asking me to tell a crazy shoplifting story. I have a top 10 list that I usually gravitate towards, but after yesterday, I may have to change it to a top 11.

It was about 7pm and I was finally leaving my office (my office in a store). In order to get to the front door, I have to walk right down the middle of the highest theft area of the store; footwear. Most days, I put my blinders on and try to bee-line to the door, but on this day… well she just caught my eye. No, it wasn’t the girl of my dreams…

As I’m walking down the main walkway, out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of this woman placing a pair of shoes in her purse. Let me build you a mental picture for just a moment. This was a large woman; think Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple big. And tall. She had to be pushing 6ft3in. She was wearing a dark green pajama dress, with slippers and curlers in her hair. I did not want to confront her; I was, in fact, a little scared. ☺

I radio for one of the store’s agents, but as luck would have it, they’ve left early for the day. It’s just me and the jolly green giant. I had a decision to make; I could go through and make the apprehension, or try and recover the product that she had concealed. To heck with it, let’s have a little fun. So I continued observation and watched as she methodically placed about a dozen or so pairs of shoes in her purse. She then began her slow walk towards the front of the store. Not having an agent in the store, I grabbed one of the managers, who just happened to be former LP. I knew she wouldn’t mind getting in on the action.

As Ms. Banner made her exit, I (scared that she may break me in half) approached her and identified myself as LP. The reaction was just as I thought it would be. She proceeds to a verbal assault that would make reading me the riot act look like poetry. At the very least, I want to recover my merchandise (and hopefully keep my bones in one piece). I reach towards the basket and grab the purse with my product inside. She, quicker that I thought she could move, races around the shopping cart and tries to remove it from my hands. After all, it is her purse… who cares if it contains MY merchandise?

Before she could get it from me, I quarterback hiked it to the manager, who didn’t miss a beat and caught it mid-flight. The manager then tossed it into the storage closet that happened to be open and slammed the door shut. (It locks automatically.) Hulk didn’t think that was funny and flipped the shopping cart over on its side and commenced to beating the door. For a minute there, I thought she’d be able to make it in. She overheard me desperately pleading with dispatch to get me an officer ASAP and she took off through the parking lot. I have to say, it was quite amusing to watch a woman of her stature running through the parking lot in slippers.

She actually was able to flee the store before the police arrived and I first was pretty upset that after all that I went through, I didn’t have her identity. At least I had my product back, right? The officer finally shows up a little later and takes my report. I take him inside to photograph the purse and the stolen product. After I pulled 13 pairs of shoes out, I noticed there was a large wallet at the bottom. Inside was her state ID, driver’s license, library card and several credit cards all with her name on them. I promptly signed a warrant for her arrest.

Would you believe that the next day, she called the store manager and told her that she had “lost” her wallet while shopping in the store? The store manager, unaware of what happened, transferred the call to me. She had no idea she was talking to the guy she almost broke in half and I actually convinced her that the wallet had been turned in to the lost and found and that she could come on by and pick it up. She did. As soon as she stepped foot in the store, she was promptly arrested by two of the counties’ finest.

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