This year, the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC) celebrates its twenty-fifth year working to advance LP effectiveness to create safer people and places. Today, the LPRC boasts over 450 reports on the LPRC Knowledge Center, more than 105 retail members, and over 170 solution provider members. As Dr. Read Hayes (the executive director and founder of the LPRC) often jokes, the LPRC is a 25-year overnight success.
A Vision Realized: The Founding of LPRC
The LPRC was founded in 2000 by Dr. Hayes in partnership with several retailers. At that time, many leading organizations were engaged in benchmarking, frequently modeling their strategies after the most prominent players in the field.
One of the most influential leaders in 2000 was King Rogers, the VP of assets protection at Target at the time. He recognized that much of what retailers were doing did not have any evidence; furthermore, the research that did exist lacked methodological rigor. Dr. Hayes also recognized this problem; he had collaborated on the first National Retail Security Survey and, in 1991, he published his first book, Retail Security and Loss Prevention. He also researched employee theft, civil recovery, LP training programs, and conducted interview research with offenders and customers.
Rather than continuing to operate on instinct and imitation, Dr. Hayes, along with King Rogers, Bill Titus (OfficeMax), Ed Wolfe and Chad McIntosh (The Home Depot), Gary Johnson (Barnes and Noble), Dan Doyle (Beall’s), Keith White (Gap Inc.), Dave Gorman (Walmart), and Ben Guffey (Kmart) chose to establish a collaborative entity committed to advancing the science of retail crime prevention.
Their mission was ambitious but essential: to generate reliable, research-based insights that could be directly applied to the evolving challenges of retail theft, fraud, and workplace violence. By creating a research council that unified loss prevention professionals and researchers, these founders laid the groundwork for a new era—one in which innovation would be tested, data would guide strategy, and collaboration would lead the way.
Within a few years, the LPRC would host its first IMPACT conference at Walt Disney World, with content focused on the highest loss merchandise, understanding the causes of loss in supply chains, and merchandise protection research.
During its first decade, the LPRC expanded offender interview research and established its initial working group on benefit denial strategies (tactics designed to reduce the payoff for offenders). Early studies also evaluated EAS systems, CCTV, PVMs, protective containers, and employee dishonesty deterrence.
By the mid-2010s, multiple working groups were underway, and the LPRC began producing about twenty-five research reports annually. It also welcomed solution providers as members and launched new summits and events. In 2014, the organization opened its first lab at UF Innovate Square, enabling preliminary testing of LP technologies and offender-informed research.
Who We Are Today: The Five Pillars of the LPRC
Today, the LPRC’s work is built on five foundational pillars: Research, Innovate, Collaborate, Inform, and Engage. These guide our evidence-based efforts to combat retail crime and enhance community safety.
Be a Part of This 25-Year “Overnight Success”
As Chad McIntosh, one of the LPRC’s founding members, always says: We are doing things that are not replicated anywhere else in the world.
We invite other retailers, law enforcement agencies, and technology partners to join the LPRC community. Together, we can build a safer and more secure retail environment for the next twenty-five years and beyond.
