Amber Bradley

Everyone can agree that technology has made life easier and, in many cases, safer. People all over the world tend to race toward the newest technology, such as the latest iPhone, or the most recent Virtual Assistant, such as the Amazon Echo. In some cases, newly offered features on some of these devices are so minimal they hardly warrant a new product release. Yet, people still line up to be the first to purchase them. This technomania is rarely concerning because it doesn’t affect the masses… Show more

Everyone can agree that technology has made life easier and, in many cases, safer. People all over the world tend to race toward the newest technology, such as the latest iPhone, or the most recent Virtual Assistant, such as the Amazon Echo. In some cases, newly offered features on some of these devices are so minimal they hardly warrant a new product release. Yet, people still line up to be the first to purchase them. This technomania is rarely concerning because it doesn’t affect the masses. Any decision to purchase these technologies is a personal one.

But what if retailers are too quick to adopt a technological solution that they feel will positively impact their business? Worse yet – what if Loss Prevention (LP) executives unwittingly purchase a technological solution that either doesn’t work as intended or puts their respective organizations in a liability situation?

Anyone who thinks this is a far-fetched scenario should rethink their position. Here are three technological solutions retailers have implemented that can have disastrous results. Show less

One can only imagine that the theft of someone else’s belongings must have begun shortly after humans first walked the earth. Nearly everyone on the planet has direct or indirect experience with shoplifting – either by being a shoplifter, knowing a shoplifter, or by witnessing a shoplifting event. Shoplifting is everywhere. According to The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting, by Rachel Shteir, there are an estimated 27 million shoplifters in America alone. This is an astonishing number… Show more

One can only imagine that the theft of someone else’s belongings must have begun shortly after humans first walked the earth. Nearly everyone on the planet has direct or indirect experience with shoplifting – either by being a shoplifter, knowing a shoplifter, or by witnessing a shoplifting event. Shoplifting is everywhere. According to The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting, by Rachel Shteir, there are an estimated 27 million shoplifters in America alone. This is an astonishing number, and one that deserves perspective:

There are more shoplifters than there are people with pension plans
There are more shoplifters than there are students enrolled in college
There are more shoplifters than the entire population of Florida
There are nearly 8 times more shoplifters than teachers
There are nearly 20 times more shoplifters than Americans serving in the Armed Forces

With shoplifting being so prolific, it is understandable how an entire profession has been created to address the issue. Over the years, many different approaches were developed to initiate an all-out assault on the shoplifting epidemic. But like most everything else, changes in culture, risk and laws have forced the former strategies to run their course and exit into the sunset. To add to the complexity of the situation, shoplifters have steadily become more violent toward employees who try to apprehend them.

What is left are thousands of retail organizations, each with a unique set of policies and procedures for apprehending shoplifters. Are any of them successful? One may argue that the death of even one Loss Prevention (LP) professional at the hands of a shoplifter is enough evidence to suggest the retail industry should regroup and find a common, more unified approach to address this problem. Should retailers simply prohibit their employees, including internal LP professionals, from apprehending shoplifters altogether? Show less

The International Association of Interviewers (IAI) teams up with Vector Security to recognize remarkable women in loss prevention through a special edition of the CFInsider, a publication of IAI.

Identifying causes of inventory shortage (shrink) and implementing countermeasures have traditionally been part of the one-line job description of Loss Prevention executives. The success or failure of these hard-working professionals nearly always rests on the elusive shrink rate, despite the fact that all of the elements used to determine this calculation are outside the control of most Loss Prevention teams. In response, Loss Prevention executives are forced to focus their limited resources… Show more

Identifying causes of inventory shortage (shrink) and implementing countermeasures have traditionally been part of the one-line job description of Loss Prevention executives. The success or failure of these hard-working professionals nearly always rests on the elusive shrink rate, despite the fact that all of the elements used to determine this calculation are outside the control of most Loss Prevention teams. In response, Loss Prevention executives are forced to focus their limited resources where they feel they can reduce the greatest amount of shrink in the shortest amount of time.

But are they selecting the right stores? You may be surprised. Show less