Organized retail theft happens in many ways. We are going to detail some of the ways it occurs and some measures you can take to secure your business. Our scope will not be limited to the retail store, it will include theft and security measures from manufacturers, warehousing, delivery, and even the storage room of the retail store.
In the manufacturing industry, one of the methods used for organized retail theft may be employee collusion. An employee or past employee may give access to a booster by leaving a storage door open or copying keys. Then the booster can come in and grab the items. One method of prevention for this is managed access control. With access control you can give various levels of access to employees, limiting the number of people that have access to storage areas. You can also track who has been in a specific area and when.
In transporting goods, sometimes a driver not adhering to the rules could increase the chances of theft, for example, a cab camera recording a driver that had not gassed up when he was supposed to so that he could outrun thieves. A company can view these videos live and let the driver know to gas up or let go of drivers that fail to take other necessary precautions. Video surveillance on the vehicle could help catch the criminals and prevent them from committing further crimes in the future, an added benefit is that cameras may deter employee collusion.
Trailers being stored at warehouses and the warehouse itself may be a target, cameras can deter what would be hijackers, but there are other means to stop them or notify yourself and law enforcement if a problem arises. Intrusion Detection systems can set off an alarm if an area is breached. They come in a variety of products and each environment will require an analysis of what types of products should be used. Some of the many possible options are door contacts, motion sensors, sounders, and communication equipment.
In the actual retail store, many security measures can be taken. Since we already know employee collusion is a possibility, access control can be used for storage areas to prevent some employees from even accessing the loading and storage areas thus preventing them from distributing items from the loading areas. For large retail establishments, access control can be combined with video surveillance to give a guard the ability to handle visual verification from one location, so a user might be required to have an ID badge and be seen by security to enter. This type of operation could reduce the necessary workforce required for security.
Retail theft is a large industry and comes in organized manners which is why security is critical to protect your investments. The ideas presented here are just examples, Security 101 provides full consultations to work out the best security plan for your company, taking into account your budget and needs.
Call us today at 800-261-2041 or visit us on the web by clicking HERE