The Hall exists to recognize, celebrate, and reward those in and around the retail loss prevention industry, honoring achievement and excellence across a variety of categories. It is intended to celebrate the lifetime achievements of industry leaders who have contributed so much to benefit the industry they have served.
They have cut the path for those who have followed. They are leaders of innovation, design, process, and policy. They have led an exemplary career, been a master of mentoring, and they have shared with others to help elevate professionals in loss prevention, enhancing the the industry, giving back, and paying it forward, to those who follow.
Law Enforcement Partner of the Year
The Law Enforcement Partner of the Year is someone who is more than an exemplary member of their department, but a true partner with the retail community to make a difference, and an impact, on retail crime. They go above and beyond to support the fight against shoplifting, ORC and fraud. They are making a positive impact in the lives of others and leading by example, whether through successful times, times of change, or times of adversity.
Watch here to learn the 2021-2022 Law Enforcement Partner of the Year:
This Year’s Finalists
The 2021-2022 Finalists for the LP Hall Law Enforcement Partner of the Year include:
Douglas County Colorado Sheriff’s Office FIRST Task Force
Outstanding partnership and work with retailers in Colorado. The team partners with retailers on all aspects of ORC Investigations. The federal partners on the Task Force are great to work with and also care deeply about ORC. They will always take you call and are never afraid to look into a case with most being adopted by the group.
Special Agent Robert Skidmore, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
Agent Skidmore has been a tremendous partner to retailers in their fight against ORC. He has led several successful multi-million-dollar ORC cases. He is a true partner to the retail industry who believes in working collaboratively with retail investigators. His work has now been recognized by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and they are making a big push on ORC at a national level due to his work and awareness of the issue.
Ed Fritz, Crime Prevention Supervisor for the Boise Police Department
Ed Fritz is the current President of the Idaho Crime Prevention Association and Chair of the Organized Retail Crime Association of Idaho, which he helped found in 2015. He has been in his role with the Boise Police Department for the past 9 years, with an emphasis in business crime prevention. Prior to working for BPD, he worked in retail loss prevention and security for 17 years, holding positions from store to district to corporate level.
Ed has dedicated much of his career building public-private partnerships in the battle against organized retail crime, influencing change and relationship building on the state, regional, and national levels. He is a Certified Law Enforcement Security Assessment Specialist, a certified Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) instructor and has his Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Professional Designation.
Sergeant Richard Rossman, Broward County Sheriff’s Department
As a third-generation law enforcement officer, there was never any doubt in Rossman’s mind that his career would take him into law enforcement. Having served with the Broward Sheriff’s Office for more than 25 years—23 years in investigations—Rossman feels this role gives him the greatest opportunity to mentor, teach, and have a significant impact with the troops in the field. He currently serves as president of the Florida Law Enforcement Property Recovery Unit (FLEPRU), and vice president for the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR).
Rossman feels sharing perspective is essential to meaningful success. “Law enforcement agencies must navigate the judicial system, adhering to rules of evidence, search and seizure, and their agency’s policies and procedures to build and successfully prosecute cases,” he says. “By the same respect, law enforcement needs to understand what’s important to retailers. Retailers are looking for transparency, open dialogue, and realistic timelines for case closures. Law enforcement also needs to understand and respect the resources and knowledge their retail partners can offer to investigations, working together to find meaningful results. Differing opinions need to be valued, with the understanding that partnerships between the public and private sectors need to respect how each works, supporting one another to achieve our common goals.”