“Ban the box! Ban the Box!” The mantra is picking up steam as the movement heads across the country. What is “the box” you ask? The “box” is the small box for a checkmark found on many job applications across the country asking about one’s criminal history experience. The “Ban the Box” movement has resulted in over 100 cities and 18 states across the country enacting laws that in effect banned the box and prohibited employers from asking the question on employment applications. Many people misinterpret the box as prohibiting employers from ever considering criminal history, which the movement would likely relish; however that is not the case. Employers are still permitted to run employee background checks. It is the timing of questions about the applicant’s criminal background check that is effected by the box.
In states that still have the box on their employment applications, employers are permitted to inquire about criminal histories on the applications and they use those answers as their first pre-employment screening and eliminate potential candidates for positions based on their having checked the box. In states that have banned the box employee background checks can still be run but they can only be inquired at the formal interview or after a conditional offer. This purportedly allows the candidate to present their best side, should they have a criminal record, without fear of being eliminated and never having a chance to get to the interview. Proponents of the movement cite high criminal history rates caused by tougher sentencing standards, especially in regard to drug offenses, which are also reportedly unfair to minority populations.
That may be true and no one would likely argue against the belief that one often deserves a second chance when they make a mistake and may be a completely different person than they were when they had their brush with the law. The question remains as to how much risk you as an employer are willing to accept. One premise of employee background checks is they are important because “the best indicator of future success is past performance.” In other words, one who has committed crimes and taken shortcuts in the past in likely to do so again in the future.
My experience in both the public sector in law enforcement and the private sector in security and loss prevention has found this premise to hold a great deal of credence. I can recall many instances where companies I have worked for decided that the CEO or other senior executive’s “gut instinct” of a person was more reliable than the pre-employment screening completed by our reputable background check company. The result was almost inevitably that the company would regret its decision to make an exception on the background check policy and hire someone with a criminal history indicative of problems.
One included a district manager who had a history of drug offenses and a couple of tips were received indicating he was using again or still. He then is directed to take a drug test (driving himself of course) and has to stop at a local head shop to get a bag of synthetic urine that you then microwave to body temperature and attach to your leg. He probably should have not microwaved it so long as the lab technician had to inform us that our employee was in mortal danger because his urine was in excess of 110 degrees. Even after that blunder, his advocating executive let him agree to drug counseling and he was once again caught reoffending and confessed to us he never stopped since his criminal arrest for possession with intent that should have been a flag to eliminate him from consideration.
Pre-employment screening by a reputable background check company is our best defense (if we listen to them) to the risk posed by hiring someone with a checkered past. It gives us the opportunity to evaluate the potential risk even in states where they “ban the box.” Just as the applicant deserves the right to at least get in front of you to present their experience, you deserve the right to have a background check company evaluate the risk posed by their background. You have to know it to evaluate it.
For more information on employee background checks contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Alpha Keepers-5, Prevent Shoplifting-2, Protect Razor Blades-1,Protect Health and Beauty Products-1
Shoplifters Force Managers To Change The Store Landscape
I hate shoplifters. Let me just get that right out there on the table. They make my workday so much more miserable, and they even affect my days off since I have to go to court to deal with them. I have found one solution to many of my problems though, and that is utilizing Alpha Keepers on targeted items. I have had to get a little creative, but they are so versatile anyway, I can usually figure out a way to make them work for me. I used to have a guy that came in on a regular basis to steal those nose strips that help people breathe. Since I began encasing those packages in Alpha Keepers, I have not lost a single one to a thief.
In order to prevent shoplifting, I use these devices in several sections of the store. They protect health and beauty products, like body washes and expensive facial care items. I see many retailers use them in these sections as well. Body wash is a very popular item for boosters. They know the fence operation will buy them because they are easy to “clean” and prepare for resale. Big name wrinkle creams are also targeted very often. Why pay $20 or more at the drug store for these tiny jars when you can go to the flea market and get them for about $5 !? They are also fantastic for to use if you need to protect razor blades. They fit right into the clear case and the store can choose to hang them from pegs or sit them on a shelf. I have also used them to keep over the counter drugs safely out of the hands of kids. There are some cold medications that are popular among teens for abuse, so in order to battle that, I lock those boxes right inside the Alpha Keepers. Problem solved.
I have noticed lately that my packs of lighters were coming up missing when I scanned all the empty spots in the store every week. I would scan the label and my hand held would indicate a balance on hand. My staff and I would search the whole store, and only rarely find an empty package. So it seemed to be a difficult task to prevent shoplifting in this particular section, even though it is really no more than ten feet from the checkout counter. So what is my solution to this problem? Drop the packs down into Alpha Keepers when they arrive on the next truck and hang them back on the pegs I normally display them from. I certainly don’t want to put them behind the counter and hide them. Customers don’t like to have to ask for items they wish to purchase. If they don’t see the stuff where they expect it, they assume we don’t have the item and just leave. I’ve tried it in the past and that approach just doesn’t pay the bills.
Making some simple changes in the layout and landscape of the store is really not a labor intensive task when you have tools like Alpha Keepers. They do the work for you and keep the products you sell out on the floor for ease of shopping. You keep your inventory visible and in front of the customer. That is the key. They require little to no training for your staff because they are very simple to use. They open with the magnet key very quickly so your customers are not inconvenienced at all. They have alarm capabilities that are compatible with the Checkpoint System, so it’s a win-win situation.
For more information on Alpha Keepers, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 or Preventshopliftingloss.net
I hate shoplifters. Let me just get that right out there on the table. They make my workday so much more miserable, and they even affect my days off since I have to go to court to deal with them. I have found one solution to many of my problems though, and that is utilizing Alpha Keepers on targeted items. I have had to get a little creative, but they are so versatile anyway, I can usually figure out a way to make them work for me. I used to have a guy that came in on a regular basis to steal those nose strips that help people breathe. Since I began encasing those packages in Alpha Keepers, I have not lost a single one to a thief.
In order to prevent shoplifting, I use these devices in several sections of the store. They protect health and beauty products, like body washes and expensive facial care items. I see many retailers use them in these sections as well. Body wash is a very popular item for boosters. They know the fence operation will buy them because they are easy to “clean” and prepare for resale. Big name wrinkle creams are also targeted very often. Why pay $20 or more at the drug store for these tiny jars when you can go to the flea market and get them for about $5 !? They are also fantastic for to use if you need to protect razor blades. They fit right into the clear case and the store can choose to hang them from pegs or sit them on a shelf. I have also used them to keep over the counter drugs safely out of the hands of kids. There are some cold medications that are popular among teens for abuse, so in order to battle that, I lock those boxes right inside the Alpha Keepers. Problem solved.
I have noticed lately that my packs of lighters were coming up missing when I scanned all the empty spots in the store every week. I would scan the label and my hand held would indicate a balance on hand. My staff and I would search the whole store, and only rarely find an empty package. So it seemed to be a difficult task to prevent shoplifting in this particular section, even though it is really no more than ten feet from the checkout counter. So what is my solution to this problem? Drop the packs down into Alpha Keepers when they arrive on the next truck and hang them back on the pegs I normally display them from. I certainly don’t want to put them behind the counter and hide them. Customers don’t like to have to ask for items they wish to purchase. If they don’t see the stuff where they expect it, they assume we don’t have the item and just leave. I’ve tried it in the past and that approach just doesn’t pay the bills.
Making some simple changes in the layout and landscape of the store is really not a labor intensive task when you have tools like Alpha Keepers. They do the work for you and keep the products you sell out on the floor for ease of shopping. You keep your inventory visible and in front of the customer. That is the key. They require little to no training for your staff because they are very simple to use. They open with the magnet key very quickly so your customers are not inconvenienced at all. They have alarm capabilities that are compatible with the Checkpoint System, so it’s a win-win situation.
For more information on Alpha Keepers, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 or Preventshopliftingloss.net
Bottle Locks-4 , Alpha Security-2 , Liquor Bottle Security-2, Bottle Lock-1
It Was The Bearded Guy, Not The One Armed Man
I am stunned at the number of liquor store thefts that occur on a daily basis. All I have to do is key it into a search engine, and boom, there they are. Now, in my career as a store manager for a small retail pharmacy, I have come to some conclusions. If thieves are successful, they will continue until they are stopped. In my store, one of the most effective tools we use to stop rampant theft was a product by Alpha Security. Alpha Keepers are clear boxes that we utilize to display the most commonly targeted items. This allows us to keep the items on the sales floor, and give the customer the freedom to pick it up from it’s home shelf location, instead of forcing them to come to the front to ask for it.
There are similar products by Alpha Security that are perfect for the business that needs liquor bottle security. They are called, very simply, bottle locks. They fit right over the top of almost any size bottle, and they are an ingenious way to protect the valuable inventory. Another great reason to invest in bottle locks is that they have different levels of alarm capabilities. They can self alarm if they are tampered with or if someone attempts to remove them without the proper key. They will also set off the Checkpoint System if someone attempts to take a protected bottle too close to the door. They also have the ability to continue to self alarm if a thief is able to successfully remove a protected bottle from the store. The fact is that the bottle lock is such a heavyweight, the bottle itself will likely shatter before the lock breaks. So the risk is not worth the reward, so this will not be a common problem.
I read a recent story from over the summer where a brazen theft could have been stopped by bottle locks. A bearded man walked into a liquor store and headed straight over to the expensive top shelf vodkas. He stood there a moment, and then picked up three 1.75 liter bottles, that retailed over $50 each. Then he walked straight out the front door. The staff never noticed him. A moment later a woman came in and said she had just seen a bearded man running toward a waiting car near their front door, carrying the three bottles. She thought it was odd. She was in her car passing by, but was so bothered by the scene, she turned around and came back to alert the staff. She asked them if they had just had a thief, and they started looking around. It didn’t take them very long to discover the empty space on the shelf where the vodka had been. Of course they called the police, but with this reactive type of behavior, he probably won’t be caught. They didn’t have a clear shot of him on camera, so their only hope is that someone will turn him in. So if you partied with a bearded man over the summer, and he served very expensive liquor, you may be able to get a handsome reward for his arrest. Otherwise, this guy got away and had a good time with $150 worth of free booze. If he had tried that with a store that used bottle locks, he would more likely have been caught, if he even tried the theft there at all.
Another great benefit of real liquor bottle security tools like these, is their power of deterrence. It’s much better to prevent the loss than deal with the thief and the court system.
For more information on bottle locks, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 or Bottlelock.net
I am stunned at the number of liquor store thefts that occur on a daily basis. All I have to do is key it into a search engine, and boom, there they are. Now, in my career as a store manager for a small retail pharmacy, I have come to some conclusions. If thieves are successful, they will continue until they are stopped. In my store, one of the most effective tools we use to stop rampant theft was a product by Alpha Security. Alpha Keepers are clear boxes that we utilize to display the most commonly targeted items. This allows us to keep the items on the sales floor, and give the customer the freedom to pick it up from it’s home shelf location, instead of forcing them to come to the front to ask for it.
There are similar products by Alpha Security that are perfect for the business that needs liquor bottle security. They are called, very simply, bottle locks. They fit right over the top of almost any size bottle, and they are an ingenious way to protect the valuable inventory. Another great reason to invest in bottle locks is that they have different levels of alarm capabilities. They can self alarm if they are tampered with or if someone attempts to remove them without the proper key. They will also set off the Checkpoint Systems if someone attempts to take a protected bottle too close to the door. They also have the ability to continue to self alarm if a thief is able to successfully remove a protected bottle from the store. The fact is that the bottle lock is such a heavyweight, the bottle itself will likely shatter before the lock breaks. So the risk is not worth the reward, so this will not be a common problem.
I read a recent story from over the summer where a brazen theft could have been stopped by bottle locks. A bearded man walked into a liquor store and headed straight over to the expensive top shelf vodkas. He stood there a moment, and then picked up three 1.75 liter bottles, that retailed over $50 each. Then he walked straight out the front door. The staff never noticed him. A moment later a woman came in and said she had just seen a bearded man running toward a waiting car near their front door, carrying the three bottles. She thought it was odd. She was in her car passing by, but was so bothered by the scene, she turned around and came back to alert the staff. She asked them if they had just had a thief, and they started looking around. It didn’t take them very long to discover the empty space on the shelf where the vodka had been. Of course they called the police, but with this reactive type of behavior, he probably won’t be caught. They didn’t have a clear shot of him on camera, so their only hope is that someone will turn him in. So if you partied with a bearded man over the summer, and he served very expensive liquor, you may be able to get a handsome reward for his arrest. Otherwise, this guy got away and had a good time with $150 worth of free booze. If he had tried that with a store that used bottle locks, he would more likely have been caught, if he even tried the theft there at all.
Another great benefit of real liquor bottle security tools like these, is their power of deterrence. It’s much better to prevent the loss than deal with the thief and the court system.
For more information on bottle locks, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 or Bottlelock.net
