Shoplifting in Fitting Rooms
Will shoplifting in fitting rooms continue to be a problem given new technologies and laws?
By Bill Turner, LPC
Any loss prevention professional who has worked is a store that sells apparel is probably familiar with customers shoplifting in fitting rooms. But how much do you know about changing shoplifting laws, current practices to control it, public opinion, and future technologies when it comes to fitting rooms?
Records are not exact but shoplifting is estimated to cost US retailers between $24 and $40 billion per year in terms of shrink and the costs to control it… Read the full article.
Shoplifting Penalties Rarely Benefit Retailers These Days
Retail shoplifting penalties are undergoing changes. They aren’t all good.
By Bill Turner, LPC
Most readers of the LPM Insider are pretty familiar with shoplifting, its definition, its negative impact on retail operations and profitability and the shoplifting penalties for their state. It would be a lengthy process to learn the laws of every state and their shoplifting penalties because of the vast differences and constant change. Shoplifting laws have changed significantly in recent years—but rarely to the benefit of the retail industry.
Shoplifting and petty theft are criminal offenses that are frequently thought of as interchangeable, as they share common elements. Each crime requires the perpetrator to take something valued at or below a certain dollar amount, with the intent to permanently keep it, usually constituting a misdemeanor crime.
The taking of something valued over that predetermined amount (as described by law) constitutes grand theft, which is a felony… Read the full article.
California Court Issues Ruling against CEC Diversion Program, Calling It “Extortion”
CEC is “shocked and dismayed,” saying, “This is a sad day for Californians.”
By Jack Trlica
In a lawsuit filed in 2015 against Corrective Education Company (CEC), Judge Harold Kahn of the Superior Court of California granted summary judgment against CEC’s restorative justice diversion program, calling it “unlawful because that program violates California’s extortion and false imprisonment laws.”
In his ruling filed August 14, Judge Kahn wrote, “No matter how well-intentioned, progressive, efficacious and/or thoughtfully designed or implemented, CEC’s diversion program has been, is now – and as long as it involves payment of money to CEC or the retailer – will always be extortion per California law.”
Several loss prevention executives testified as to the benefits to first-time offenders, law enforcement, and retailers of the programs run by CEC in their stores… Read the full article.
People Who Steal: Revealing Quotes from Offender Interviews
LPRC offender interviews reveal a number of interesting findings. Did you know that people who steal often misunderstand LP technologies?
By Mike Giblin, LPRC
The Loss Prevention Research Council conducts more than 100 in-person interviews with active shoplifters each year. Much of what they say pertains to whether they see/get/fear a particular theft deterrent. Other comments and musings reveal unexpected thought patterns and rationales put forth by people who steal.
What follows are direct quotes from offenders, the context of the quote, and the interesting insight that each reveals… Read the full article.
What Is Organized Retail Crime?
What is organized retail crime, really? It’s certainly not a new challenge.
By the Loss Prevention Foundation
Organized retail crime (ORC) involves the association of two or more persons engaged in illegally obtaining retail merchandise in substantial quantities through both theft and fraud as part of an unlawful commercial enterprise.
The primary objective of these professional crime rings is to steal from retail organizations for the purpose of turning retail products into financial gain, rather than for personal use. Typically coordinated under well-planned procedures and rules, organized retail crime can operate on a local, regional, national or international scale. These intricate criminal operations are responsible for tens of billions of dollars in losses each year that can devastate a retail business.
Operations can cover a spectrum of possibilities from simple to extremely complex; involving organizers, boosters, fencing operations, re-packagers, and even illegitimate wholesale operations. Members are often recruited and well-trained, with each collaborator having a specific role to fill in the operation. Sophisticated techniques may be used, to include advanced communications and the latest technology. Working together, teams can steal thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from multiple retailers in a single day… Read the full article.
The post LPM Insider’s Top 5 Shoplifting and Organized Retail Crime Articles of 2017 appeared first on LPM.