Retail Loss Prevention

1
Crime Prevention for Commercial and Retail
Business

• Association of Crime Prevention Professionals

2
Scope of the Problem

• Employee theft costs businesses over 40 billion
  annually
• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that 30
  of all business failures are due to employee
  theft
• It takes 20 in sales to offset
• every 1 lost to theft

3
Scope of the Problem

• Business crime costs the U.S. economy at least
  186 billion annually
• Goods and services are priced 15 higher to make
  up for business losses from theft
• Nearly 40 of all thefts occur at the register
  station.

4
Scope of the Problem

• Shoplifting cost U.S. retailers 10.23 billion
  dollars a year, or 28 million per day, or about
  1 million dollar per hour
• Suffice it to say, commercial and retail loss,
  both internal and external, is a major concern
  for every retail operator.

5
Why People Employees Steal

• Researchers and behavioral scientists
• have debated the
• reasons why people
• commit crime since
• the beginning of time.

6
Why People Employees Steal

• Today there is still no single
• theory or explanation that
• provides a direct
• correlation of why
• people commit crime
• and how law
• enforcement
• can best impact
• the situation.

7
Why People Employees Steal

• Some of the more common theories of why
  people commit crime
• Classical Theorycrime
• is caused by free will
• Biological Theory
• determined by genetics

8
Why People Employees Steal

• Psychological Theorycombination of biological
  and psychological determinates predisposition
• Sociological Theorysocial environment causes
  criminal behaviorfamily school, and the church
  are catalysts

9
Why People Employees Steal

• Rational Choice Theory
• In criminology, the RCT adopts a belief that
  man is a reasoning actor who weighs means and
  ends, costs and benefits, and makes a rational
  decision.

10
Why People Employees Steal

• The RCT can be viewed as an event that occurs
  when an offender decides to risk violating the
  law after considering circumstances surrounding
  the possible violation.

11
Why People Employees Steal

• If we believe the RTC is accurate (we police,
  crime prevention officers, loss prevention
  officer, and business owners) can positively
  impact thief by reducing opportunity

12
Why People Employees Steal

• Without understanding why a behavior exists,
  logical strategies to mitigate that behavior is
  left to chance and error.

13
Why People Employees Steal

• A macro analysis of the why people commit crime
  is further illustrated in the micro analysis of
  why employees steal from employers.

14
Why People Employees Steal

• The 1 reason why employees commit crime against
  employers is that they had the opportunity and
  thought that the chances of being caught were
  minimal.
• Which directly relates back to RTC

15
Why People Employees Steal

• The single most often
• cited reason for
• employee theft is
• real or perceived
• opportunity.

16
Why People Employees Steal

• Why do employees steal?
• Early answers to this question centered upon
  employee based economic pressures
• Sudden crisis
• Living beyond means
• Keeping up with the Jones

17
Why People Employees Steal

• Personal problems
• Alcoholism

18
Why People Employees Steal

• Drug Addiction
• Gambling
• Martial affairs

19
Why People Employees Steal

• The external pressure theory asserts that when
  economic pressures become greater than the
  individuals personal ability to meet their real
  or perceived needs, the employee will turn to
  illegitimate means to achieve financial
  stability.

20
Why People Employees Steal

• Youthful Worker
• Another significant
• causation factor
• involving employee
• theft is youthful
• worker aspect.

21
Why People Employees Steal

• A commonly held belief is that the youthful
  worker is not as honest as older individuals

22
Why People Employees Steal

• Studies have demonstrated that age
  in and of itself is not a clear
  indication that criminal behavior will
  occur.

23
Why People Employees Steal

• However, those same studies indicate that
  occurrences of criminal behavior will escalate
  when workers
• Lack equitable compensation and a perceived
  indifference
• Are viewed as expendable or temporary
• Subjected to a inequitable cast system
• Given limited access to formal and
• informal reward systems

24
Why People Employees Steal

• Unfortunately, youthful workers often find
  themselves in the above listed criteria.

25
Why People Employees Steal

• The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
  report that older workers are more likely to
  steal greater amounts than youthful employees
  with managers and long trusted employees the most
  often cited position that commit fraudulent acts
  against their employers.

26
Why People Employees Steal

• Part-time and Temporary Workers
• A 2006 National Retail Security Survey
  confirmed the long standing relationship between
  part-time employees and shrinkage.

27
Why People Employees Steal

• Shrink Rate of Part-Time
• Employees
• 1.17 lt 25
• 1.5 26-50
• 1.6 51-75
• 1.95 gt 75

28
Why People Employees Steal

• Job Dissatisfaction
• This theory suggests that the organization
  from which the employees steals may influence
  behavior because management, directly or
  indirectly, is responsible for their own personal
  job
• dissatisfaction.

29
Why People Employees Steal

• Common Employee Rationalizations
• Employee beliefs that the employer is rich and
  will not miss the funds or merchandise they
  steal.
• Entitlementthey earned it!
• Compensation for lack of formal rewards (salary).

30
Why People Employees Steal

• Rationalizations are not based on economic
  earning power or statusEnron executives indicted
  were not minimum wage earners!

31
Why People Employees Steal

• This theory is based solely on the
  perception of the employee.

32
Why People Employees Steal

• Social Control
• This theory suggests that the broadly shared
  formal and informal social structures within an
  organization greatly influences behavior.

33
Internal Risks

• Criminal acts or risk threats in the commercial
  and retail arena can be divided into two broad
  categoriesinternal or external.

34
Internal Risks

• Internal Threats are
• those vulnerabilities and
• risks that originate from
• within the company or
• business.

35
Internal Risks

• Employees represent
• the 1 criminal
• occurrence
• threat to
• businesses.

36
Internal Risks

• Typical methods employees use to steal from
  employers
• Cash
• Voids
• Sweetheart Deals
• Value Cards
• Embezzlement

37
Internal Risks

• Cash is King!

38
Internal Risks

• Stealing cash is not complicatedthe simplest and
  easiest way for the dishonest employee to steal
  is simply remove the currency from the cash
  register and slip the money into their pocket.

39
Internal Risks

• Generalizations involving employee cash theft
• Most frequently occurs at the cash register
• (term to remember Point of Sale)
• Not complicated
• Disposability
• Not traceable
• Easily assimilated into the thiefs possession
• No waiting period

40
Internal Risks

• A 2005 Supermarket
• Security and Loss
• Prevention Association
• report listed cash
• theft as the most
• frequently experienced
• criminal occurrence.

41
Internal Risks

• Cash theft can be categorized by either
• Skimming
• Larceny

42
Internal Risks

• The difference is technical, but good to be aware
  ofCash larceny is the theft of money that
  already appeared on the business books.

43
Internal Risks

• Whereas, skimming is
• the theft of cash
• that has not
• yet been recorded
• in the accounting
• system.

44
Internal Risks

• The difference between cash larceny and
  skimming completely depends upon when
  the cash was stolen.

45
Internal Risks

• Variations of cash register theft
• Giving customers incorrect change and keeping the
  difference
• Cash register manipulation
• Ringing no-sale function
• Unrecorded sales
• Price check
• Voids

46
Internal Risks

• Dishonest employees may also steal cash from
  other employees registers or cash tills. This
  form usually takes place when the dishonest
  employee seeks change for large bills.

47
Internal Risks

• Refund Fraud
• Refund fraud can be both an internal and external
  threat.
• Both varieties of refund fraud are examples of
  the imbalance of customer service and loss or
  crime prevention.
• Loss prevention strategies would focus upon
  strict policy and procedures while customer
  service targets convenience.

48
Internal Risks

• Voids
• Voiding a sale can occur for a number of
  legitimate seasons
• The customer does not have sufficient funds to
  pay for the transaction
• The customer changed his or her mind after the
  sale was rung up.
• The customers check or credit card was not
  approved

49
Internal Risks

• The proper discount was not applied at the time
  of purchase
• The employee made a technical error in the
  processing of the purchases

50
Internal Risks

• The dishonest employee can utilize
  a void process as an additional
  opportunity to steal from their employer.

51
Internal Risks

• Fraudulent voids
• are committed
• when a cashier rings
• up a purchase,
• accepts payment,
• then voids the
• transaction, and
• pockets the money.

52
Internal Risks

• Dishonest employees
• will attempt to
• maintain a
• semblance of
• balance in an
• attempt to
• continue their criminal activity while not
  drawing attention to themselves.

53
Internal Risks

• This desire may manifest itself with informal
  accounting clues such as match sticks, paper
  clips, or other commonly found items that can
  assist the thief in maintaining balance. These
  clues will be found in the cash drawer or close
  by.

54
Internal Risks

• Sweetheart Deals

55
Internal Risks

• Sweethearting at the cash register refers to a
  dishonest employee who gives away merchandise or
  discounts sales to friends, family, or other
  co-conspirators

56
Internal Risks

• Sweethearting is accomplished in several methods
• Cashiers ring up only the lower-priced items
• Manually override the prices of the items they do
  ring up
• Give improper change.more than required

57
Internal Risks

• Sweethearting is a favorite method of
  theft with dishonest employees.

58
Internal Risks

• Sweethearting usually
• involves the recipient
• kicking back part of
• the ill gotten gain
• to the employee.

59
Internal Risks

• Embezzlement

60
Internal Risks

• Embezzlement refers to the stealing of money from
  an employer by someone in a position of trust.

61
Internal Risks

• Embezzlement has ranked as America's number one
  financial crime for more than 30 years, and it
  will likely hold that distinction for years to
  come.

62
Internal Risks

• Key elements
• Access to company finances
• Position of trustexecutive or senior position

63
Internal Risks

• For the victim,
• embezzlement is
• an emotional crime
• that involves the
• sense of betrayal
• and shock!

64
Internal Risks

• Most embezzlement cases begin
  with an employee covering a
  small, short-term financial need with the
  intention to give the money back.

65
Internal Risks

• Six classifications of methods loss prevention
  specialists consider to be standard
  embezzlement tactics
• Bank Deposit Rolling
• Check Kiting
• Lapping
• Payroll Fraud
• Expense Account Fraud
• Creating Factious Accounts

66
Internal Risks

• Employee Pilfering
• Employees steal company merchandise and
  inventory in small quantities for their own
  personal use. Most often cited examples office
  equipment, postage stamps, and company products.

67
Internal Risks

• Pilfering is not as dramatic as embezzling
  100,000 dollars or not as news worthy as an ORT
  ring stealing thousands of dollars worth of
  merchandise, but the compounded act of pilfering
  costs employers millions of dollars annually.

68
Internal Risks

• Grazing
• Refers to the
• unauthorized practice
• of employees
• eating or
• drinking
• the companys
• merchandise or products.

69
Internal Risks

• Never underestimate
• the creativity of
• employees to
• develop new
• schemes or
• modify known
• schemes.

70
Internal Risks

• The one common denominator that is consistent in
  most employee generated frauds is when given the
  opportunity, criminal acts against the employer
  will likely occur.

71
Internal Risks

• The number one asset
• of most business
• is their employees
• but unfortunately,
• they are also the
• number one threat.

72
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Proactive Strategy
• A six step proactive
  prevention strategy
  that is focused on employee
  threats

73
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Arguably, eliminating or reducing employee theft
  can make the difference between a companys
  success or failure.

74
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Step 1 Know your Employees The first step in
  preventing employee theft starts with the hiring
  process. The best way to prevent an employee from
  stealing is not to hire them at all.

75
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Personal interest
• Pre-employment screening
• Background checks
• Changes in personal or
• professional behavior
• Clues

76
Mitigating Employee Theft

• The average interview in the retail
  industry lasts only about 20 minutes.

77
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Step 2 Building Company
• CultureIn order to maintain a workforce that
  resists stealing from the company, a "culture of
  honesty" must be created.

78
Mitigating Employee Theft

• If employee pilfering and grazing are
  condoned by management, what message
  does this send to employees?

79
Mitigating Employee Theft

• To build awareness within a company, the
  organization must communicate with employees
  about inventory shrinkage and theft
  issuesregardless of the size of the business.

80
Mitigating Employee Theft

• In order to generate ethical behavior,
  management must first clarify the
  company's code of conduct and identify
  unacceptable behavior.

81
Mitigating Employee Theft

• How to creating a positive company culture?
• Give employees greater sense of authoritywhen
  employees are given more control, they are more
  likely to do what is in the best interest of the
  company.

82
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Building the overall positive attitude of the
  employee
• Employees who have a respectful attitude are less
  likely to steal because it is difficult to
  violate the trust of a good boss or company.

83
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Profit Sharing
• When employees have a vested interest in the
  profitability of the company, they will develop a
  sense of ownership and put the companys
  interests in a higher standing.

84
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Provide a means for employees who observe illegal
  or in-appropriate behavior a way to report them
• One solution to this problem is for a company to
  provide a confidential 1-800 number hotline where
  employees can report observed theft
• Ethics Line

85
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Even with the best
• company attitude,
• it still takes
• deterrents to
• prevent
• internal
• theft.

86
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Step 3 Integrating Technology
• The third area of focus in preventing internal
  theft is technology. It is simply not enough to
  have a loyal and committed company culture.

87
Mitigating Employee Theft

• President Jimmy Carter once said,
  I trust all my employees but I
  always verified their activities.

88
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Good loss management systems reduce the
  opportunities for theft to occur.
  Remember RTC!

89
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Another
• way companies can
• use technology to
• prevent
• opportunities for
• theft is by restricting
• access to certain areas
• and information.

90
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Step 4 Aiming at the Target
• The fourth step in developing an effective loss
  management system involves the act of targeting.

91
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Targeting in the context of preventing internal
  theft has two meanings
• Focusing on high-risk merchandise and
  locations. Often, 10 of a store's inventory
  accounts for as much as 40 of the total store's
  inventory loss.

92
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Being cognizant of the potential warning signs
  of internal thieves. There are several behaviors
  that can alert a company that a problem exists

93
Mitigating Employee Theft

• There is often a marked change in both the
  employees behavior and appearance due to the
  guilt and anxiety caused by the criminal
  activity.
• This is the reason why its important to know
  your employees!

94
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Step 5 Keeping A Watchful EyeThe fifth step in
  preventing internal theft is auditing and
  monitoring the previous four areas. No prevention
  step can be truly effective if it is not
  frequently checked and observed for flaws.

95
Mitigating Employee Theft

• Step 6 Building the Power of KnowledgeIn order
  to establish an effective loss management system,
  business owners and managers need to increase
  their understanding of the problem of employee
  theft.
• Thats why youre here!!!

96
External Threats

• Robbery

97
External Threats

• By definition, robbery is the unlawful taking of
  property from someone by the use of force or the
  threat of violence.

98
External Threats

• Robbery is a vicious and
  sometimes violent crime.

99
External Threats

• The average robbery lasts
  approximately two minutes.

100
External Threats

• Although all businesses are possible targets for
  robberies, several categories of retail outlets
  have a significantly higher incident rate

101
External Threats

• Convenience stores
• Service stations
• Liquor stores
• Jewelry stores
• Supermarkets

102
External Threats

• Predisposition factors
• Locations that have readily available escape
  routes
• Isolated locations
• Open late at night
• 24 hour operations
• Limited staff
• Cash laden business
• Desirable or quickly converted merchandise
• Maintenance factors

103
External Threats

• Robbers generally
• fall into three
• categories
• the amateur,
• the intermediate,
• and the professional.

104
External Threats

• The method of attack will vary but it will
  usually correspond with the degree of experience,
  discipline, and available resources.

105
External Threats

• Developing A Comprehensive Prevention Strategy
• The development of a comprehensive robbery
  prevention program should encompass three phases
• Before the Incident
• During the Incident
• After the Incident

106
External Threats

• No one action alone
• will deter robbers,
• but by combining
• all of the three
• elements into a
• prevention program,
• the business
• will become a less
• inviting target.

107
External Threats

• The integration of all three phases must be
  accomplished if the comprehensive strategy is
  going to be successful.

108
External Threats

• Before
• The before phase consists of the creation of
  physical deterrents and procedural deterrents.

109
External Threats

• Developing a strategy that involves making a
  particular business unattractive and undesirable
  for robbers, while maintaining attractiveness to
  customers.

110
External Threats

• The goal of the before phase is to displace the
  potential robber to another business location
  that did not develop a prevention strategy.

111
External Threats

• Deterrents
• Can be both tangible and intangible

112
External Threats

• Perception of Attentiveness
• Attentiveness is established by the combining the
  outward appearance of the physical building and
  surrounding area where the business is located.

113
External Threats

• A clean, uncluttered, and well lit business sends
  a clear and indisputable message to customers of
  welcome and to potential
• criminals youre going to get
• caught.

114
External Threats

• A half asleep clerk in a sloppy store invites
  robbers.

115
External Threats

• Attentiveness also involves providing good
  visibility into and out of the premises.
• Good visibility allows employees to observe any
  suspicious persons loitering, or lingering either
  inside the business or on the outside of the
  business.

116
External Threats

• Attentiveness includes
• having the business
• premises well lit.

117
External Threats

• The outside of the
• business structure
• and parking lot
• should have
• sufficient lighting
• to provide visibility
• at night.

118
External Threats

• Training employees is another critical factor in
  the attentiveness element.
• All employees should be provided with intense
  training in regard to robbery incidents.

119
External Threats

• The way a business is managed can also help
  prevent robberies.
• Procedures
• Cash management
• Habits and predictability
• Operational laziness
• Customer service

120
External Threats

• Application of technology
• CCTV
• Access control
• Alarms
• Safes

121
External Threats

• During
• In the event that a robbery occurs, how the
  employee interacts with the robber can literally
  be the difference between life and death.

122
External Threats

• The most life saving, critical element of robbery
  prevention is the During aspect!
• The first step in surviving a robber encounter is
  preparation

123
External Threats

• Preparation should focus upon
• Remain calm.
• Dont try to be a hero.
• Do not resist.
• Dont argue with the robber.

124
External Threats

• Do not make any overt or possibly threatening
  moves.
• Mentally note, remember, and recall all personal
  identification details, weapons used, vehicles
  used, escape route taken.

125
External Threats

• After
• Once the immediate danger has passed, the
  employee should call the police immediately. If
  available the 911 emergency number should be
  utilized.

126
External Threats

• The employee should not delay in calling the
  police even if the robber has threatened the
  employee. The employee should hesitate only long
  enough to ensure that the robber has fled.

127
External Threats

• The faster the police are notified, the quicker
  they can respond and launch an investigation.
  Employees should not call the business owner
  until after the police have been notified.

128
External Threats

• The employee should secure the area and
  preserve the crime scene. Exterior doors should
  be locked and no one admitted into the business
  until the police arrive.

129
External Threats

• Regular business should be discontinued until the
  police advise to do so.

130
External Threats

• The employee should request that all witnesses
  remain until the police arrive.
• Employees should not discuss the robbery with
  others until all statements have been taken by
  the police department. This is especially true
  with media representatives that may show up at
  the business

131
External Threats

• After Hours Calls
• Whenever a business owner receives an emergency
  call to return to his or her business location,
  the owner should be cautious of the true nature
  of the emergency and the possibility that the
  call is a hoax.

132
External Threats

• Business Burglaries

133
External Threats

• Burglaries occur four times more often against
  businesses than homes, and small business are
  targeted in over half of the commercial
  burglaries committed
• Insurance Institute of America

134
External Threats

• Commercial establishments are a tempting target
  because the overwhelming majority of commercial
  and retail outlets are known to possess desirable
  goods and merchandise.

135
External Threats

• Commercial burglaries are more likely to be
  planned than residential burglaries. Whereas
  residential burglaries normally involve a single
  perpetrator, commercial burglaries often involve
  more than one individual.

136
External Threats

• Commercial premises are targeted because they are
  often vacant on weekends and after hours and are
  situated in isolated non-residential areas,
  thereby limiting the amount of natural
  surveillance in the vicinity.

137
External Threats

• Target Hardening
• Burglars seek out the most vulnerable and easiest
  targets. In some ways, burglary is a crime of
  opportunity. A business owner can decrease
  their chances of being victimized by increasing
  or strengthening their exterior and interior
  security systems.

138
External Threats

• Since the physical security of the business
  premise is the most significant deterrent
  variable, target hardening is the primary goal.

139
External Threats

• The degree of physical barriers and deterrents
  that are utilized should match the potential risk
  of the business.

140
External Threats

• Shoplifting
• Shoplifting is a crime and occurs when someone
  steals merchandise offered for sale in a retail
  store.

141
External Threats

• Shoplifting is by far one of the most prevalent
  crimes committed in the United States. The
  National Association for Shoplifting Prevention
  estimates that one in eleven people in the United
  States shoplifts, that equates to 23 million
  people.

142
External Threats

• The University
• of Missouri-Columbia
• estimates that 3 of
• all retail prices are
• Surcharges resulting
• from shoplifting occurrences.
• These surcharge equates to
• about 300
• a year for a family of four.

143
External Threats

• Developing a workable profile of a shoplifter has
  never successfully been accomplished because past
  violators represent a wide spectrum of
  demographic factors.

144
External Threats

• Shoplifters are a
• diversified group.
• The only consistent
• variable is age, and
• that factor is not
• reliable.

145
External Threats

• Most loss prevention experts agree that observing
  how
• A customer is dressed.
• How they act.
• How they move.
• What they are carrying.

146
External Threats

• Behavioral predicators are
  better predictors of criminal intent
  than the
• customers age, gender, or race.

147
External Threats

• Techniques
• Shoplifting methods
• can be broken down
• into three categories

148
External Threats

• Padding Items
• This method involves stuffing extra items into
  boxes or bags of items they intend to purchase.
  If the items are found by the cashier, the
  shoplifter generally claims that they didn't know
  the items were in there, and refuse to pay for
  them.

149
External Threats

• Using Their Children Some parents will
  use their children to get away with a
  crime. Parents may use their infant's
  stroller to conceal items.

150
External Threats

• Parents can also use small children to carry
  items out of a store, either by handing the
  merchandise to the child, or even directing the
  child to take the item and conceal it. If they
  are caught, the parent will scold the child, and
  claim that they had no idea that this was
  happening.

151
External Threats

• Hiding Items
• Merchandise can be
• hidden up the sleeve,
• in boots or socks, and
• even in underwear.

152
External Threats

• Wearing it Out
• This is a favored technique for clothing and
  shoes. Often the shoplifter will wear the item
  around the store for several minutes, before
  simply walking out with it.

153
External Threats

• Hiding in Plain Sight This is a favored
  technique for large or heavy items. By holding an
  old receipt in one hand, the shoplifter will walk
  out of the store as if the item has already been
  paid for.

154
External Threats

• Another variation of this method is when the
  shoplifter brings empty bags usually hidden in a
  pocket, or full bags and packages into the store
  and when they feel they are not being watched,
  they will start filling them with merchandise.

155
External Threats

• A variation of this method is to simply pick an
  (usually) expensive item, and to simply walk out.
  This method is favored by professionals, because
  they are usually in and out of the store with
  their item in less than one minute, without
  anyone noticing.

156
External Threats

• Grab and Run
• Similar to the previous two methods, but this one
  involves very little skill, and is usually done
  with an accomplice who waits in a running car.
  The shoplifter will walk into the store, grab
  what they can carry, and run out again.

157
External Threats

• These are the most dangerous types of
  theft, because they are usually carried
  out by desperate people, such as drug
  addicts.

158
External Threats

• Steaming
• This is a technique where a large gang will enter
  a shop and intimidate, threaten, or distract
  staff in order to steal large quantities of goods
  before running off.

159
External Threats

• This type of shoplifter tends to be violent.

160
External Threats

• Accomplice Shoplifters
• may use an accomplice
• to distract the merchant.
• This method is one
• of the smartest routines
• its quick and clean.

161
External Threats

• Collusion
• Sometimes store staff help thieves steal, either
  actively or passively by turning a blind eye to
  occurrences.
• A form of sweethearting.

162
External Threats

• Inexpensive Retail Theft and Loss Prevention
  Ideas
• Customer Service Without a doubt, customer
  service is the number one cited deterrent to
  shoplifting (and other fraudulent acts) by loss
  prevention specialists.

163
External Threats

• An alert employee is the most cost-effective
  deterrent to preventing shoplifting incidents.
  Attentive employees can thwart potential thieves
  simply by doing their jobs well.

164
External Threats

• Fix The Fixtures In most cases, shoplifters
  require privacy in order to conceal merchandise.
• Arrange the fixtures with the goal of minimizing
  "blind spots" on the sales floor. From their
  usual vantage point, the staff should be able to
  look down almost every aisle.
• Designing Out Crime

165
External Threats

• Alternate Clothing Hanger Directions
• One way shoplifters can steal a tremendous amount
  of clothing is to quickly grab as much clothing
  from a display as they can carry, and run out of
  the store into a waiting car, before the staff
  can react.

166
External Threats

• A simple way to thwart this is to alternate the
  direction of each hanger on the display,
  especially on those near the store exit. This
  makes it impossible to take an entire armful of
  clothing off of a circular rack at once, and
  makes it difficult on a tree rack.

167
External Threats

• Require A Receipt For All Returns Many
  shoplifters steal with the express intent of
  returning the merchandise to the store, the same
  or another branch, for a cash refund.
• This can be addressed by requiring a purchase
  receipt for all returns. This creates some
  conflict, however, with the interest in
  delivering quality customer service

168
External Threats

• Lock Up Shoplifter - Attractive Merchandise
• As a general rule, the smaller and more
  valuable an item is, the more attractive it is to
  a shoplifter particularly to those who steal
  with intent to either sell the merchandise
  themselves, or return it for a refund.

169
External Threats

• Keep small, expensive items behind the counter
  or locked in a display case. If the display case
  has a lock, lock it do not assume that the case
  alone will dissuade a shoplifter.

170
External Threats

• EAS Tag Placement
• Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) is a
  system in which merchandise has a small "tag"
  affixed to it which is either removed or
  deactivated when the item is purchased. If not
  removed or deactivated, it triggers an alarm as
  it passes sensors near the store
• exit.

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External Threats

• EAS systems are
• inexpensive, about
• 5 cents per unit
• (tag, not the
• system) and are
• fairly effective.

172
External Threats

• Monitor Fitting Rooms
• Do not let customers enter and exit your
  fitting rooms without encountering
  your staff.

173
External Threats

• A fitting room is an ideal place to conceal
  merchandise if shoplifters can get merchandise
  into the fitting room, they have complete
  privacy, and even a mirror to gauge how nicely
  the merchandise is concealed.

174
External Threats

• Fitting rooms are a high risk area for
  theft and concealment.
• -Privacy issues
• -Customer service issues

175
External Threats

• Signage
• Posting the correct signs around your store can
  deter many shoplifters, even experienced
  shoplifters.

176
External Threats

• CCTV
• A shoplifting study has shown that closed circuit
  television cameras are now the most feared
  anti-shoplifting device.
• Evidencehistorical record
• Expensive
• Monitoring issues

177

• Questions?????