Retail Crime

As the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail celebrates its tenth anniversary, perhaps an apt metaphor for CLEAR entering its second decade is a child on the precipice of adolescence—still hopeful, not without challenges, and hitting a growth spurt. In just the last year, CLEAR has doubled in size.

Over 430 people made their way to the University of Florida’s Gainesville campus for the Loss Prevention Research Council’s 2019 Impact conference. The three-day event focused heavily on learning and collaboration, as well as research on evidence-based tactics and strategies to reduce retail crime and loss.

Jay Mealing is the typical Walmart Cinderella story. He started in the Garden Center as an hourly associate in 1990 at a store in Columbia, South Carolina. Almost 30 years later, he is senior director of global security for Walmart International. Not bad for a country boy from South Carolina. Read his story.

Quiz an LP investigator about trends in ORC, and it’s nearly certain that he or she will mention the opioid crisis, the fact that...

As retailers have responded to the evolving needs of the business, most have changed their return policies and typically issue a gift card or...

Protective signage is designed to credibly warn offenders that their contemplated criminal act will be quickly detected and seriously responded to. Signage can also prime or reinforce other interventions like CCTV or EAS. But do customers, and more importantly potential offenders, even notice signage and, if so, does it deter theft?

The extent to which retail investigations have been transformed by analytics is a good reflection of just how quickly things move in a technology age. LP execs from Bloomingdale’s, Safeway, Home Depot, Designer Brands, Best Buy, and Walmart weigh in on the evolution of investigations.

When it comes to fitting room shoplifting, it’s impossible to accurately gauge the total loss. However, the anonymity provided is still the shoplifter’s best friend. But changing privacy and surveillance laws are making it more and more difficult to combat fitting room thefts. Consider this partial list of suggested LP tactics.

Based on their very nature, flash mob robberies are hard to prevent. But it’s critical that all retailers train their employees to be aware and alert to the possibility, to not engage the mob in any way, to concentrate on remembering descriptions of perpetrators and vehicles, and to call the police as soon as it’s safe. Here are 10 ways to protect employees and customers in a flash mob event.