Shoplifting Prevention

Electronic Article Surveillance

February 14, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

The early experimentation with electronic article surveillance (EAS) began with the prerecorded entertainment industry around the 1980’s. The implementation of EAS in stores with high shrinkage if well implemented gave extraordinary results. The shrinkage rates were reduced from 40 t0 50% in one year, thus gave the explosive growth of the installation of EAS. After 20 years of developing better EAS, retailers are still fighting against organized shoplifting.

Please read more about this topic by following the links below.

What is source tagging ?

What is source tagging ?
As its name implies, source tagging is the embedding of disposable RF security labels at either the point of manufacture or packaging. Source tagging has been highly successful in the packaged products industry, and retailers, such as discount giant Target, are starting to use it for merchandise such as earrings, apparel, shoes, batteries, videocassettes, audiotapes, computer software, sporting goods and electronics. (Retailers’ interest in source tagging has increased as shoplifters have gotten around anti-shoplifting tags applied to the outside of packages by removing the product and leaving the empty box on the shelf!)

The newest source tags are paper-thin and easily integrated into automated production processes. These tags are applied in primary packaging (or within or on the product itself — for example, incorporated into woven garment tags) and under labels on bottles. Checkpoint experts say their two-dimensional source tags can be invisibly embedded between layers of thin paper stock or cardboard on standard blister packages. These invisible tags, which are deactivated by the clerk with a verifier that needs no physical contact with the tag to work, are especially effective at addressing employee theft and represent a hot topic in retail security today.

EAS Source Tagging 20-Plus Years of Innovation

Every so often, a simple idea catches the imagination, fervor, and engagement of a group of people and is developed into a successful practice that revolutionizes a business. Electronic article surveillance (EAS) source tagging is definitely one of those.

This story commemorates the evolution of source tagging with The Home Depot USA’s 1994 signing and execution of the world’s first contracts committing to the protection of merchandise with a disposable EAS label procured and affixed directly on the merchandise solely by consumer-products manufacturers or their packagers, rather than by in-store labor. That year about 70 million EAS labels were purchased by a few brave consumer-products companies who had been persuaded to participate by Home Depot’s senior merchandisers, operations, and loss prevention management. Almost simultaneously, BJ’s Wholesale Club completed the same process.

These rollouts, and those following closely thereafter, were the culmination of years of oscillating momentum shifts, frenzied product development, cutthroat competition, legal battles, moral suasion, testing and re-testing, apathy, and resistance. The sweat, tears, and eventual cheers wrought significant changes in the way loss prevention practitioners battled shoplifters. More importantly, source tagging stimulated profitable cross-functional cooperation among business partners that flourishes in retail to this day.

Tough times trigger shoplifting epidemic as organised gangs steal valuable goods to order

Britain’s retailers are experiencing an epidemic of shoplifting, fuelled by the economic downturn and organised crime gangs stealing valuable merchandise to order by travelling large distances to major shopping centres.

Theft from shops climbed to a nine-year high last year and the value of goods taken in each incident increased by nearly two thirds as retailers face a £511 million annual bill for criminality targeting their businesses, including rising online fraud and robbery.

The British Retail Consortium’s annual crime survey also exposes a lack of confidence in police to tackle theft from shops with more than 90 per cent of all shoplifting offences going unreported by store and prosecution rates of fraudsters considered “woeful”.

The sharp increase in theft by customers, which accounts for 82 per cent of all crime against stores, coincides with evidence of an increase in so-called “poverty crime” with food and alcohol being stolen in areas of high deprivation.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Loss Prevention Seminar, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

Shoplifting Control Through Web And Mobile Technologies.

February 7, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

For some consumers, it is a bit hard to understand the shoplifting issues facing the retail industry today. It is a surprising and scary fact that the retail industry losses approximately $13 billion dollars in stolen goods yearly, and the uncollected taxes along with them. Retailers across the nation invest in theft-prevention technology to help them deterred the shoplifter without involving the authorities. Some of the technology involved includes smart tagging, source tagging and entry sensors. For more about the impact of web and mobile technologies on shoplifting prevention, click on the links below.

The Impact of Evolving Web and Mobile Technologies on Retail Fraud Control

As the separate tracks of online and mobile technology continue to evolve and converge, the challenges and the opportunities facing fraud control professionals are maturing at a similar rate.

The main shortcoming of traditional search engines is that they are almost totally dependent on hyperlinks and keywords to identify what data is available online. However, less than 10 per cent of the open-source data stored on the Internet is accessible in this manner and only about 27 per cent of that is in English.The phrase “Deep Web” refers to that part of the Internet that is not indexed by traditional search engines. Estimates vary, but it is commonly thought that the data held in Deep Web repositories is 500 times greater than that normally searched by conventional means.New technologies, or the application of existing technologies in new ways, can bring both risks and rewards. Fraud control teams and investigators need to come to terms with an emerging new world order in which, not only consumers, but also autonomous devices, are responsible for some transactions, and where threats from other sectors such as banking and the unregulated payments space are increasingly relevant to anyone engaged in e-commerce.

5 Ways Businesses Can Prevent Retail Theft

Retailers in the U.S. lose nearly $US45 billion annually as a result of theft. That’s a lot of money walking out the door.

“Retailers have a challenge,” says Steve Sell, director of marketing for North American retail at Tyco Integrated Security. “They can put everything out on the sidewalk and everything is going to be stolen, or they can lock everything up and nothing will get bought. No matter how quickly loss-prevention technologies evolve, the criminals will evolve just as quickly. There will always be a need to increase visibility and manage theft.”

The solution is to make it harder and riskier to steal things, according to Dr. Hayes, director of the Loss Prevention Research Council.

“Retailers spend so much money on technology that is hidden,” says Dr. Hayes. “That doesn’t work.” Thieves need to understand the danger, which means having technology in plain sight. Difficult-to-open packaging can act as a deterrent, as can eye-level cameras. Hayes also advocates “benefit denial” — making products useless unless they are purchased legitimately.

Beeping baskets new retail tool

Supermarkets are electronically tagging baskets after thousands started disappearing out the door.

Pak ‘n Save Petone has used the electronic tags since late last year, and is believed to be one of a number of supermarkets who are tracking their baskets.

Several Countdown supermarkets are also keeping a closer electronic eye on their baskets.

Pak ‘n Save Petone owner Leo O’Sullivan said the store had lost about 2000 baskets in 15 years but, since the tags were introduced, not one had gone missing.

He did not know why anyone would want a supermarket basket, but suspected many were taken absent-mindedly, rather than maliciously, and never returned.

“There must be a graveyard of baskets somewhere in Petone.”

Filed Under: Security News Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Training, mobile POS loss prevention, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention

Shoplifting In America- The Silent Crime Nobody Wants To Talk About

February 5, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

According to the National Association for shoplifting prevention, shoplifting has become one of the most prevalent crimes in the U.S. Averaging 550,000 incidents and 35 million in losses daily. The silent crime that affects people in all walks of life. Shoplifting not only affects the business and people involved, but as a nation we loose million of dollars in uncollected taxes hurting the local and national economy. According to the Association for Shoplifting prevention, 1 in 11 Americans shoplift today, and even with all the security measures and technology retailers invest in, shoplifters are only caught once for every 49 times they steal. For more news about this topic, read more by following the links below.

Shoplifting Cop Charged on Two Counts of Retail Theft

On Wednesday Jan. 8, a New Jersey cop was caught shoplifting over $200.00 worth of gun accessories at a Cabela’s sporting goods store in Pittsburgh, Penn.

According to the Associated Press, State Trooper William Carvounis, 35, was arrested after paying for a few of the items, but attempting to steal the remaining merchandise in his pockets.

A Tilden officer reported the crime after discovering that the trooper had a concealed pistol magazine and handgun grips in his possession.

According to Chief William McEllroy of Pennsylvania, at the time of questioning Carvounis implied special treatment from the police officers, which was “more or less one cop asking another cop for a break multiple times.”

The Shoplifting Problem In The Nation

Shoplifting is our nation’s “silent crime”. Parents don’t want to believe it, schools don’t address it, retailers don’t want to talk about it, police don’t want to respond to it, courts don’t want to deal with it and the people who do the shoplifting either rationalize it as “no big deal” or are too ashamed or too afraid to admit it.

As a result, shoplifting has become one of the most prevalent crimes in the U.S., averaging about 550,000 incidents per day resulting in more than $13 billion worth of goods being stolen from retailers each year. That is more than $35 million in losses per day. Current estimates are as high as 1 in 11 Americans who shoplift in our nation today.

Even with all the advances in security measures, shoplifters are only caught once in 49 times they steal and when caught, turned over to the police only 50% of the time.

3 Arrested After Home Depot Shoplifting Turns Into Assault

Three men were arrested after shoplifting from Home Depot, which turned into an assault.

According to police, the suspects filled up a shopping cart with power tools worth more than $1,000 and attempted to walk out the door. When employees tried to stop them, one of them displayed a Taser and threatened them with it.

The suspects fled in a white Crown Victoria. Officers spotted the car on Rt. 50 near Rt. 424. Officers pulled the car over and confirmed that they matched the description of the suspects.

Officers charged Tyrone Freeman and Ruston Hopson with first- and second-degree assault and theft over $1,000. The third occupant wasn’t charged with anything related to this incident but was arrested on outstanding warrants for trespassing.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Training, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

Loss Prevention Programs For Your Business

January 27, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

The economy’s downturn has had an effect on the American consumer and retailers across the nation. In an industry where every dollar counts, loss prevention is paramount to every retailer and can be the difference between profitability and losses in the company. Having an understanding and a program in place to educate your employees about loss prevention practices can save your company thousand of dollar every year.

Read more about this topic by following the links below.

U.S. Security Associates Shuts Down Shoplifters with its Loss Prevention Program

In 2013, U.S. Security Associates (USA) Loss Prevention Associates made over 25,000 successful apprehensions and effectively assisted in reducing shrink for retail customers nationwide. Every day, details reported by USA’s Retail Loss Prevention Associates help lead to the identification and arrest of individual shoplifters and ones associated with Organized Retail Crime (ORC) rings.

USA’s Retail Loss Prevention (LP) Services are developed to meet the shoplifting and theft prevention needs of the retail community and reduce shrink for clients. Among its suite of services, the LP Division provides uniformed retail security officers, store greeters and specially trained Loss Prevention Associates. In contrast to traditional, uniformed security officers, USA’s LP Associates work in plain clothes and covertly observe the behavior and actions of visitors to collect sufficient evidence to warrant intervention. LP Associates preserve the inviting atmosphere maintained by retail customer service personnel while performing a security service that is critical to the continued viability and improved expense control of retail businesses.

The Importance of Face to Face Loss Prevention

Technology has afforded us the opportunity to be in two places at once. Using remote connectivity, a person can be in one location conducting business, while “connected” to another watching video or conducting a video conference. Even though technology provides us this convenience to conduct business remotely, face to face loss prevention still provides greater benefits as it comes to a solid loss prevention program.

The Benefits of face-face loss prevention

Relationship Building: The success of any loss prevention program depends on the ability to get buy-in from store associates. That buy-in starts with building a positive relationship between loss prevention and associates of all levels. Working remotely doesn’t bring the personal touch that is necessary in building relationships. In-store presence provides more opportunities to get to know them and understand their needs so they may help your program be successful.

Why Do I Need a Loss Prevention Program for my Business?

The goal of loss prevention is to reduce the costs associated with running a business including workers’ compensation claims, equipment and contractual losses, employee and customer mistreatment, or other problems. Any loss prevention program can be tailored to reduce loss in the way affecting the company. Therefore, it’s important to take steps to start a loss prevention program in your organization.

A well-managed loss prevention program can help to reduce the frequency and severity of workers’ compensation claims. In 2010 alone, the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report estimated that there were some 4,690 fatalities caused by workplace injuries. This costs businesses millions of dollars in workers’ compensation claims, increased premiums, and loss of personnel.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, retail security and monitoring, security, Shoplifting Prevention

Lawsuits Against Retailers

January 21, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

When do you file a suit against a shoplifter? Or should you? Is detaining a suspect in your store believed to be shoplifting the proper procedure? The number of complaints and lawsuits against retailers continues inexorably, and the demand for alternative solutions to protect your business against shoplifters, or any loss prevention issues continues to be a priority for any retail business.
Follow the links below to read more about this topic.

Lawsuits against Retailers: The Expert’s Role

Contemporary loss prevention policies and procedures is a direct consequence of the so-called “litigation explosion” that dates back to the early to mid-1980s. Time was when a head-long pursuit through the parking lot and across heavily-trafficked public roadways was a way of life. To many it was exhilarating and the resultant capture of a shoplifter was rewarding.

However, I recall with clarity the case of two teenage brothers who were pursued by supermarket employees for the theft of a couple of candy bars and a 16 oz. can of beer. The two were struck and killed by an auto in the middle lanes of a nearby freeway. The subsequent lawsuit was punishing. It’s fair to identify that very case as the beginning of the end of hot pursuits in the retail industry.

Subsequently, other practices, heretofore invoking mild reprimands, became socially and legally unacceptable and everyday practices, such as wrestling a suspect to the ground and gaining control with an arm-lock, became suspect, again, magnified by lawsuits. Shoplifters died, invariably followed by a lawsuit resulting in the awarding of damages. Awards sent corporate policymakers, guided by their own legal counsel, back to the drawing boards.

The Litigation Process

Despite the greatly altered face and character of loss prevention today, complaints against retailers continue on, albeit not at the same pace of yesteryears, but continue none-the-less. Lawsuits driven by a loss prevention act or omission requires an “expert” to assess the event and educate the judicial community, which includes a jury, on justification or lack thereof of the act or event.

For example, was the forceful holding of a suspect to the ground, who then died due to positional asphyxia or a heart attack, reasonable or not? Such tragedies have been litigated time after time and experts, depending on the totality of circumstances, have opposing opinions.

Camera models that can help improve security in 2014

Many small business leaders have likely made new resolutions for improving themselves and their businesses in 2014, and security measures can play a big role in these means. Whether it means adding or improving cameras and alarms on hand, bolstering their means can be a big boost to improving functionality.

One new advance in camera technology comes from Samsung, according to Engadget. The latest SmartCam from the company works by recording 1080p video directly to an internal SD card. While that prevents it from benefiting from the potential of cloud-based information storage, compression efforts allow the company to only need about 30 percent of the bandwidth other cameras would require, reducing data sizes while still offering owners the ability to remotely watch live video.

Both of these models can be connected using WiFi, can connect to Android or iOS devices using two apps and have low-light video quality, ensuring most situations can be covered. In particular, there are two models of the camera, and the outdoor one can have a range of 50 feet. That outdoor model can also withstand plenty of weather-based damage without risking its power supply or WiFi module, which would remain inside at all times.

Shoplifter’s lawsuit against store owner underway

Should a store owner who shot a shoplifter have to pay for the injuries he caused? According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, that is what an El Paso County jury is trying to decide as the civil suit against Chang Ho Yi got underway this week.

In October 2010, Bryson Dewberry reportedly stole a bottle of vodka from Yi’s Colorado Springs liquor store, Austin Bluff’s Liquor. Yi chased Dewberry from the store and shot him in the face at point blank range as he attempted to get into a getaway car, the Gazette reported. The bullet struck then-22 year old Dewberry in the jaw and also hit a passenger in his car in the leg.

Now Dewberry’s attorneys state that the young man, who had aspired to be a rapper, suffers from a speech impediment. Dewberry is suing Yi for ongoing medical expenses as well as pain and suffering, loss of work, and loss of future business opportunities. According to an earlier report from KDVR when the lawsuit was filed in December 2012, Dewberry also claims that Yi’s actions were negligent and reckless and that Dewberry posed no physical threat that would warrant him being shot.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

New Technology Solutions To Reduce Shrinkage

January 16, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

According to Wikipedia, organized retail crime indicates professional shoplifting, retail crime rings and other organized crime happening in the retail industry. Organized crime refers to professional thieves that are not taking a pack of gum only, but that consistently visit stores and shoplift hundreds of dollars every time. The FBI has estimated that the retail industry loses an approximate $30 billion a year due to organized retail crime. Retailers in South Dakota alone estimate that they loose and approximate $95 million a year due to organized shoplifting crime, depriving the state of the sales tax revenue they would otherwise collect and hurting the local economy.

Read more about the this topic by following the links below

Twelve Reasons Why We Need to Focus on the Fundamentals in 2014

Reflecting back on my humble beginnings in loss prevention, I can still remember the first lesson that I ever learned; a message fundamental to everything that followed. While it may have been shared in different ways or with different words, it was the same message that all of us have heard, still echoed today in companies across the country. In fact, they’re words that most of us have repeated – many times over. But they weren’t words of shrink, or partnerships, or Five Steps. That came with time, and was built upon with experience. The words were more primal, yet far more important. Do you remember?

“There’s nothing in the store that’s worth the risk of anyone getting hurt.”

2013 gave us far too many examples showing just how quickly that message can be lost.

Clearly, the shoplifter is making a bad decision when they make a conscious effort to steal from the store. Those actions have consequences, occasionally much more severe than might be anticipated. But sometimes the cost is much too high. People can get hurt, and lives can change forever. In some cases, lives are lost.

1. January 04, 2013: Shoplifter Dies After Being Attacked by Other Customers

2. January 24, 2013: Police Shoot, Kill Shoplifter on College Campus

To read more please follow the link above.

Retailers support tougher shoplifting law

Legislation to help prosecute organized retail crime in South Dakota will be proposed during the 2014 legislative session, which opens Jan. 14.

“This is an issue we’ve seen exploding around the nation, and it’s starting to reach into South Dakota,” said Shawn Lyons, executive director of the South Dakota Retailers Association, which is working with the state attorney general’s office to craft the legislation.

Existing statutes speak only to prosecuting the occasional shoplifter, Lyons said.

“Organized retail crime is not shoplifting,” he said. “It refers to groups, gangs and sometimes individuals engaged in (taking) retail merchandise through theft and fraud in substantial quantities.”

Panasonic Highlights Retail Technology Solutions to Enhance Operations, Reduce Shrinkage and Improve the Customer Experience at NRF2014 Expo

Panasonic System Communications Company of North America, a leading provider of retail business technology solutions, is today demonstrating the integrated retail solutions at NRF 2014 EXPO (booth #1539). Featuring a wide variety of technology solutions designed to help meet the needs of retailers from the sales floor to the back office, delivery truck and everywhere in between, the Panasonic exhibit space demonstrates how rugged enterprise-grade tablets and wireless solutions can connect the retail environment. This connection enables stores to manage much of their technology portfolio, including surveillance systems, digital signage, point of sale and more from one handheld screen.

“As technologies continue to converge onto one network, 2014 will be the year that retailers truly embrace reliable end-to-end technology solutions that will connect data to customers, employees and managers to create not only a best-in-class customer experience, but also improve overall employee productivity, boost sales and reduce shrinkage,” said Ed McCabe, National Sales Manager, Retail, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America. “This convergence will also enable retailers to manage these technologies from a single device – like our family of fully-rugged Toughpad tablet computers.”

Filed Under: Security News Tagged With: mobile POS loss prevention, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

5 Ways to Deter Shoplifters

January 13, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Shoplifting remains one of the major problems facing retail stores across the US and the world as a whole, some reports claim as many as one in twelve customers actively shoplift items from retail stores. There are simple and effective ways to deter shoplifters from committing this crime, which costs business millions of dollars each year.

Awareness

The first step in deterring shoplifters is to make sure each person entering a store is aware of the company policy of actively prosecuting those caught shoplifting. Signs should be positioned at the entrance and exit to a store that make the pledge that shoplifters will be prosecuted. Follow through with this pledge, by prosecuting shoplifters a store will gain a reputation as one to be avoided by shoplifting gangs.

Alarms

One of the major aspects of a shoplifting crime is usually secrecy, which is required when a shoplifter takes an item and hides it on their person. Shop floor alarms on high priced items, which sound when the loop is broken or the item is carried out of the store often act as a deterrent for shoplifters.

Store Layout

As has already been mentioned one of the major things each criminal considering shoplifting needs is secrecy. Taking an overview of the layout of a store can identify areas acting as blind spots not visible to employees. Altering the layout, which can mean positioning a cash register close to the exit, can make it more difficult for a shoplifter to complete their crime.

Positioning Stock

In general, thieves want to steal the most expensive items they can to get the highest amount in resale value that are easy to access. High priced items can be positioned close to the register where staff members can keep an eye on them; removing parts until the item is bought can also make it more difficult for a shoplifter.

Cameras

Shoplifters rarely want to be identified; meaning the installation of security cameras is one of the major deterrents to potential shoplifters. When installing cameras a professional company will usually assess the store for the best location to make cameras visible yet effective.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: retail security and monitoring, security, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics

Monitoring And Uncovering Theft Through Data Analysis

January 10, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Preventing and reducing shoplifting losses means companies can increase their profitability and invest in research and development or acquire better technology for their businesses. Losses mean the company has to cut on other areas, and hinder their ability to be profitable and cutting edge. Businesses have to deal with dishonesty from their employees as well. Is that something that concerns you as a business owner? Read the following articles to find more about retail software analytics, retailers return fraud, and the safety measures police departments are taking to provide safety to retails shoppers.

Retailers Raise Concerns About Continued Return Fraud

A recent survey by the National Retail Federation found fraudulent returns are expected to add up to a nearly $9 billion problem for the industry last year—with pressure ratcheting up during the holiday season.

With the holidays over, it’s likely that a few gifts might get sent back to the store. (Nothing personal; it just didn’t fit, Grandpa.)

While these kinds of returns are par for the course for many retail outlets, the National Retail Federation (NRF) is sounding the alarm about the dangers of return fraud. The association’s recent Return Fraud Survey projected that the practice cost the retail industry almost $3.4 billion during the 2013 holiday season. More details:

A widespread problem: Like credit-card fraud, which has drawn much attention in the wake of the Target incident last month, return fraud is something nearly all retailers have dealt with in some form, according to the NRF survey. The most common form, according to the retail loss-prevention executives polled, is the return of stolen merchandise: 94.8 percent of respondents say that their company dealt with such cases in 2013. Other common forms include return fraud involving employees (93.1 percent); returns of items purchased with fraudulent funding sources (69 percent); “wardrobing,” the return of already-used merchandise or clothing (62.1 percent); and retail fraud by organized crime groups (60.3 percent). While overall fraudulent returns were projected to see a relatively modest $50 million decline from 2012 figures, the amount for the holiday season alone was expected to increase by about that much.

Lavastorm Analytics Adds Bite to Compass Group Canada’s Loss Prevention Program with Data Analysis and Discovery

Compass Group Canada Reduces Shrinkage by Using the Lavastorm Analytics Engine to Uncover and Monitor Metrics and Patterns Correlated to Theft and Policy Breaches.

Lavastorm Analytics, a leading global analytics software company, announced today that Compass Group Canada, its country’s leading food service and support services company, which owns and operates 2,300 retail locations for nationally known brands, including Quiznos, Starbucks, Subway, Tim Horton’s and Pizza Pizza, as well as hospitals, schools and stadiums across Canada, has chosen the Lavastorm Analytics Engine to improve the accuracy and impact of its retail loss prevention program.

By using Lavastorm Analytics Engine, a powerful, visual and versatile analytic development environment and a key element of the Lavastorm Analytics Platform, Compass Group Canada has been able to uncover metrics and patterns that are reliable indicators of theft and to spot anomalies, which would previously have gone unnoticed, in the massive amount of point-of-sale (POS) data collected by its high-tech cash registers. In initial use, the system has been 100 percent accurate in identifying situations where theft or policy breaches were taking place.

With retailers suffering an average loss due to shrinkage of two percent of sales per year, Compass Group Canada, which had $1.5 billion in revenues in 2012, makes managing shrink a continual priority.

Beefed up holiday patrol deemed a success

Victorville station uses grant money for more retail enforcement.

Utilizing funds from a grant, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Victorville Station increased the number of patrol deputies in retail areas for a safer holiday season, officials said.

“We wanted to give residents a feeling of safety and confidence over the holiday season,” Sgt. Ken Lutz said. “A review of our efforts show it was very successful.”

From Nov. 29 through Dec. 31, officers from the Retail Theft Team, made up of six to eight members, were deployed in areas including the Mall of Victor Valley, Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Kohl’s and Winco, Lutz said.

The Retail Theft Team utilized marked and unmarked cars, uniformed and plainclothes deputies, depending on the operation, Lutz said.

Money for the holiday enforcement was made possible by a Justice Assistance Grant. During the targeted time period, 112 reports were written and 135 arrests were made for various retail crimes, which could possibly lead to future arrests, officials reported.

Lutz said deputies worked in cooperation with retail loss prevention officers for faster response times to calls for service and fewer vehicle burglaries in and around retail areas due to the increased law enforcement presence.

“On Black Friday (Nov. 29) we had one vehicle burglary reported,” Lutz said. “The results of the holiday enforcement period are very encouraging.”

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: retail security and monitoring, security, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

Loss Prevention Strategies

January 7, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Preventing shoplifting can be a daunting experience for any retail shop. What can you do to deterred people from causing losses to the bottom line of your business? Although the holidays are over, the New Year can present you with new ways to improve security and how to avoid shoplifters from entering your business. Read the articles below for more information about this topic.

4 Ways to Maximize Your Loss Prevention Strategies

Most merchants take basic precautions to reduce theft in their stores: they train employees and install surveillance systems. But even with these steps, the National Retail Federation survey found that 96 percent of retailers have been a victim of organized retail crime.

That said, there’s always more you can and should do to make your store less attractive to thieves. Our experts suggest four, all maximizing the loss prevention technology and techniques you’re likely already using.

1. Have video surveillance footage you can use. Many merchants review video footage after a break-in or employee theft only to find that the camera has been turned off or the equipment is not in working order. “Put the main recording device in a locked cabinet and make sure all cords going to the recorder are secure as well,” says Steve White, corporate vice president, business development at Vector Security. He also suggests you change all default passwords for the video system so that footage cannot be erased.

LP Magazine Special Report: Holiday Robberies

A recent news story highlighted an alarming number of robberies and burglaries which occurred over the Holiday season, with the report detailing 108 incidents that occurred over a ten day period between December 23rd and January 1st. 93 of the incidents were robberies. Several of the incidents involved the assault of employees, with one incident tragically ending with the shooting death of a convenience store owner in the Detroit area.

What is much more telling, however, is that these numbers only touch the surface. While the holidays are a time of high stress and heightened exposure, robberies can occur at any time, and with astonishing frequency. Let’s take a deeper look:

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR), we average better than 971 robbery incidents per day nationwide. These incidents accounted for an estimated $414 million in losses in 2012. 652 victims died during robbery incidents. While not all of these crimes are retail-related incidents, approximately 21 percent occurred in commercial/retail establishments.

Providing a list of the incidents that occurred is valuable, and helps to heighten awareness. It’s important that we remind ourselves of the possibilities, and respectfully address the issue. But rather than simply spewing statistics, our greatest concern is always the safety of those involved in these and similar incidents. Such events should serve as a reminder to all of us in the retail community that appropriate protocols intended to prevent robberies from happening is clearly important. Additionally, providing guidance and direction regarding how employees should handle these incidents must be a priority. Training and awareness are essential to safe outcomes.

Lawsuits against Retailers: The Expert’s Role

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: retail security, security, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

Point Of Sale Challenges, ROI And Benefits

January 1, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

One of the most desired mobile integration solutions in the retail industry has been the Point of sale. It is not surprising that retailers are keen to learn everything they can about this solution. The numbers are pretty clear. 66% of U.S. Smartphone owners use their phone to help them shop, and if you are not ready, or don’t have a POS solution for your business, you should.

Read more about this topic by following the links below.

Mobile POS: The Loss Prevention Challenges

66% of U.S Smartphone owners use their phone to help them shop.

80% of Smartphone owners say they want more mobile-optimized product information while they’re shopping in stores.

43% of Smartphone owners have used their mobile device while in a store for shopping purposes.

Consumers spent 6 times as much time in retailer’s app in December 2012 than they did a year earlier.

These are the sorts of statistics driving the retail-sector mobile revolution. Retailers are keenly interested in becoming more engaged with the mobile-integrated lives of their customers. At the same time retailers are embracing their own mobile devices as a kind of retail Swiss Army knife—multifunctional, powerful, yet compact and portable. With both consumers and retailers desiring more mobile integration in the retail realm, a diversity of mobile solutions has naturally emerged, perhaps most visibly the mobile point of sale.

Immediate ROI with Mobile POS

You may not know the name, but you have probably eaten a Juicys’ product. As the leader in special event food concessions, its growing fleet needed a new system, and, for the back office — a real-time view of sales.

Juicys, purveyor of county fair favorites like the famous Kawabunga Corn Dog, Turkey Legs, Giant Western Sausages and the Funnel Cake Sundae, got its start in 1984 as a single-person corn dog stand. In nearly three decades, Juicys has grown from a humble corn dog stand into a massively popular outdoor dining and special event food concessions vendor.

Mobile Grill Means Mobile POS
The company is frequently on the road with its Outlaw Grill, the world’s largest mobile grill trailer. Juicys owner Brett Enright was looking for a new POS system to ring sales and provide better oversight into the company’s back office operations.

With a fleet of Juicys trucks moving constantly, Enright needed to be able to see comprehensive sales reports from each truck, from anywhere, at any time.
Ease-of-use was also a must—the system needed to be easy to set up and move. Enright had already ruled out several options: Wi-Fi systems had proven themselves unreliable and it was difficult to set up a Wi-Fi infrastructure at each stop the trucks made.

The Gift of Mobile POS

Long lines and holiday crowds can easily turn the most wonderful time of the year into the most frustrating time of the year. Today’s consumers are used to being one-click away from most items on their wish list and as they abandon their virtual shopping carts for the real thing this shopping season, retailers should be prepared to keep up with their tech savvy needs in brick-and-mortar stores. This means easy payments, fast service and exceptional customer service. One of the most successful ways retailers can create a stand-out in-store experience is through the use of a mobile point-of-sale (MPOS) system.
A mobile POS system benefits both the retailer and the consumer by creating an approachable workforce that offers improved customer experience, while simultaneously streamlining behind-the-scenes processes. A simple consumer solution such as Square or Level-Up will offer most mom-and-pop shops a solution to the increase in holiday shoppers by offering a faster and easier checkout experience. However, for large retailers considering deploying a mobile POS system this holiday season, an enterprise-grade solution is the truly the only reliable, secure option. Here are a few things retailers with a mobile POS on their holiday wish list should consider when picking out a solution:

Checkout Features: Consumers have more ways to purchase an item than ever before, often at the click of a button. Retailers need to be prepared to accommodate whatever form of payment a customer wants to use, especially if that company operates globally. In total, mobile POS systems should be able to handle traditional payments, including cash, as well as chip and pin, European chip and pin, RFID and near-field communication (NFC). Barcode scanners are also an in-demand checkout feature of mobile POS because they automatically activate with a simple swipe across the scanning field cutting down on the time it takes to complete a purchase.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Mobile POS, mobile POS loss prevention, POS ROI, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention