Checkpoint Labels-4 WC Blog 412
Retail Theft Prevention – 3
Double Trouble For Employees Trying To Bypass Retail Theft Prevention Devices Part 1
Dishonest employees are not always the smartest bunch of people. They get caught stealing from their employer, go to jail, get a criminal record and then return to the same criminal lifestyle. As much as I dislike shoplifters, I really despise employees who steal from their employer. I had my share of dishonest employees that I caught during my tenure as a Loss Prevention Manager and I don’t mind sharing that I had a lot of satisfaction in catching them stealing then prosecuting them. The only thing that would have been better would have been to catch them a second time but that isn’t likely. The next best thing is if you can almost catch them again. I had not just one but two incidents that were similar to that scenario and quite satisfying. In the first situation the employee had been a cashier, he and several other employees were passing and under ringing merchandise to each other. Since they were passing merchandise through the point of sale (not scanning them over the bar code reader) they were still able to detune any Checkpoint labels that were on merchandise used for retail theft prevention.
Checkpoint labels are electronic article surveillance soft tags that can be applied to many different surfaces. They can be placed on plastic or cardboard hang tags. Labels may also be placed on cardboard boxes and plastic shrink wraps often found on CD’s, video games and DVD’s. Labels have also grown to include specialized versions for cosmetics, shoes and meats. How do they work? The tags send out a radio frequency wave and if the wave is picked up by Checkpoint electronic article surveillance pedestal an alarm is activated. A pedestal alarm is very loud and is combined with flashing LED lights. These alerts let employees know that someone is attempting to steal and they respond to the alert and determine what the criminal is trying to sneak out the doors. Another advantage of using Checkpoint labels is that they can be concealed in merchandise such as purses, wallets, jacket pockets and under meat soaker pads if a retailer is concerned that a thief would try to remove the tags or what they are attached to. Knowing merchandise is protected but being unable to see the labels, makes the labels an ideal retail theft prevention tool. Shoplifters don’t want to have to hunt to find a tag or label, they want to grab merchandise and get out of the store without concern for an alarm sounding.
So my dishonest employee and friends were committing all of this theft and fraud and nullifying the retail theft prevention devices in the process. I eventually gathered enough evidence on all of them to conduct separate dishonest employee interviews and put them in jail. A few months later my wife and I were walking through a local mall and when we entered one of the clothing stores. I looked at the register stand and what to my wondering eyes did appear? My little thief friend looking like a deer staring at the headlights of an oncoming car. I couldn’t believe he was working retail again so I assumed they had not done a background check on him. I could only assume he was up to his old tricks again if he was in a retail shop. I looked at him and shook my head without saying a word. He left the counter, did not reappear and I never saw him in there again. No, I didn’t catch him again but I got close enough to scare him from ripping off that store.
In part two, I will talk about another employee theft case that almost turned into a double whammy. Employee theft cases can be more costly because employees have access to the tools that can remove or deactivate Checkpoint labels. By being careful in your hiring practices you can avoid the problems that they create, like lost profits. By being observant of employees you can prevent these thefts before they become too big.
Checkpoint labels are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Dishonest employees are not always the smartest bunch of people. They get caught stealing from their employer, go to jail, get a criminal record and then return to the same criminal lifestyle. As much as I dislike shoplifters, I really despise employees who steal from their employer. I had my share of dishonest employees that I caught during my tenure as a Loss Prevention Manager and I don’t mind sharing that I had a lot of satisfaction in catching them stealing then prosecuting them. The only thing that would have been better would have been to catch them a second time but that isn’t likely. The next best thing is if you can almost catch them again. I had not just one but two incidents that were similar to that scenario and quite satisfying. In the first situation the employee had been a cashier, he and several other employees were passing and under ringing merchandise to each other. Since they were passing merchandise through the point of sale (not scanning them over the bar code reader) they were still able to detune any Checkpoint labels that were on merchandise used for retail theft prevention.
Checkpoint labels are electronic article surveillance soft tags that can be applied to many different surfaces. They can be placed on plastic or cardboard hang tags. Labels may also be placed on cardboard boxes and plastic shrink wraps often found on CD’s, video games and DVD’s. Labels have also grown to include specialized versions for cosmetics, shoes and meats. How do they work? The tags send out a radio frequency wave and if the wave is picked up by Checkpoint electronic article surveillance pedestal an alarm is activated. A pedestal alarm is very loud and is combined with flashing LED lights. These alerts let employees know that someone is attempting to steal and they respond to the alert and determine what the criminal is trying to sneak out the doors. Another advantage of using Checkpoint labels is that they can be concealed in merchandise such as purses, wallets, jacket pockets and under meat soaker pads if a retailer is concerned that a thief would try to remove the tags or what they are attached to. Knowing merchandise is protected but being unable to see the labels, makes the labels an ideal retail theft prevention tool. Shoplifters don’t want to have to hunt to find a tag or label, they want to grab merchandise and get out of the store without concern for an alarm sounding.
So my dishonest employee and friends were committing all of this theft and fraud and nullifying the retail theft prevention devices in the process. I eventually gathered enough evidence on all of them to conduct separate dishonest employee interviews and put them in jail. A few months later my wife and I were walking through a local mall and when we entered one of the clothing stores. I looked at the register stand and what to my wondering eyes did appear? My little thief friend looking like a deer staring at the headlights of an oncoming car. I couldn’t believe he was working retail again so I assumed they had not done a background check on him. I could only assume he was up to his old tricks again if he was in a retail shop. I looked at him and shook my head without saying a word. He left the counter, did not reappear and I never saw him in there again. No, I didn’t catch him again but I got close enough to scare him from ripping off that store.
In part two, I will talk about another employee theft case that almost turned into a double whammy. Employee theft cases can be more costly because employees have access to the tools that can remove or deactivate Checkpoint labels. By being careful in your hiring practices you can avoid the problems that they create, like lost profits. By being observant of employees you can prevent these thefts before they become too big.
Checkpoint labels are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Alpha 3 Alarm -4 WC Blog 439
retail anti-theft devices-4
prevent shoplifting-3
Secure Merchandise With Alpha 3 Alarm Devices
How secure is your store from theft? Not just from shoplifters but also from dishonest employees? I’m always concerned with merchandise protection to prevent shoplifting by using retail anti-theft devices such as Alpha 3 Alarm devices. But I am also thinking of shortage caused by dishonest employees who have access to supposedly secure areas of a store. As a Loss Prevention Manager I would visit other stores in my company from time to time. I would go to fill in helping with an inventory or assist with a suspected investigation and I would be told how that store had strong internal theft controls. They would show me how keys were signed out and in. They made sure doors were never propped open. Office areas would never have unsecured purses or bags. Often I would find compactors unlocked (a potential internal theft concern). Prepping a secure electronics cage for inventory and I would find hidden packages or retail anti-theft devices. I would find a purse in a file drawer in someone’s unlocked desk. This was not the case in every trip I would make there were visits when controls appeared to be good. Unfortunately there were management teams that did not believe their staff would steal and wouldn’t take the time to thoroughly audit their own stores.
I do think it would be beneficial to mention what Alpha 3 Alarm retail anti-theft devices are since there may be some reading that are not familiar with them. The devices are electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags that come in a number of forms from wraps to hard tags that pin on clothes. Each carries built in technology that sends out a radio wave that will activate an EAS tower alarm when it is carried in the vicinity of a tower. These devices also have tamper alarms that screech when a shoplifter attempts to pry the unit off a product. Finally, if a shoplifter gets out the doors past EAS towers, the third alarm (an internal alarm in the tag) activates and goes where the shoplifter goes. As a tool to prevent shoplifting the Alpha 3 Alarm series of devices are top notch.
So what is my point in discussing retail anti-theft devices that are designed to prevent shoplifting when I am writing about internal security controls? Anti-theft tags aren’t for stopping shoplifting alone. There are dishonest employees who will try to walk out of a building with stolen merchandise and the tags will alarm on them the same as they do on a shoplifter. What your store personnel can do that shoplifters can’t do is get access to ‘secure’ areas giving them more places to commit their crimes. It is often in the locations that I would find empty packages or discarded EAS devices. I am not being critical only of the stores where I went for support. I had my share of internal theft cases, some more difficult than others to close and a few I did not successfully close before my suspect quit. For example, I had an employee once who would leave her purse in an unlocked desk drawer in an employee’s only area. Despite our policies against this and my warnings to her she persisted in the activity and one day claimed someone had stolen $20 from her purse. I had no cameras in the area and could never validate her claim. Nor did I have much sympathy since I had warned her on multiple occasions against this.
I also had an electronics lock-up which required a key to get into and I once found EAS tags we placed on CD’s hidden behind merchandise. At that time I had a single camera in the room. I never resolved the case despite doing live surveillances and video reviews. On the other hand I was very strict in our store about key control and made a point to address any violations of key control or door security to my store manager. Fortunately I had a store manager that respected my efforts and was as fanatical about stock shortage as I was. Over 13 years as L.P. Manager I had shortage under 1% 11 of those years. In large part that was due to ensuring secure areas were secure, monitoring activity in those areas and getting managers to understand the importance of security.
It was difficult to visit other stores and have the same influence on those managers. Hopefully as you read this article you see how crucial it is to keep tight security from showcases to stockrooms. Lock your doors and secure merchandise with Alpha 3 Alarm devices, you’ll see profits soar!
For more information about Alpha 3 Alarm contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
How secure is your store from theft? Not just from shoplifters but also from dishonest employees? I’m always concerned with merchandise protection to prevent shoplifting by using retail anti-theft devices such as Alpha 3 Alarm devices. But I am also thinking of shortage caused by dishonest employees who have access to supposedly secure areas of a store. As a Loss Prevention Manager I would visit other stores in my company from time to time. I would go to fill in helping with an inventory or assist with a suspected investigation and I would be told how that store had strong internal theft controls. They would show me how keys were signed out and in. They made sure doors were never propped open. Office areas would never have unsecured purses or bags. Often I would find compactors unlocked (a potential internal theft concern). Prepping a secure electronics cage for inventory and I would find hidden packages or retail anti-theft devices. I would find a purse in a file drawer in someone’s unlocked desk. This was not the case in every trip I would make there were visits when controls appeared to be good. Unfortunately there were management teams that did not believe their staff would steal and wouldn’t take the time to thoroughly audit their own stores.
I do think it would be beneficial to mention what Alpha 3 Alarm retail anti-theft devices are since there may be some reading that are not familiar with them. The devices are electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags that come in a number of forms from wraps to hard tags that pin on clothes. Each carries built in technology that sends out a radio wave that will activate an EAS tower alarm when it is carried in the vicinity of a tower. These devices also have tamper alarms that screech when a shoplifter attempts to pry the unit off a product. Finally, if a shoplifter gets out the doors past EAS towers, the third alarm (an internal alarm in the tag) activates and goes where the shoplifter goes. As a tool to prevent shoplifting the Alpha 3 Alarm series of devices are top notch.
So what is my point in discussing retail anti-theft devices that are designed to prevent shoplifting when I am writing about internal security controls? Anti-theft tags aren’t for stopping shoplifting alone. There are dishonest employees who will try to walk out of a building with stolen merchandise and the tags will alarm on them the same as they do on a shoplifter. What your store personnel can do that shoplifters can’t do is get access to ‘secure’ areas giving them more places to commit their crimes. It is often in the locations that I would find empty packages or discarded EAS devices. I am not being critical only of the stores where I went for support. I had my share of internal theft cases, some more difficult than others to close and a few I did not successfully close before my suspect quit. For example, I had an employee once who would leave her purse in an unlocked desk drawer in an employee’s only area. Despite our policies against this and my warnings to her she persisted in the activity and one day claimed someone had stolen $20 from her purse. I had no cameras in the area and could never validate her claim. Nor did I have much sympathy since I had warned her on multiple occasions against this.
I also had an electronics lock-up which required a key to get into and I once found EAS tags we placed on CD’s hidden behind merchandise. At that time I had a single camera in the room. I never resolved the case despite doing live surveillances and video reviews. On the other hand I was very strict in our store about key control and made a point to address any violations of key control or door security to my store manager. Fortunately I had a store manager that respected my efforts and was as fanatical about stock shortage as I was. Over 13 years as L.P. Manager I had shortage under 1% 11 of those years. In large part that was due to ensuring secure areas were secure, monitoring activity in those areas and getting managers to understand the importance of security.
It was difficult to visit other stores and have the same influence on those managers. Hopefully as you read this article you see how crucial it is to keep tight security from showcases to stockrooms. Lock your doors and secure merchandise with Alpha 3 Alarm devices, you’ll see profits soar!
For more information about Alpha 3 Alarm contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Stop shoplifting-4 WC Blog 479
Training To Reduce Employee Theft-3
Jump For Joy When You Learn How To Stop Shoplifting
How do you train employees to stop shoplifting whether they are Loss Prevention personnel, store employees or managers? Well, a long time ago when I first entered the world of Retail Loss Prevention it was all OJT (On The Job Training). My new boss showed me how cameras worked, what to look for to identify shoplifters. I had to go through the store’s orientation class and work the salesfloor and cashiering for a week. Once I started catching shoplifters on my own we had very few limits on what we could or could not do. One of the things we could do then that is almost never permitted today is chasing a shoplifter. That being the case I had a number of funny and scary situations I was involved in but there was one that was funny and scary at the same time.
Before I go further with my story I would like to digress for a moment and discuss training for managers to impact shortage. Many large businesses have manager training that includes at least a segment by a Loss Prevention department that deals with issues of theft. Smaller and privately owned retail store owners may not have this kind of training available to them. Training to reduce employee theft and stop shoplifting is critical for any retail management team. Not knowing the methods employees may use to steal from a store means the dishonest employees can take advantage of management. Not being able to identify how shoplifters commit their crimes and what can prevent these activities can lead to unsustainable shortage. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) has training sessions available to provide the same (or better) training than the big corporations give their managers. LPSI offers managers courses on training to reduce employee theft and how to stop shoplifting. Employees will learn the methods these criminals use and how to prevent them as well as teaching on what NOT to do when it comes to shoplifters.
With that said I return to my story. Remember that we had no rules that governed us in what we could or could not do to catch a shoplifter except, don’t make a bad stop. Stopping a person who did not steal anything was a cardinal sin even at that time. I was watching a couple with an infant stroller via closed circuit television. The two were pulling tags off of children’s clothes and hiding them in the stroller and a diaper bag. This activity went on for quite some time and eventually they walked to the exit doors. I left the security office and stopped the couple. They denied having done anything and started shouting at me. The woman started to go back into the store but the man ran. I chased him to his station wagon and as he got in the car he realized he didn’t have the keys. He yelled to the woman to come to the car and it was obvious she was too scared to leave. I had our operator on my two-way radio and she was on the phone with local police describing the situation. I told the couple the police were coming and to cooperate. When the man realized the woman wouldn’t leave the sidewalk he jumped back out of the vehicle and wanted to fight me. I wasn’t going to intentionally get into a fist fight and kept my distance, going to the other side of the car. The subject got onto the roof of his car and was screaming about what he was going to do to me. I remained calm as I heard the police sirens approaching. I tried to explain that he was causing a scene in front of his wife and child and he should cooperate. Apparently that just angered him more and he jumped up and down on the car and was doing so as the police pulled up. I admit I was a bit scared at anyone dumb enough to jump up and down on the roof of their car and scream over a shoplifting incident. On the other hand it was a funny scene to see and more so when he refused to come down for the police officers.
Chasing shoplifters is a bad idea and I would not suggest it to anyone. Rather, find out how to stop shoplifting and while you’re at it take training to reduce employee theft from LPSI. Instead of the guy on the roof of his car, you’ll be the one jumping up and down when you see how much money you can save your company due to theft reduction.
Get more information on training to reduce employee theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today
How do you train employees to stop shoplifting whether they are Loss Prevention personnel, store employees or managers? Well, a long time ago when I first entered the world of Retail Loss Prevention it was all OJT (On The Job Training). My new boss showed me how cameras worked, what to look for to identify shoplifters. I had to go through the store’s orientation class and work the salesfloor and cashiering for a week. Once I started catching shoplifters on my own we had very few limits on what we could or could not do. One of the things we could do then that is almost never permitted today is chasing a shoplifter. That being the case I had a number of funny and scary situations I was involved in but there was one that was funny and scary at the same time.
Before I go further with my story I would like to digress for a moment and discuss training for managers to impact shortage. Many large businesses have manager training that includes at least a segment by a Loss Prevention department that deals with issues of theft. Smaller and privately owned retail store owners may not have this kind of training available to them. Training to reduce employee theft and stop shoplifting is critical for any retail management team. Not knowing the methods employees may use to steal from a store means the dishonest employees can take advantage of management. Not being able to identify how shoplifters commit their crimes and what can prevent these activities can lead to unsustainable shortage. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) has training sessions available to provide the same (or better) training than the big corporations give their managers. LPSI offers managers courses on training to reduce employee theft and how to stop shoplifting. Employees will learn the methods these criminals use and how to prevent them as well as teaching on what NOT to do when it comes to shoplifters.
With that said I return to my story. Remember that we had no rules that governed us in what we could or could not do to catch a shoplifter except, don’t make a bad stop. Stopping a person who did not steal anything was a cardinal sin even at that time. I was watching a couple with an infant stroller via closed circuit television. The two were pulling tags off of children’s clothes and hiding them in the stroller and a diaper bag. This activity went on for quite some time and eventually they walked to the exit doors. I left the security office and stopped the couple. They denied having done anything and started shouting at me. The woman started to go back into the store but the man ran. I chased him to his station wagon and as he got in the car he realized he didn’t have the keys. He yelled to the woman to come to the car and it was obvious she was too scared to leave. I had our operator on my two-way radio and she was on the phone with local police describing the situation. I told the couple the police were coming and to cooperate. When the man realized the woman wouldn’t leave the sidewalk he jumped back out of the vehicle and wanted to fight me. I wasn’t going to intentionally get into a fist fight and kept my distance, going to the other side of the car. The subject got onto the roof of his car and was screaming about what he was going to do to me. I remained calm as I heard the police sirens approaching. I tried to explain that he was causing a scene in front of his wife and child and he should cooperate. Apparently that just angered him more and he jumped up and down on the car and was doing so as the police pulled up. I admit I was a bit scared at anyone dumb enough to jump up and down on the roof of their car and scream over a shoplifting incident. On the other hand it was a funny scene to see and more so when he refused to come down for the police officers.
Chasing shoplifters is a bad idea and I would not suggest it to anyone. Rather, find out how to stop shoplifting and while you’re at it take training to reduce employee theft from LPSI. Instead of the guy on the roof of his car, you’ll be the one jumping up and down when you see how much money you can save your company due to theft reduction.
Get more information on training to reduce employee theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today
