The local library has a societal responsibility to be a community resource. As a leader in information, libraries need to find ways to stay current and relevant. In this digital and technological era, libraries need to embrace and promote the latest in technologies. One way is to utilize a library theft detection system.
Many library theft detection systems are based off of technology similar to a retail environment. They use labels from checkpoint systems that generate an alarm at the exit doors if the label is active. During the checkout process, the labels are deactivated, and reactivated when the library materials are checked back in.
Just like the retail environment, these labels must be easily deactivated, as not to inconvenience the library patron. A deactivator pad should be in a location that is easily accessible to the library’s checkout stations. Since Checkpoint Systems are not directly tied into the rest of the check in/ out process, the deactivator pads can be placed wherever it will be most convenient for the library employees.
An additional feature is that these systems can be flexible in their cost. If the library is small, maybe only one deactivator pad is needed, and then shared between checkout stations. If more are needed as the library expands, then the deactivator pads can be added in.
Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Library Theft Detection System devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop inventory losses.
For more information on a Library Theft Detection System, Library Theft Prevention, or a Checkpoint System and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to stop inventory losses in your library or call 1.770.426.0547
If you recall, last time we talked about how to prevent shoplifting, we talked about customer service. I think we can all agree that providing world class service to our customers is key for any business to stay in the black. There are other ways to combat shoplifting and I think they are just as important to the success of any business. If you are a manager, or own your business, it’s almost a necessity to have a CCTV (close circuit television) system installed. Whether you are trying to catch thieves, or want them for insurance and liability reasons, you should really look into this small investment.
I live in southern Louisiana. My dad owns a restaurant that specializes in Cajun cuisine. This isn’t one of those sit down restaurants, but more of a local hot spot where you can get some of the best tasting boiled seafood in the area. During peak season, you can bet that there is a line ½ mile long out the front door of folks waiting to get their hands on some hot crawfish. With that amount of business, it’s also sure to attract a criminal element that is looking to score some quick cash. Luckily, he’s been there for 15 years and has never been robbed, but over the years he has had a number of break-ins after hours.
One day, a few years ago I got a call phone my dad. He told me the shop had been burglarized again. There wasn’t much they could steal, but were able to make off with a few hundred dollars in cash and some frozen food products. The losses were under $1,000, but I could tell in his voice that this would be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. My dad always believed that people were generally good, and didn’t want to believe that he could be the victim of crime, much less be the victim 4 or 5 times. I asked if he was finally ready to install a camera system. He agreed and we began searching for an inexpensive solution the next day. I remember asking him if he wanted an IP, or analog system. He said, “I want the one that shows on the TV screen”… Simple enough.
It didn’t take long and he settled on a very simple 6 camera set-up. We installed the system ourselves and made sure to make the cameras visible, especially in the areas where the break-ins happened. That was 3 years ago, and to this date, he has not been the victim of a burglary since. There is a deterrent value when installing a camera system. It’s a simple way to prevent burglaries, but also to prevent shoplifting. If a shoplifter comes into your store and sees that there are multiple cameras deployed throughout, they will most likely not attempt their act. Remember when we talked about customer service and I said that a thief doesn’t want to be seen? Well, they don’t want to be recorded either!
While this method to prevent shoplifting will require a small investment, it’s an investment that will pay dividends to your business. Not only will it deter thieves, you can also use them for general liability and workers compensation claims, as well as investigating employee theft and harassment claims. Next up, we will talk about how to further deter shoplifters by using physical security measures throughout your store.
For more information, contact us: Prevent Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
If you recall, last time we talked about how to prevent shoplifting, we talked about customer service. I think we can all agree that providing world class service to our customers is key for any business to stay in the black. There are other ways to combat shoplifting and I think they are just as important to the success of any business. If you are a manager, or own your business, it’s almost a necessity to have a CCTV (close circuit television) system installed. Whether you are trying to catch thieves, or want them for insurance and liability reasons, you should really look into this small investment.
I live in southern Louisiana. My dad owns a restaurant that specializes in Cajun cuisine. This isn’t one of those sit down restaurants, but more of a local hot spot where you can get some of the best tasting boiled seafood in the area. During peak season, you can bet that there is a line ½ mile long out the front door of folks waiting to get their hands on some hot crawfish. With that amount of business, it’s also sure to attract a criminal element that is looking to score some quick cash. Luckily, he’s been there for 15 years and has never been robbed, but over the years he has had a number of break-ins after hours.
One day, a few years ago I got a call phone my dad. He told me the shop had been burglarized again. There wasn’t much they could steal, but were able to make off with a few hundred dollars in cash and some frozen food products. The losses were under $1,000, but I could tell in his voice that this would be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. My dad always believed that people were generally good, and didn’t want to believe that he could be the victim of crime, much less be the victim 4 or 5 times. I asked if he was finally ready to install a camera system. He agreed and we began searching for an inexpensive solution the next day. I remember asking him if he wanted an IP, or analog system. He said, “I want the one that shows on the TV screen”… Simple enough.
It didn’t take long and he settled on a very simple 6 camera set-up. We installed the system ourselves and made sure to make the cameras visible, especially in the areas where the break-ins happened. That was 3 years ago, and to this date, he has not been the victim of a burglary since. There is a deterrent value when installing a camera system. It’s a simple way to prevent burglaries, but also to prevent shoplifting. If a shoplifter comes into your store and sees that there are multiple cameras deployed throughout, they will most likely not attempt their act. Remember when we talked about customer service and I said that a thief doesn’t want to be seen? Well, they don’t want to be recorded either!
While this method to prevent shoplifting will require a small investment, it’s an investment that will pay dividends to your business. Not only will it deter thieves, you can also use them for general liability and workers compensation claims, as well as investigating employee theft and harassment claims. Next up, we will talk about how to further deter shoplifters by using physical security measures throughout your store.
For more information, contact us at Prevent Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
You’ve probably heard me say it before, but if you are an employer, chances are one of your current, or former employees have stolen from you. It’s not a guess, or an assumption. It’s fact. No matter much you scrutinize a person’s background, or how well you think you are in the know, if the opportunity presents itself, and someone in your store has a lapse in conscience, it’s going to happen. More than likely, it’s happening right now… as you read this. You have to stop employee theft in order to maintain profitability. It’s that simple.
There are hundreds of different ways you can stop employee theft. One of the more simple ideas comes from a case I investigated a few months back. I work for a company that carries a wide variety of footwear. We stock any type of shoe you could possibly imagine. That also includes some very expensive kicks. Even if you offer your employees a discount on their purchases, free (or almost free) is always a much better deal in the eyes of a dishonest employee.
The store had recently received some new shoes that retailed for $159. If wasn’t a large shipment, just enough for a few runs. A couple of days went by and a manager contacted me and stated that he noticed that one of his employees were wearing that style shoe, but he couldn’t recall ever seeing the employee purchase them. After collecting some additional information, I conducted an investigation. I reviewed the employees purchase history and all I saw was a few pairs of lesser priced shoes of the same brand that were purchased recently. For the sake of conducting a thorough investigation, I looked at a few of those transactions on the store’s camera system.
I looked at the style of shoe that was recorded on the sales receipt and matched it to what I saw on camera and I immediately noticed they didn’t match. I could see that the pair of shoes that he actually left the store with were the $159 shoes, but it appeared that he had placed them inside a lesser priced box. The new cashier failed to verify the style numbers and he was able to create a $100 loss to the store. After looking at a few more transactions, I saw that he had done this numerous times over the past 6 months. While this wasn’t one of the biggest cases of my career, it still highlighted an area that we needed to focus on in order to stop employee theft.
I then began to review, on a weekly basis my employee’s purchases. While I wouldn’t look at that many of them, I would look at what I thought were high risk transactions. Those involving footwear, or electronics where I knew that prices could be switched. By taking this simple step, over the next few months I was able to make cases on 3 more employees. During the interviews with each of them, they all told me they exploited broken process in the store from training to manager presence on the sales floor. I can tell you that after those employees were removed from the store, the profits increased dramatically in our shoe department.
For more information, contact us: Stop Employee Theft, or call 1.770.426.0547
You’ve probably heard me say it before, but if you are an employer, chances are one of your current, or former employees have stolen from you. It’s not a guess, or an assumption. It’s fact. No matter much you scrutinize a person’s background, or how well you think you are in the know, if the opportunity presents itself, and someone in your store has a lapse in conscience, it’s going to happen. More than likely, it’s happening right now… as you read this. You have to stop employee theft in order to maintain profitability. It’s that simple.
There are hundreds of different ways you can stop employee theft. One of the more simple ideas comes from a case I investigated a few months back. I work for a company that carries a wide variety of footwear. We stock any type of shoe you could possibly imagine. That also includes some very expensive Kicks. Even if you offer your employees a discount on their purchases, free (or almost free) is always a much better deal in the eyes of a dishonest employee.
The store had recently received some new shoes that retailed for $159. It wasn’t a large shipment, just enough for a few runs. A couple of days went by and a manager contacted me and stated that he noticed that one of his employees was wearing that style shoe, but he couldn’t recall ever seeing the employee purchase them. After collecting some additional information, I conducted an investigation. I reviewed the employees purchase history and all I saw was a few pairs of lesser priced shoes of the same brand that were purchased recently. For the sake of conducting a thorough investigation, I looked at a few of those transactions on the store’s camera system.
I looked at the style of shoe that was recorded on the sales receipt and matched it to what I saw on camera and I immediately noticed they didn’t match. I could see that the pair of shoes that he actually left the store with were the $159 shoes, but it appeared that he had placed them inside a lesser priced box. The new cashier failed to verify the style numbers and he was able to create a $100 loss to the store. After looking at a few more transactions, I saw that he had done this numerous times over the past 6 months. While this wasn’t one of the biggest cases of my career, it still highlighted an area that we needed to focus on in order to stop employee theft.
I then began to review, on a weekly basis my employee’s purchases. While I wouldn’t look at that many of them, I would look at what I thought were high risk transactions. Those involving footwear, or electronics where I knew that prices could be switched. By taking this simple step, over the next few months I was able to make cases on 3 more employees. During the interviews with each of them, they all told me they exploited a broken process in the store from training to manager presence on the sales floor. I can tell you that after those employees were removed from the store, the profits increased dramatically in our shoe department.
For more information, contact us at Stop Employee Theft, or call 1.770.426.0547
A couple years ago, when I was still an in store loss prevention associate, I was on my routine patrol of the store I was working in. It was a Friday afternoon and I was working the closing shift. I figured it would be a good night since this was the first Friday since school had let out. This time of year the shoplifting is always a little higher since there are more people in the store. As I made my way through the apparel section of the store, I made sure to check that the clothing security device we had were affixed properly to the high dollar purses we carried. I made my rounds and then decided to get on the cameras for a little while.
A couple hours went by and there wasn’t much activity. It was really shaping up to be a boring Friday night. About three hours before closing time I noticed a male enter the store and immediately approach the high end purse selection. I found it a little odd since he was alone. He began handling the purse, but I quickly realized that he was more interested in the clothing security device than with the purse itself. I watched as he began pulling at the device. That didn’t work. He started twisting and pulling harder. That still didn’t work. I was beginning to get a little amused at his struggle. There’s only one reason someone would attempt to defeat a security tag, so I knew I’d end the night with an apprehension.
After quite a few minutes of struggling with the device, he seemingly gave up and walked out of the store. A little disappointed, I left the LP office and went inspect the tag to ensure there was no damage to it. There wasn’t, so I continued on with my shift. About 15 minutes later, I see the same individual come back into the store, only this time he was carrying a pair of sheers. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Did this guy actually think that no one would notice him walking through a clothing store with a large pair of cutters? At this point, I decided it was probably time to contact the police since he was most likely going to steal the purse at this point.
Just as I thought, he approached the purses and without skipping a beat, clipped off the clothing security device like it was a row of hedges. I watched in disbelief in just a minute’s time, he now had access to well over two thousand dollars’ worth of product. Without a care in the world, he grabbed almost the entire stock and headed for the door. I approached him outside, and to my surprise, he was very cooperative. Once back in the office, while waiting for police, I began to ponder about the sheers that he had. They had a sticker from the home improvement store on them, so I called my LP buddy that was working. He told me he hadn’t noticed anyone fitting my guy’s description but double checked his cameras for me. Sure enough, he had stolen the clippers too when he had left my store!
For more information, contact us: KW, or call 1.770.426.0547
A couple years ago, when I was still an in store loss prevention associate, I was on my routine patrol of the store I was working in. It was a Friday afternoon and I was working the closing shift. I figured it would be a good night since this was the first Friday since school had let out. This time of year the shoplifting is always a little higher since there are more people in the store. As I made my way through the apparel section of the store, I made sure to check that the clothing security devices we had were affixed properly to the high dollar purses we carried. I made my rounds and then decided to get on the cameras for a little while.
A couple hours went by and there wasn’t much activity. It was really shaping up to be a boring Friday night. About three hours before closing time I noticed a male enter the store and immediately approach the high end purse selection. I found it a little odd since he was alone. He began handling the purse, but I quickly realized that he was more interested in the clothing security device than with the purse itself. I watched as he began pulling at the device. That didn’t work. He started twisting and pulling harder. That still didn’t work. I was beginning to get a little amused at his struggle. There’s only one reason someone would attempt to defeat a security tag, so I knew I’d end the night with an apprehension.
After quite a few minutes of struggling with the device, he seemingly gave up and walked out of the store. A little disappointed, I left the LP office and went inspect the tag to ensure there was no damage to it. There wasn’t, so I continued on with my shift. About 15 minutes later, I see the same individual come back into the store, only this time he was carrying a pair of sheers. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Did this guy actually think that no one would notice him walking through a clothing store with a large pair of cutters? At this point, I decided it was probably time to contact the police since he was most likely going to steal the purse at this point.
Just as I thought, he approached the purses and without skipping a beat, clipped off the clothing security device like it was a row of hedges. I watched in disbelief in just a minute’s time, he now had access to well over two thousand dollars’ worth of product. Without a care in the world, he grabbed almost the entire stock and headed for the door. I approached him outside, and to my surprise, he was very cooperative. Once back in the office, while waiting for police, I began to ponder about the sheers that he had. They had a sticker from the home improvement store on them, so I called my LP buddy that was working. He told me he hadn’t noticed anyone fitting my guy’s description but double checked his cameras for me. Sure enough, he had stolen the clippers too when he had left my store!
For more information, contact us at Clothing Secuirty, or call 1.770.426.0547
What makes any company successful? Is it the product line that they offer, or the mass they appeal to? What about market dominance, or their cash flow? Sure, all those are factors in a good company, but what about people? Isn’t the life blood of every corporation the people it hires? Companies can not operate autonomously. They need people. They need the right people. That’s what makes the employee back ground check so important.
I’ve worked in retail my entire working life. I’ve been a store manager for a few years before coming into the Loss Prevention field. Even in my current role, I manage several direct reports. Every person I’ve ever hired was subject to a pre-employment screening. Whether I was hiring a part time sales associate to get me through the holiday season, or an in store detective to catch shoplifters, every employment opportunity was contingent upon successful completion of a criminal background check. This is vitally important to any business, no matter the size. You need to know who you are hiring and bringing into your store.
A few months back, I was looking for an in store detective. This position is responsible for catching shoplifters. It’s not a job you can just throw anyone off the street into and expect them to do a good job. You need to have someone with relevant experience and the integrity to make good decisions under pressure, several times a day. It took weeks to find the right candidate. I went through hundreds of applications and several face to face interviews. Finally, I had found someone I thought would be a great fit for the job, and my company. After going though the application process and 3 separate interviews with myself and members of the store operations team, and then the store director of the location our candidate would be working in, we were ready to offer a job.
He came to us with a wealth of experience in both the public and private sector. He understood shoplifters and the problem they pose to retailers, and had an in depth understanding of how to combat the problem. I was excited; the store management team was excited. During our last interview, we discussed the employee background check and informed him that his employment was contingent on that. He assured us he was as clean cut as they come. I had no reason to doubt him. I couldn’t wait for him to hit the ground running and help us combat the shoplifting problem we were having in that store. We made an offer. He accepted and we started the hiring process.
He started soon after and began to make an immediate impact in the store. He worked well with managers and he was throwing thieves in jail two, or three times a day. About two weeks went by and I got a call from our Human Resources department. My shining star had failed the criminal background check. I quickly learned of his recent past and was surprised at the seriousness of some of the crimes he had committed. In fact, he was still actively wanted in a different city for some very serious offenses. Without the background check, this person, with a violent past, could’ve cost my business untold sums of money. While I’m a firm believer that some people can change, and everyone deserves a second chance. There are however, risks associated with every decision you make as a business manager. Hiring the right person shouldn’t be a risk.
For more information, contact us: Background Checks, or call 1.770.426.0547
What makes any company successful? Is it the product line that they offer, or the mass they appeal to? What about market dominance, or their cash flow? Sure, all those are factors in a good company, but what about people? Isn’t the life blood of every corporation the people it hires? Companies can not operate autonomously. They need people. They need the right people. That’s what makes the employee background checks so important.
I’ve worked in retail my entire working life. I’ve been a store manager for a few years before coming into the Loss Prevention field. Even in my current role, I manage several direct reports. Every person I’ve ever hired was subject to a pre-employment screening. Whether I was hiring a part time sales associate to get me through the holiday season, or an in store detective to catch shoplifters, every employment opportunity was contingent upon successful completion of a criminal background check. This is vitally important to any business, no matter the size. You need to know who you are hiring and bringing into your store.
A few months back, I was looking for an in store detective. This position is responsible for catching shoplifters. It’s not a job you can just throw anyone off the street into and expect them to do a good job. You need to have someone with relevant experience and the integrity to make good decisions under pressure, several times a day. It took weeks to find the right candidate. I went through hundreds of applications and several face to face interviews. Finally, I had found someone I thought would be a great fit for the job, and my company. After going though the application process and 3 separate interviews with myself and members of the store operations team, and then the store director of the location our candidate would be working in, we were ready to offer a job.
He came to us with a wealth of experience in both the public and private sector. He understood shoplifters and the problem they pose to retailers, and had an in depth understanding of how to combat the problem. I was excited; the store management team was excited. During our last interview, we discussed the employee background check and informed him that his employment was contingent on that. He assured us he was as clean cut as they come. I had no reason to doubt him. I couldn’t wait for him to hit the ground running and help us combat the shoplifting problem we were having in that store. We made an offer. He accepted and we started the hiring process.
He started soon after and began to make an immediate impact in the store. He worked well with managers and he was throwing thieves in jail two, or three times a day. About two weeks went by and I got a call from our Human Resources department. My shining star had failed the criminal background check. I quickly learned of his recent past and was surprised at the seriousness of some of the crimes he had committed. In fact, he was still actively wanted in a different city for some very serious offenses. Without the background check, this person, with a violent past, could’ve cost my business untold sums of money. While I’m a firm believer that some people can change, and everyone deserves a second chance. There are however, risks associated with every decision you make as a business manager. Hiring the right person shouldn’t be a risk.
For more information, contact us: Background Checks, or call 1.770.426.0547
I’ve been a retail manager for the same company for over 13 years. When I started in 2001, I was green and gullible. I never would have dreamed I could hire, train, and work with people on a daily basis that would wind up stealing from our company. I never thought they’d get past the interview with me, because in my mind, I could read people like books. As the store manager, I had no idea about the benefits of attending a loss prevention seminar.
Then it happened. I found some clues that led me to investigate one of my own, and I had to make the call to our LP guy. He came in and interviewed her, and then she implicated one of my assistant managers. He came back to interview her, and needless to say, I lost two employees. I acted as the witness in both interviews, and I was truly amazed by the flow and structure of that interview and how it was used to get them both to confess. I was so intrigued by the success I did some research and signed up for a seminar on interviewing.
I attended a two day seminar on different methods of interviewing; one of those being the non-confrontational interview that encourages suspects to confess by giving them the opportunity to save face. In that setting, you find out the hardships the person faces, such as bills piling up, and help them feel better about themselves when they confess. Simply put, good people make bad choices. We also learned how to conduct interviews based on different behaviors that indicate deception, which is particularly helpful when you have no idea who is really the guilty party. Another part of this loss prevention seminar was based solely around interviewing potential job candidates. That, for me, has been a priceless lesson.
When I interview people now for openings at my store, I feel like I have the advantage. If I ask about whether they were disciplined for attendance at their last job, and they say they weren’t, but are shaking their head yes, I know to dig deeper. I know now to watch their eye movements. Did you know most people look in one direction when they recall a memory, but look the other way when they create a story?
I interviewed a candidate a couple days ago for a cashier position. I use a situational interview, and avoid questions that have yes and no answers. In the loss prevention seminar, they stressed the importance of this type of interview. This young lady would listen to me ask the question, and in some cases, she would repeat the question out loud before she answered. (That is a sign of deception, meant to give them more time to think of an answer.) In the cases where she repeated the question before answering, she would answer with a situation or time while she looked up and to her left. Then as she continued with the story, and added details, she would look down and to the right. When she did the latter, her story went in different directions. I decided she was creating too many parts of her stories, and chose not to hire her.
Now, to be clear, I do not consider myself some sort of human lie detector. I simply take the behaviors exhibited during the interview, and decide if I can count on this person to give me an honest day’s work. I definitely credit the loss prevention seminar I attended for giving me this knowledge.
For more information contact LossPreventionSeminar.com or call 1.770.426.0547
I’ve been a retail manager for the same company for over 13 years. When I started in 2001, I was green and gullible. I never would have dreamed I could hire, train, and work with people on a daily basis that would wind up stealing from our company. I never thought they’d get past the interview with me, because in my mind, I could read people like books. As the store manager, I had no idea about the benefits of attending a loss prevention seminar.
Then it happened. I found some clues that led me to investigate one of my own, and I had to make the call to our LP guy. He came in and interviewed her, and then she implicated one of my assistant managers. He came back to interview her, and needless to say, I lost two employees. I acted as the witness in both interviews, and I was truly amazed by the flow and structure of that interview and how it was used to get them both to confess. I was so intrigued by the success I did some research and signed up for a seminar on interviewing.
I attended a two day seminar on different methods of interviewing; one of those being the non-confrontational interview that encourages suspects to confess by giving them the opportunity to save face. In that setting, you find out the hardships the person faces, such as bills piling up, and help them feel better about themselves when they confess. Simply put, good people make bad choices. We also learned how to conduct interviews based on different behaviors that indicate deception, which is particularly helpful when you have no idea who is really the guilty party. Another part of this loss prevention seminar was based solely around interviewing potential job candidates. That, for me, has been a priceless lesson.
When I interview people now for openings at my store, I feel like I have the advantage. If I ask about whether they were disciplined for attendance at their last job, and they say they weren’t, but are shaking their head yes, I know to dig deeper. I know now to watch their eye movements. Did you know most people look in one direction when they recall a memory, but look the other way when they create a story?
I interviewed a candidate a couple days ago for a cashier position. I use a situational interview, and avoid questions that have yes and no answers. In the loss prevention seminar, they stressed the importance of this type of interview. This young lady would listen to me ask the question, and in some cases, she would repeat the question out loud before she answered. (That is a sign of deception, meant to give them more time to think of an answer.) In the cases where she repeated the question before answering, she would answer with a situation or time while she looked up and to her left. Then as she continued with the story, and added details, she would look down and to the right. When she did the latter, her story went in different directions. I decided she was creating too many parts of her stories, and chose not to hire her.
Now, to be clear, I do not consider myself some sort of human lie detector. I simply take the behaviors exhibited during the interview, and decide if I can count on this person to give me an honest day’s work. I definitely credit the loss prevention seminar I attended for giving me this knowledge.
For more information contact us at Loss Prevention Seminar or call 1.770.426.0547
