Contributor

Adrian Beck

Emeritus Professor Adrian Beck spent his academic career in the criminology department at the University of Leicester in the UK, where he primarily focused on research on retail crime and shrinkage issues. He currently serves as an academic advisor and researcher for organizations like the ECR Community's Shrinkage and On-shelf Availability Group. Beck is a frequent speaker at loss prevention conferences worldwide and a contributor to LP Magazine's US and Europe publications. Beck can be reached at bna (at) le.ac.uk.

Articles

Featured Articles

Using License Plate Recognition in a Retail Context

While use cases of ALPR in and around retail can be found stretching back more than 16 years in some countries, it is only in the past 5-10 years that its use has really begun to be seen across a broader range of use cases.

Featured Articles

Why Do Retailers Invest in Video Technologies?

Welcome to the first in an ongoing series of blogs reviewing the ECR Retail Loss Groups’ discussions and research on the use and impact of video in retail.

Magazine Features

Controlling Self-Scan Checkout Losses

In the last ten years, the pace of adoption of self-checkout and pay technologies has quickened considerably, especially in the grocery sector.

Featured Articles

Caught on Camera: Reviewing the Use of Video Technologies in Retailing

Professor Adrian Beck interviewed 22 retailers in the US and Europe to better understand the current use of video and where the technology is headed.

Featured Articles

Total Retail Loss 2.0: Moving Beyond the Theory

Since its introduction in 2016, the Total Retail Loss concept has received critical acclaim across the globe, stimulated debate about what constitutes retail “loss,” and discussion about what the future role of the LP function might be. New research addressed how it has been implemented, its effectiveness, and what changes to the theory are required.

Featured Articles

Unexpected Loss in the Bagging Area: Managing Losses Associated with Self-Checkout

A recent report from the ECR Community Shrinkage and On-shelf Availability Group charts the scale and extent of the losses retailers are experiencing from a range of self-scan and checkout technologies. The research also provides a detailed review of the ways in which these losses might best be controlled.

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Organized Retail Crime (ORC)

Beyond the Usual Inventory Shrinkage Definition: Total Retail Loss

There is little consensus on what constitutes “loss” within the retail world nor how it should be measured. The terms “shrinkage” and “shortage” have been loosely applied to encapsulate some of the areas that generate loss, but they are not terms enjoying a clear and agreed-upon definition across the sector.

Technology

10 RFID Case Study Companies and Lessons Learned

GS1 and the ECR Community Shrinkage and On-Shelf Availability Group commissioned a research study to look at 10 RFID case study companies.

Retail Inventory Shrinkage

RESEARCH: Losses and Costs Associated with Grocery Store Magazines and Newspapers

The ECR Community Shrinkage and On-shelf Availability Group had become aware of growing concerns about the losses relating to the sale of grocery store magazines and newspapers in the UK—a category not normally associated with high levels of loss.

Safety

Amplifying Risk with Retail Security Solutions

Interventions must be highly visible if they are to play a role in amplifying risk. There is no point in hiding it away or making it less than obvious to the would-be thief.

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Violence in the Workplace

Download this 34-page special report from Loss Prevention Magazine about types and frequency of violent incidents, impacts on employees and customers, effectiveness of tools and training, and much more.

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Adrian Beck

Articles

Digital Partners

Violence in the Workplace

Webinars

ORCAS in ACTION WEBINAR ON-DEMAND: ORC March Madness 2025

Available On-Demand Now: Retail’s Dangerous Triangle of Trafficking, Trucking, & Organized Theft

LPM Webinar On-Demand: AI’s Impact on Retail Crime, Investigations, and Interviews

Whitepapers

WHITEPAPER: How Organized Retail Crime Is Threatening the Retail Industry

WHITEPAPER: US Retail Worker Safety Report

WHITEPAPER: Holistic Loss Prevention: A People-Driven, Tech-Enabled Ecosystem

LP Solutions

Advancing Retail Safety with Reveal Body Cameras

Getting Smarter About Retail and Risk

How Flock Safety’s Technology Keeps Employees Out of Harm’s Way