New to Loss Prevention

[LPDan]

I have been working for a company that does LP work for various drug stores in the city. During my training, we had one arrest which my supervisor did, while I observed. I completed my training and am working on my own now, and have been for about a week and a half.

I thought I was going to get my first solo arrest last night, when I saw someone select and conceal some tylenol cold medication in their pocket. But I'm guessing he noticed me follow him arround the corner, because he saw me, then doubled back to the cold remedies, and then paid at the pharmacy counter.

Can anyone provide some tips for keeping continuity after concealment?

Thanks in advance.

[highwayman]

The best set up is to have someone in the camera room to continue surveillance and report the subject's activity to you while you are somewhere close by the exit or a few aisles over.
Another good set up is to position yourself somewhere on a catwalk along the ceiling if you are in a setting like Best Buy for example.

If you don't have anyone in the camera room then you can team up with a regular employee/s that you trust and you can take his/their word even if you didn't observe the concealment.

Perforated endcaps are great for surveillance, hide your radio and have a seperate channel only for LP use, mirrors on the ceiling while you walk around with a cart full of props and a mirror looking up to the ceiling mirror over to the next aisle (assuming you are on plain clothes)

After all is said and done, if you are not sure if the stolen merch is on the subject don't make the stop, but send a few of your "trustees" to man the exits as a last resort to get them to dump.

[mcsap]

DO you dress as though you have been in the store for hours or like you recently came in off of the street ? Even a light jacket in the winter is more believeable than no coat at all.

Do you carry any bags with you ? When I worked LP at a mall based dept store....I carried the same stores retail bag around with junk in it making it look like I had just bought something. This may not work in a stand alone store. And after a few hours , I would get a new bag as the old one was getting shabby looking. You could also get some bags from neighboring stores.

Use your cell , act like you are engaged in a conversation when you need to observe someone for a while.

Carry actual merchandise around like you are going to make a purchase. Especially a small basket.

[Sierra]

I hid in clothing racks (clothing long enough to touoch the ground so my feet/legs were not exposed), in a couple of closets and looked through openings in the wall, and even the back storeroom.

Remember to look your part. Guys don't really use shopping carts at clothing stores. Electronic stores can be a different story. You might even be able to wheel around an empty box (vcr, small tv, etc) in your cart so no cares if you abandon it during the arrest.

[LPDan]

I work alone, and in drug stores. There is no other person in camera room, and I dont have a radio. There are no catwalks. It can get pretty cold here, -25C, so yeah, i deffinately wear my coat at all times as they are independant stores, and not in malls.

I almost allways carry a basket with product in it. I use my cel and act like im texting someone, but am actually punching in time of selection and concealment.

I might be doing things right, but just had bad luck a couple times getting picked out.

Thanks for all the tips, i'll keep them in mind in case we get some contracts at stores for which they would be applicable.

If anyone has some more tips, I'd like to hear 'em.

Thanks.

[Reno Geoff]

A big thing that I have learned when on the floor and going around a corner is to try and act natural. If you pop around the corner and the suspect is right there/ looking in your direction, do your best to try and just keep walking natural, because if you stop or turn around suddenly they will get nervous of you and dump. It can be hard to hide your reaction, but the better you do, the less likely they will dump.
And don't worry if you burn the stop, you're still preventing the loss, it's just not as satisfying as an app.

[highwayman]

I work alone, and in drug stores. There is no other person in camera room, and I dont have a radio. There are no catwalks. It can get pretty cold here, -25C, so yeah, i deffinately wear my coat at all times as they are independant stores, and not in malls.

I almost allways carry a basket with product in it. I use my cel and act like im texting someone, but am actually punching in time of selection and concealment.

I might be doing things right, but just had bad luck a couple times getting picked out.

Thanks for all the tips, i'll keep them in mind in case we get some contracts at stores for which they would be applicable.

If anyone has some more tips, I'd like to hear 'em.

Thanks.

You can still do it, but it will be tough.
I worked Rite Aid and Sav-on once by myself, and I could only watch about 7-8% of the shoplifting going on and catch about 1%.

I remember stopping a guy with a gym bag who I only saw pocketing a bar of soap, when we opened the bag he had about $150 worth of merchandice in there and a 12 pack of soda. :eek:

Never a boring moment in LP work :rolleyes:

[Whats_Ur_Twenty]

I'm bold. I'll walk right up to 'em, select something nearby, and then exit the aisle. It gets them comfortable with your presence. After exiting, I usually double back and angle my phone's screen so that I can watch them in the reflection. You'd be suprised at how well that works.

[Gringe]

The best loss prevention technique is customer service. Get someone in the store, in uniform, to greet the individual and ask if they need help with anything. The person will know people are watching.

It works, and it's much safer than trying to apprehend the person. That person can be armed, and it might not work out the way it was planned in your head.

[Whats_Ur_Twenty]

LOL. In some of the stores I work out of they don't give a damn whose watching them. Bag up $200 worth of clothes, sensors and all, and walk right out the damn door.

[Gringe]

I worked at Circuit City, was a manager there for quite some time. They were VERY VERY strict on apprehension, so thats basically where my above statement came from. If we thought someone had something, we called the police while we keep an eye on the individual. If they leave before police arrives, and we follow the six-steps to apprehension. We take 'em.

[highwayman]

LOL. In some of the stores I work out of they don't give a damn whose watching them. Bag up $200 worth of clothes, sensors and all, and walk right out the damn door.

Sounds like K-mart to me, some people would pick the electronics glass door locks, rip open packages and bag stuff right in front of everybody and the cameras, then walk out the door and if they got caught they would put up a fight claiming that they walked in with all this stuff :confused:

I did receipt checks for a few months for them and almost every other shopping cart had about $40 worth of unpaid merchandice on the bottom.
It was so bad that people walked out with whole TV sets, and other appliances right out the front doors.

[Whats_Ur_Twenty]

It was so bad that people walked out with whole TV sets, and other appliances right out the front doors.

:eek:

[Whats_Ur_Twenty]

I worked at Circuit City, was a manager there for quite some time. They were VERY VERY strict on apprehension, so thats basically where my above statement came from. If we thought someone had something, we called the police while we keep an eye on the individual. If they leave before police arrives, and we follow the six-steps to apprehension. We take 'em.

I used to be on the delivery team for the circuit city in my area. As manager do you function as LP for the store?? Our store had no LP department at all, many cameras were dummies or broken, and the monitors were in the operations office, with noone watching them :(

[Future_Dea]

It comes down to this you are just a loss prevention agent your job is t deter theift or apprehend after theift. So if he decided to pay for it thats good for your copmany. As far as learning floor visual be creative; Me automatically I got an advantage because I look young and soemtimes persumed as a thug. Sometimes you just got to act like a customer act the way you would act when your in the store with your friends not on the clock Understand?? After that you would relize who is paying attention too you and who is not. Just remember always this is just a job do not get yourself killed over a $12 bottle of advil. Not WORTH IT at ALL!!