On Wednesday, July 27, over 70 retail professionals along with Houston law enforcement personnel stepped away from their jobs to take part in a groundbreaking event: the Loss Prevention Research Council’s (LPRC) Houston Robbery Prevention Summit.
The meeting started with Dr. Read Hayes of the LPRC introducing goals and objectives for the gathering. Speakers from Walmart and Sam’s Club presented findings on robbery trends in the Houston market, along with organized retail crime analyses. CAP Index followed with a presentation on findings of Houston robbery trends in different retail sectors coupled with crime mappings over the past three years.
Soon after, Walmart’s representative, Russell Hinds, led a discussion on robbery offenders and the various mitigation efforts deployed by different retailers. Law enforcement then provided recommendations based on those efforts.
Lastly, the retailers, along with FBI, ATF, and HSI special agents, brainstormed with local law enforcement on how to better bridge present-day gaps enveloped within the communication system in order to effectively combat crimes in Houston.
The summit was a great success as it not only brought together a great number of retail professionals and law enforcement personnel but gave everyone an opportunity to collaborate on how the community as a whole can move forward in the future robbery prevention endeavors. The summit will lead to retailer-law enforcement professionals working together over the next year in the Houston area to reduce violent retail crime.