International News: February 2011

Retail Theft Goes Global

How big of a problem is retail theft across the globe? The number of shoplifters and employee thieves apprehended by retailers in 2010 amounted to almost 6.2 million – the size of many countries and an increase of 389,000 compared to the previous year when it had increased by one-half million, according to the Global Retail Theft Barometer by the Centre for Retail Research. Most of these were shoplifters, who constituted 86 percent of the total number of offenders apprehended, 5.3 million people. In addition, 0.84 million employee thieves were also apprehended.

The average amount stolen or admitted by shoplifters was $196.76, but the average employee theft, at $1,943.87, was almost ten times higher. In Europe, where the average amount stolen per disloyal employee ($2,158.04) was higher than other regions, only four percent of the total thieves apprehended were employees.

The Low Down on Sea Levels

No need to read this if you are located in Wenzhuan, China, which was founded in 1955 on the Qinghai-Tibet road north of the Tangla mountain range. According to The Guinness Book of World Records, it is the highest town in the world, at 16,730 feet above sea level. But if your company is located somewhere else, especially near a coastline, which offices or facilities could be under water when sea levels rise? And does your business continuity plan include flooding, even though you’re not in a flood plain?

Flood maps by U.K. programmer Alex Tingle lets you model inundation levels anywhere in the world, instantly, in Google Maps^™ mapping service. Choose a sea level up to 53 feet above current levels to see if your security plan needs to include flood preparation and insurance. There are specific links for regions around the world. Some inland areas show up being inundated even though they’re nowhere near a coast, because they’re below sea level.