As much as one would like to think that all you need for retail theft prevention in a store is buying a Checkpoint security system it just isn’t that simple.  As good an anti shoplifting measure as Checkpoint systems are they don’t function as the be-all, end-all device in the game of loss prevention.  Instead it serves to supplement you, the store manager or loss prevention team, in your bid to stop shoplifters.

Don’t think that this blog is meant to dissuade anyone from actually procuring a Checkpoint security system; it isn’t.  The truth of the matter is that I am simply attempting to enlighten the readers to the facts: there is no such thing as the ‘absolute power’ in retail theft prevention.  There is no super-device, no magic arrow to solve ALL your shoplifting problems.  It is YOU who has to determine what suite of equipment best assists your staff and fits to your store’s layout.  It is YOU who has to decide what provides the best coverage of your products and entry points.

Even if Checkpoint systems could do almost everything on their own, they would be nothing without human oversight.  Even the best of systems can be defeated by determined thieves so it is up to us, the humans who can make decisions to go on the evidence before us.  At the very least, these systems provide us with a set of stop-gaps that allow us to ward of less determined criminals and create obstacles to slow down the much more ‘seasoned’ ones.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting , Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

 

In the world of retail theft prevention there are quite a few concepts that are treated as ‘common knowledge’ to those of us in the business.  Concepts such as ‘a camera system is no good if nobody is using it’ or ‘what’s the point in have security tags if you don’t attach them to products’.  In truth it should be common knowledge (or more accurately common sense) to anyone in the retail game but there are some concepts that may not be so plain to see.

A good example would be retail theft prevention using your store’s layout.  Even if you have the top tier Checkpoint security system installed and enough Checkpoint security tags to tag one hundred percent of your store’s merchandise that means nothing to ‘grab and dash’ style shoplifters.  They don’t care if the products are tagged six ways from Sunday.  They don’t care if they set off every alarm on your Checkpoint security system.  All they care about is grabbing the priciest products within twenty feet of your store entrance and getting out as fast as possible.

In truth there is only one real way to dissuade such a criminal, apart from hiring a door guard for every minute your store is open.  What you can do is unsure that anything in your store of any significant value (which is, of course, based on your profit margin and discretion) is placed as far towards the rear of the store as possible.  The more space between that product and your front door means the more time the shoplifter has to worry about being seen on camera, or by you which means an increased likelihood in them being identified.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting , Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at http://www.losspreventionsystems.com/site.cfm/Contact-Us.cfm or call 1.770.426.0547

Checkpoint Systems has long been an industry leader in retail theft prevention.  Checkpoint Systems specializes is anti shoplifting technology.  Their products are used throughout the retail industry.  Many retail corporations use Checkpoint Systems in their retail stores and supply chain locations.  Checkpoint Systems is a great partner in developing a retail theft prevention program.

The Checkpoint security system can be tailor developed for an about any application that a retailer may need.  One of the most commonly used checkpoint security system product is the checkpoint security tag.  These checkpoint security tags are considered your last line defense for anti shoplifting measures.  The checkpoint security tags work directly with the checkpoint security system to monitor you exit points and will notify your employees if merchandise is taken from the store.

The effectiveness of the checkpoint security tag is amazing.  I have seen first hand the impact of this product as an anti shoplifting device.  At the beginning of my career, I was an in store loss prevention agent.  I logged countless hours working the sales floor observing shoplifters.  One thing that amazed me was the deterrent capabilities of the checkpoint security system and specifically the checkpoint security tags.  The visual deterrent that these little tags produced stop many shoplifters from leaving the store without merchandise.  The anti shoplifting capability was almost always seen in the inventory cycle of the store. This technology should be included in any retail theft prevention strategy.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting , Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

When examining methods to implement a successful retail theft prevention program, it’s important to understand why an offense occurs and why certain measures are effective and others fail to deter crime. Developed by Marcus Felson and Lawrence E. Cohen, Routine Activity Theory draws on the principles of Rational Choice Theory and Situational Crime Prevention. A delinquent act occurs through the interaction of three necessary conditions: offenders (shoplifters), targets (merchandise), and places they meet (retail stores). Further, each condition has a controller because they can influence each condition: handler, guardian, or manager.

Handlers are individuals with whom an offender has an emotional attachment and can shape their actions. Guardians are responsible for protecting the targets, such as security guards or Checkpoint security tags. Lastly, managers are the retailers, owners, and employees who affect the functioning of the retail environment. According to RAT, a crime is likely to occur if an offender meets a target in a place that lacks any controls. For the purposes of this anti-shoplifting discussion, guardians are the more crucial control for retail theft prevention.

Most retailers can’t direct an offender’s actions or determine if they have proper role models in their life. In addition, in a competitive and litigious society, managers can only manipulate the environment to a certain extent without impeding an honest customer’s enjoyable shopping experience. When using RAT to assess retail theft prevention measures, retailers can deter shoplifting most effectively by applying the guardian controller to protect merchandise. When applying this controller in terms of anti-shoplifting efforts, the most valuable guardian takes the form of Checkpoint security tags to protect high-risk targets. When taking advantage of solutions offered by Checkpoint systems, stores aren’t becoming places where offenders and targets meet without controls.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting, Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

Several months ago I began working for a department store that was unlike my other positions because they didn’t utilize any type of asset protection technology, while my previous employers all used some form of a Checkpoint security system. What was difficult about working for this store was not only did their retail theft prevention strategy rely solely on apprehensions, but as a result of their lack of security tags, the store attracted a distinctive type of thief that I had encountered sporadically in my previous years of experience, but not in this volume. The troubling situation I’m referring to is adult females shoplifting while their children are with them.

As I mentioned, I had encountered cases involving mothers and their offspring acting as accomplices and detained the occasional parent with their kid in tow. However, I had never witnessed the kind of neglect, endangerment, and blatant disregard for a child’s well-being as I did at this retailer. These women committed acts of retail theft that led to situations that confused and terrified their children and often jeopardized their safety during the arrest. One subject hid a pair of denim jeans under her baby carrier in the stroller, another threw a hat in her diaper bag, and one woman even concealed jewelry in her infant’s diaper. Upon detainment, we would have to not only deal with a difficult shoplifter, but also screaming toddlers and the question of what to do with them when mommy goes to jail with the police.

I believe that the frequency of these incidents were the result of this store’s lack of a comprehensive retail theft prevention strategy. These mothers could steal the high-price merchandise available at other department stores, but this retailer didn’t pose the problem of defeating a Checkpoint security system in front of their kids. In addition, shopping with children in tow tends to set the thief at ease that they don’t look suspicious and may deflect the attention of an inexperienced LP associate.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting, Checkpoint Security System, or Checkpoint Security Tags contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

Electronic Article Surveillance is at the heart of most retail theft prevention programs. Checkpoint security tags have been a long-standing staple in anti shoplifting devices, and rightly so. These little tags are widely known in the thieving community as problematic devices to avoid. They take way to long to deactivate, if ever. Checkpoint security tags draw way to much attention when they set off any of the Checkpoint security system alarms. These little plastic UFOs have thwarted many an attempt to steal.

Of course the days of Checkpoint security tags only being little round UFO looking things attached to the bottom of a garment are long gone. Now, thanks to the innovation at Checkpoint Systems, these hard tags come in a multitude of shapes, sizes and colors. Each tag is geared to fit an individual product’s unique challenges for anti shoplifting counter measures.

Every one of Checkpoint systems’ EAS tags is designed to work simultaneously within a Checkpoint security system of soft tags, hard tags, towers and antennas. Because the hard tags are reusable, you don’t have to worry about excessive replenishment expenses. The tags are also designed to be reliable each and every time they are attached onto your products.

There are many great features and benefits to using EAS tags. It is safe to say that they will be around for a very long time.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting , Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

Retail theft prevention can be a very overwhelming task, especially if criminals already overtaking your store. There is no worse feeling than to stand in the middle of your store and not know which direction you should be looking because you know you are going to miss a shoplifter on the opposite side of the store.

If that is the case, then you need to make a big initial ruckus about your retail theft prevention strategy. One of the first steps is to install a Checkpoint security system in your location. Time and time again, shoplifters say that they will target a store that has no apparent form of anti shoplifting devices like Checkpoint security systems.

The next step is to dedicate some time teaching your staff about retail theft prevention and anti shoplifting best practices. While you may not want every one of your associates to try to make an apprehension, you can focus on customer service initiatives and how they will compliment anti shoplifting tactics.

Customer service has and always will be the best deterrent for shoplifters. Customer service includes greeting the customers promptly, genuinely offering assistance and answering questions. It can even be adding on sales by holding a customer’s purchase at the register so their arms are free to pick up more merchandise.

Shoplifters hate that sort of attention, so make your new policies work for you.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting , Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

I used to think that all there was to retail theft prevention was anti shoplifting devices like Checkpoint security tags. Boy was I wrong. Checkpoint security tags are just the tip of the iceberg. While they are a very important component to retail theft prevention, there is so much more out there when it comes to anti shoplifting technology and tools.

When I first started in Loss Prevention I had a general understanding that the little hard plastic tags (EAS Tags) would set off an alarm if someone were trying to steal. I also knew that the tags were filled with ink that would spray everywhere if someone attempted to tear the tags off.

Little did I know that there are so many other components to a Checkpoint security system. One other piece to the puzzle are things like the camera system. The camera system or Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) consists of all of the stationary cameras as well as the Pan/ Tilt/ Zooms (PTZ).

The Checkpoint security system might also include things like public view monitors (PVM). This is a monitor stationed in a high shrink area that allows your customers (and thieves) to see exactly what you are seeing in the camera room. All of that is in addition to any recording devices and monitors in the camera room as well.

Having a comprehensive shrink reduction plan involving EAS tags is really only the beginning. Your own level of retail theft prevention is really only limited by your imagination.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting , Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

So you have a brand new Checkpoint security system and all the tags one could ever need for a store but still question how to implement it.  The important thing to remember is that any anti-shoplifting system will likely stop all but the most seasoned thieves in their tracks so you need to know how you might consistently confound their efforts long enough to spot them and call the cops.

One thing to consider would be placement of individual tags.  You always want to make the tags visible enough so your staff knows where they are to remove them, but in such an awkward and unnoticeable spot that they prove difficult to remove otherwise.  I have seen a lot of winter jackets with tags placed at the very edge of the sleeves where there is little fabric for the tag to hold onto making it extremely easy to simply pop them off.  Instead I must recommend a point such as the base of the collar or even the armpit area of the jacket.  That way there is a decent amount of clothing in the way to conceal the tag, but also makes it nearly impossible to illicitly remove said tag without causing severe damage to the jacket itself.

The other thing to consider is the Checkpoint system gate.  These noticeable, unmistakable pieces of equipment sit at your doorways waiting for some tagged item to pass through them before emitting a loud and irritating alarm for all to hear.  It does no good without tags on your products so make sure all the items you are looking to protect have the appropriate tags on them.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting , Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

 

I learned a series of valuable lessons on Saturday.  The most important of all of is that if you are approaching a suspect and they are with a group of other people you have to separate them from that group no matter what.  If not, your endeavors to ensure proper retail theft prevention may prove for naught.

A perfect example of this occurred this past weekend.  A suspect was spotted on the floor, followed throughout the store via cameras by myself and the LPM as she selected a fragrance and used her nails and teeth to remove the plastic anti shoplifting shell from the item.  Once that was accomplished she discarded everything but the perfume itself in various parts of the store until she left where she was stopped by another member of the team under orders of the LPM.

The problem took place when she was being escorted back inside.  Before she had been stopped she had rendezvoused with several friends who were not only following her back inside the store, but also creating a scene.  At one point I thought they would start a riot.

While this was occurring she was claiming she no longer had the item.  I directed my LPM via radio to the locations of the anti shoplifting shell and the other discarded pieces but she insisted that the perfume was still in the store.  A friend of hers directed the LPM to a display rack and produced the missing perfume.

We were shocked and under the immediate assumption it was a bad stop until I reviewed the video.  Not once had the suspect come within ten feet of the display.  That led us to the conclusion that while the group was creating a scene one of them planted the item there AFTER returning to the store.

The moral of this story of retail theft prevention: kick the crowds to the curb and just take the suspect.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting , Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547