An inexplicable rise in organized retail crime during the past couple of years, perhaps due to police passivity, has major retailers looking to upgrade their equipment, technology, policies and procedures, and training for employees to combat loss prevention. Meantime, perennial issues like shoplifting and credit card fraud continue to plague the sector.
The retail sector has been losing $40 billion to $50 billion in merchandise annually due to robbery, burglary and theft in recent years in addition to the employees and customers injured or killed when an armed intruder appears during business hours, says Dr. Read Hayes, director of the Loss Prevention Research Council and a research scientist at the University of Florida.