How Retailer and Community Partnerships Create Safer Stores

For retailers, the painful reality isn’t just the sight of a thief walking out the door with stolen merchandise; it’s also seeing how those individual losses add up to a significant yearly shrink. But what's more frustrating is the feeling of fighting a losing battle.

As a law enforcement professional who has partnered with retailers, I’ve seen that the tide can be turned — and not just through better locks or cameras, but by building a powerful coalition with your community.

As a senior program manager in law enforcement and security operations, chairman of the board for the Utah Organized Retail Crime Association, and current task force officer on an organized crime task force, I’ve partnered with retailers of all sizes to better identify and prevent crime, and activate proven strategies to stop it at its source.

Let’s explore tangible steps you can take to bolster security, including why community partnerships are essential.

Beyond the Basics: 4 Steps to a Stronger Security Posture

Unique environmental factors influence the type and prevalence of crime for each retailer. Take these steps to build the best defense for your store:

Step 1: Know your weak spots.

Before you can fix a problem, you have to understand it. Assessing your individual store’s unique problems is a must.

Every store should have a system, whether formal or informal, to track incidents and quantify losses. Create a list of every security threat and prioritize it by frequency and severity. Next, catalog how your existing security measures may fall short in detecting, deterring and addressing these threats, encompassing both human and technology strategies.

Real-time data intelligence is often a weak spot for teams. Video security solutions integrated with store security systems — such as LiveView Technologies' mobile security units or in-store camera systems — can be highly effective in identifying possible precursors to crime so store teams can address them or contact law enforcement in a timely manner. Quality door jamb cameras, such as Hanwha Wisenet, also capture quality facial images, possibly including facial recognition, to help with evidence gathering.

Step 2: Build a neighborhood watch for your business.

Start a conversation. This could be as simple as creating a group chat or having a monthly coffee meeting between business owners and/or loss prevention staff.

Explore how collaboration could improve safety for all stores, such as calling each other when a known bad actor is seen on-site. This has led to small but mighty victories, like when a smoke shop owner texted a photo of a known shoplifter to a neighboring beauty supply store, preventing a potential theft just moments later.

Retail leaders can also advocate for building managers to implement solutions like lighting, camera systems or shared guards, which can be powerful deterrents to would-be criminals. License plate readers, through the assistance of the police department, can also be placed in strategic locations to assist and identify suspect vehicles (Flock is one provider of license plate reader technology).

Collaboration could also include providing an empty space for local law enforcement to utilize for a retail crime blitz.

Step 3: Partner with a coordinated network.

When collaborating with neighboring businesses, ask if anyone has a connection with a local or national organized retail crime association (ORCA) or similar crime-fighting organization.

This list of organized retail crime associations can serve as a starting point to connect with the right group. You can also check with your local business association or government leaders to understand if local organizations exist. ORCAs help retailers address crime and enlist other community resources to effectively prosecute repeat offenders.

Your ORCA may be able to recommend additional technology measures, such as placing low-cost GPS trackers on merchandise to locate and understand ORC syndicates.

Step 4: Take your case to city hall.

Crime will stop only if criminals are effectively pursued and brought to justice. Gather evidence of crime rates for your business center in collaboration with your ORCA and present those to city leaders, who have the power to influence police resources.

UTORCA, for example, has joined major retailers and City Council members to discuss their security challenges and explain why additional resources are necessary. City leaders may be able to collaborate with neighboring police departments to share human and other resources to give the problem the appropriate attention, which could include a collaborative retail crime blitz.

City Council could even help with something as simple as securing grants for electric bikes, which help police officers increase patrols and visibility across your properties.

Building Safer Communities, Together

Security is preserved through consistency. Continually assess your store security strategy and investments, and adapt your strategy based on emerging risks or ongoing issues.

Neighboring businesses likely face similar safety challenges, and they can provide essential support to help you maintain defenses across your shopping center or area. By collaborating with an ORCA, you and your allies can access more tailored support and recommendations, including alignment with city officials and law enforcement to maximize the success of criminal pursuits.

Steve Jensen is a senior program manager with over two decades of experience in law enforcement and public safety. Currently, he serves as the chair of the board of directors for the Utah Organized Retail Crime Association.