LP/AP Leaders Are On The Front Lines in Times of Crisis & Violence
What it means to work in retail loss prevention

7 roles in loss prevention and asset protection that align with a retailer's organizational structure and culture

If you think you know what someone working in retail loss prevention is responsible for, there is a good chance you need to expand your perspective. Sure, some roles in this discipline involve watching out for shoplifters, keeping a wary eye on cash registers, maintaining a safe environment for employees and monitoring closed circuit cameras to thwart product losses.

But as individuals advance in the field, opportunities arise to work with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. It is the loss prevention and asset protection executives at retail companies who are managing organized retail crime, looking for ways to stem workplace violence and preparing teams for worst case scenarios such as an active shooter situation.

In times of crisis, loss prevention and asset protection leaders are on the front lines, working across the organization with store operations and supply chain managers to keep stores open, safe and available. Individuals with sharp analytical skills may be tapped to deliver insights and enhance company profits using advanced technology and statistical analysis.

And, for many top loss prevention and asset protection players, the scope of their responsibility extends to enterprise risk management. That involves a comprehensive approach to risk that is deployed by retailers to identify, assess and manage several types of risk, including operational, financial, security and compliance.

Every retail company approaches loss prevention and asset protection from a distinctive vantage point that aligns with its organizational structure and culture. Here are seven common roles in LP/AP with a brief description of what the job is likely to entail:

• In-Store Agent or LP Associate
• Investigator
• Regional LP Manager
• Data Analytics
• Risk Manager or Enterprise Risk Manager
• Director of Safety and Security
• Vice President of Operations, Loss Prevention and Risk

Read the full article and learn more about each role here: nrf.com

 
California's Self-Checkout Restriction Effort Makes More Headlines
California may restrict self-checkouts in an attempt to curb shoplifting

The rule would prohibit retailers from offering self-checkout unless several conditions are met.

The California legislature is considering a proposal that would bring significant changes to the self-checkout lanes in the state.

Under Senate Bill 1446, large grocery and drug retailers would have to satisfy a list of conditions in order to continue operating self-service kiosks in their stores.

Here's what would change if the proposal passes:

• At least one assisted checkout station must remain open at all times.

• Self-checkout lanes would be limited to 10 items or fewer.

• Restricted items like alcohol and tobacco, as well as items with enhanced security measures, must be checked out by an employee.

• A single worker may only be assigned to monitor two self-checkout stations, and they must have no other responsibilities during that time.

"This act will protect workers and the public by ensuring safe staffing levels at grocery and drug stores and regulating self-checkout machines in a way that's being smart on crime," said the bill's sponsor, Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, according to the Bay Area NBC affiliate. businessinsider.com


The Big Open Question: Would Self-Checkout Restrictions Even Work?
Would limits on self-checkout prevent shoplifting? What a California bill would mean.
The proposed mandates come as retailers continue to voice concerns about shrinkage - an industry term for missing inventory from theft, broken items and other factors.

The bill's goal, according to testimony from Smallwood-Cuevas in a hearing earlier this year, is to reduce retail theft while also adding jobs and protecting workers and shoppers.  Critics say the bill would impose unnecessary regulations on stores that are already starting to limit or scale back their use of self-checkout.

While proponents of SB 1446 say the new rules would save companies money by reducing theft, California retailers may be more inclined to pull out their self-checkout machines than pay for the additional labor required under the mandates.

"I suspect there'll be some reductions in self-checkouts," said Ron Larson, a visiting associate professor of economics at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, who has researched self-checkout. "If the stores thought that changing the ratio, adding more people (to self-checkout lanes) would be cost-effective, they would have already done it."

And Larson warned that the companies that decide to staff up would see labor costs rise, which could lead to companies passing down higher prices to consumers.

But the recent shift among retailers isn't necessarily signaling the end of self-checkout. Instead, retailers are entering a "new era" as they switch up their policies and tech, according to Neil Saunders, managing director of the analytics company GlobalData.

"Retailers test things, try things," Saunders said. "Sometimes they don't work. Sometimes they change in the implementation, and retailers adapt with them," he added. "I don't think it signals the complete disappearance of self-checkout."  usatoday.com

   RELATED: Should Self-Checkout Kiosks Be Regulated To Reduce Theft?


Mall Security Measures Under Scrutiny After Mass Shootings
Lawsuits target Columbiana mall for unsafe environment ahead of mass shooting
A slew of lawsuits have been filed in a Richland County court in recent days targeting the Columbiana Centre mall over a 2022 mass shooting that injured more than a dozen people.

As of Monday, seven suits have been filed in just over a week in the Court of Common Pleas, alleging the mall and its security measures were negligent when gunfire erupted on a busy Easter weekend at the mall off Interstate 26 and Harbison Boulevard.

Two years later, three people have yet to be brought to trial on charges that a years-long feud between the individuals erupted into gunfire when they encountered each other at the mall, investigators said.

Many lawsuits have been filed by shoppers who were injured in the shooting, but the flurry of filings in the past week follows a recent federal court decision transferring suits about the shooting to South Carolina state courts, since the out-of-state companies that manage Columbiana and are tasked with providing security there are incorporated in South Carolina and subject to state courts.

Two women visiting the mall that day had previously filed a $20 million claim in federal court. One of the women was grazed by a bullet and another was shot and suffered severe damage to her health, the lawsuit claims. That suit is now in state court, along with half a dozen others. thestate.com


Sentencing Juvenile Criminals as Adults
Tennessee's worst juvenile criminals can't age out of punishment thanks to new blended sentencing

Blended sentencing tacks adult consequences onto juvenile punishment for the most serious offenders

Tennessee lawmakers have sent a "blended sentencing" bill to Gov. Bill Lee's desk that will crack down on lenient punishments for the worst of the worst juvenile offenders by handing them adult punishments after they age out of the juvenile system.

Under current law, the juvenile justice system loses jurisdiction over a young offender after his or her 19th birthday. The blended sentencing bill gives serious offenders a maximum of three to five additional years in adult prison if they meet certain negative criteria after aging out.

Young offenders would no longer go scot-free after serving less than two years for a violent crime such as carjacking a family at gunpoint, Sexton told Fox News Digital.

"This isn't stealing a candy bar from a grocery store," Sexton told Fox News Digital. "This would be carjackings. This would be murders. This would be kidnappings." foxnews.com


Crime Closures Continue Coast to Coast
Persistent theft prompts Walgreens closure in Maryland's White Oak Shopping Center
The Walgreens in Maryland's White Oak Shopping Center was a staple for many years, but now it has closed for good. Like many high-profile businesses in this part of Montgomery County, including a downtown Starbucks a few miles away, former employees and customers told 7News they closed because of a theft and crime problem.

Police recently added mobile security cameras to the parking lot around the stores. A source told 7News that the management company of the shopping center fired their security company and hired a new one.

Walgreens' corporate announced earlier this year that they plan on closing about 150 stores throughout the country. A replacement for the store in the White Oak Shopping Center has not been announced. The struggling shopping center is still waiting for something to take over the Sears location, which has sat vacant for more than three years. wjla.com


Georgia communities rally against surge in organized retail crime rings
Communities in Georgia have fought back against organized retail crime rings that target major stores for things like snatch-and-run robberies.

Peachtree City Police say there are crime rings for nearly every major retailer and some businesses even have subsets that target specific products from power tools to perfume.

Fayette County authorities say they are fighting back against retail crime rings that are driving up crime stats and have the potential to endanger lives in communities like Fayetteville and Peachtree City.

Keeping retail crime members locked up, awaiting trial, is one strategy Fayette County is using to slow down the trend. fox5atlanta.com


Memphis Shelby Crime Commission releases annual report
The city and county's crime problem got worse between 2022 and 2023, according to the newly-released annual report from the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission. The report claims there is a bright spot, too: crime trended downwards during the second half of the year, which has continued into 2024. Overall, though, crime was up around 6% in 2023.


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Law Enforcement Steps In to Help with Ransomware Attacks
97% of organizations hit by ransomware turn to law enforcement
Sophos has released additional findings from its annual "State of Ransomware 2024" survey. According to the report, among organizations surveyed, 97% of those hit by ransomware over the past year engaged with law enforcement and/or official government bodies for help with the attack.

In addition, 59% of those organizations that did engage with law enforcement found the process easy or somewhat easy. Only 10% of those surveyed said the process was very difficult.

Based on the survey, impacted organizations reached out to law enforcement and/or official government bodies for a range of assistance with ransomware attacks. 61% reported they had received advice on dealing with ransomware, while 60% received help investigating the attack. 58% of those that had their data encrypted received help from law enforcement to recover their data from the ransomware attack.

"Companies have traditionally shied away from engaging with law enforcement for fear of their attack becoming public. If they are known to have been victimized it could impact their business reputation and make a bad situation worse. Victim shaming has long been a consequence of an attack, but we've made progress on that front, both within the security community and at the government level. New regulations on cyber incident reporting, for example, appear to have normalized engaging with law enforcement, and this survey data shows organizations are taking steps in the right direction," said Chester Wisniewski, director, Field CTO, Sophos.

"If the public and the private sectors can continue to galvanize as a group effort to help businesses, we can continue to improve our ability to recover quickly and gather intelligence to protect others or even potentially hold those conducting these attacks responsible," Wisniewski continued. helpnetsecurity.com


'Communication Barriers' Hampering Cybersecurity Efforts
Security tools fail to translate risks for executives
Organizations are struggling with internal communication barriers, which hinder their ability to address cybersecurity threats, according to Dynatrace.

The results indicate that CISOs encounter challenges in aligning security teams with the C-suite, resulting in organizational gaps in understanding cyber risk. As a result, they find themselves more exposed to advanced cyber threats, at a time when AI-driven attacks are on the rise.

CISOs face organizational challenges with C-level executives

CISOs struggle to drive alignment between security teams and the C-suite, with 87% of CISOs saying application security is a blind spot at the CEO and board level.

Seven out of ten C-suite executives interviewed say security teams talk in technical terms without providing business context. However, 75% of CISOs highlight the issue is rooted in security tools that cannot generate insights that C-level executives and boards of directors can use to understand business risks and prevent threats.

Addressing this technology and communications gap is becoming more critical as the rise of AI-driven attacks and cyber threats significantly increase business risk.

Against this backdrop, 72% of CISOs say their organization has experienced an application security incident in the past two years. These incidents carry significant risk, with CISOs highlighting the common consequences they've experienced, including impacted revenue (47%), regulatory fines (36%), and lost market share (28%).

CISOs emphasize DevSecOps automation in risk mitigation measures: helpnetsecurity.com


Is the Potential TikTok Ban 'Unconstitutional'?
TikTok sues U.S. government over possible ban
In a federal lawsuit, TikTok says a new legal act giving it 270 days to divest its U.S. operation or face a ban here is unconstitutional.

A provision of a foreign aid bill President Biden recently signed into law requires TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to divest its U.S. TikTok operation in 270 days, or else U.S. app stores and Internet hosting services will not be allowed to support TikTok or any other ByteDance apps.

In response, TikTok and ByteDance have filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit to review the constitutionality of the act. U.S. attorney general Merrick B. Garland is named as respondent in the filing.

According to TikTok's petition, Congress took the "unprecedented step of expressly singling out and banning TikTok," which it says violates constitutional protections for speech and expression. The petition also alleges that the law's sponsors recognized its unconstitutionality and have "tried mightily" to say it isn't a ban but merely a regulation of TikTok's ownership.

However, according to the petition, the "qualified divestiture" required for TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. is "simply not possible" commercially, technologically or legally, especially within a 270-day timeline. The petition also challenges the constitutionality of the government deciding a company may no longer own and publish a free speech platform.

"There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere," says the petition.  chainstoreage.com
 

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