Retail Crimes Still Rising

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has tallied the results of its 2011 Crime Trends and Leading Practices Survey, a comprehensive look at the past year’s trends in crimes against retailers, and the results are grim. Retail crime continues to grow, most significantly in the areas of shoplifting and pharmacy theft.

More than half of survey respondents reported an increase in the frequency with which organized rings committed shoplifting, and 41 percent saw an increase in shoplifting by individuals acting alone. Sixty-four percent of respondents reported an increase in theft of pharmaceutical products.

According to the survey, online marketplaces are still a preferred venue for the resale of stolen product. A majority of retailers — 61 percent — experienced a rise in the frequency with which stolen company merchandise was resold online, with none reporting a decline in the online sale of stolen goods. Retailers additionally noted that their stolen merchandise was resold at flea markets and storefront bodegas more often.

As well as ORC, other areas spotlighted in the report include crimes committed by individual perpetrators, employee theft and fraud, pharmacy theft, flash mobs, retailers’ legislative efforts, effective deterrence strategies, and the role of social networking in investigations.

Source: Csnews.com

Crime and Fraud Cost Retails $37.1B Last Year

Retail crime and fraud continue to cost retailers more money every year, according to a new survey released at this week’s National Retail Federation (NRF) Loss Prevention Conference and EXPO, held here. The survey, jointly conducted by the NRF and the University of Florida, revealed total retail losses cost retailers $37.1 billion last year, up from $33.5 billion in 2009.

The retail shrinkage rate increased to 1.58 percent in 2010, an increase from the 1.44 percent figure posted in 2009. A separate NRF study, the Organized Retail Crime Survey, found that 95 percent of retailers have been a victim of organized crime during the past 12 months.

Retail shrinkage comprises shoplifting, employee theft, administrative error and vendor fraud. Employee theft accounted for the majority of retail shrinkage last year. More than $16 billion, or nearly 44 percent of losses, were attributed to employee theft. Collusion between internal and external “bad actors” were blamed for almost 19 percent of losses. More than $12 billion, or 32.6 percent, was attributed to shoplifting. Administrative error, (4.8 percent or 12.9 percent of shrinkage), and vendor fraud ($2 billion in losses or 5.4 percent of shrinkage) were other causes cited.

“Increased shoplifting and shrink rates mirror what retailers are seeing with professional and organized crime rings,” said NRF senior asset protection advisor Joe LaRocca. “Retailers are continuing to put resources in place to fight these self-serving and unethical criminals who walk out with billions of dollars in unpaid merchandise every year.”

Source: csnews.com

Retail Crimes Still Rising

Retail crime continues to grow, most significantly in the areas of shoplifting and pharmacy theft. More than half of survey respondents reported an increase in the frequency with which organized rings committed shoplifting, and 41 percent saw an increase in shoplifting by individuals acting alone. Sixty-four percent of respondents reported an increase in theft of pharmaceutical products.

According to the survey, online marketplaces are still a preferred venue for the resale of stolen product. A majority of retailers — 61 percent — experienced a rise in the frequency with which stolen company merchandise was resold online, with none reporting a decline in the online sale of stolen goods. Retailers additionally noted that their stolen merchandise was resold at flea markets and storefront bodegas more often.

Loss Prevention 2010: Retailers Battling Shrink in Tough Times

It is no secret that in a tough economy shrink rates climb. Individual customers steal more merchandise, employees are more likely to siphon cash and goods from employers, and organized crime rings have even greater motives to strike out against retail targets. How then, are retailers shoring up their line-of-defense assets – Loss Prevention tools and technologies – to protect themselves from growing threats?

Source: RSR

What Customers Steal

Smaller items with high retail value are targeted by thieves because they are easy to steal and just as easy to resell. The top seven categories for shrinkage as a percentage of sales are:

Candy, 11.1%

Tobacco, 12.8%

Pep/Energy Drinks, 30.95%

Meat Snacks, 8.5%

NBC, 9.6%

Seasonal, 61.1%

Batteries, 19.6%

Source: Ritter and Associates 2009 Security Survey of 5,600 Convenience Stores