Strengthen Retail Security & Enhance Workplace Safety with
Off-Duty Law Enforcement

Discover how off-duty law enforcement enhances safety and deters crime while protecting employees and assets.

Retailers are under more pressure than ever to prevent theft, ensure employee safety and maintain business continuity across stores. Criminal activities are on the rise, and they can severely disrupt operations, leading to financial losses and a tarnished reputation. Workplace security not only safeguards assets and sensitive information but also protects employees and visitors, fostering a safe and productive environment.

Hiring off-duty law enforcement is a proven way to level up your retail security strategy. Off-duty personnel are uniquely positioned to deter criminal activities, respond swiftly in emergencies and provide an added layer of protection. By integrating off-duty law enforcement into your security strategy, you can create a safer, more secure workplace environment.

Protos Security's workplace security blog explores ways that off-duty law enforcement can benefit retailers and increase workplace safety.

Read more here
 

Inside the First 24 Hours of an ORC Case:
How Retailers Move From Incident to Investigation

By the D&D Daily staff

When a major retailer uncovers a potential organized retail crime incident, the most important work happens in the first 24 hours. What looks like a simple theft on the sales floor is often just the spark that triggers a coordinated, multi-layered response — one designed to determine whether the incident is isolated, part of a pattern, or tied to a larger crew operating across multiple stores.

The process usually begins with incident intake. Store teams document the event, capture video, preserve receipts, and enter key details into internal reporting systems. Asset protection leaders often conduct quick follow-ups with associates, reviewing behavior indicators and confirming the timeline. If certain red flags are present — high-value product, repeat suspect description, booster bags, vehicle images, or multiple offenders — the case is flagged for escalation.

From there, the case lands with a central ORC or investigations unit, which functions as the hub for intelligence gathering. Investigators comb through data from the retailer’s other stores, looking for matching MO, identical product targeting, or linked license plates captured by store-level technology. They review exception reporting, trend dashboards, and recent alerts from nearby markets. If three or more incidents align, the case is formally opened as an ORC file.

Within hours, investigators start building the case package. This often includes a chronological incident summary, suspect descriptions, recovered video clips, images of vehicles, and maps showing activity across regions. Retailers may engage regional LP leaders to conduct follow-up interviews, gather witness statements, or secure additional footage. Many teams also share early intel with local ORC task forces or retail associations to identify whether the suspects have been active in other chains.

If a suspect or crew is known, the next step is link analysis and pattern confirmation — determining whether the group is tied to a fencing operation, online marketplace activity, or repeat interstate theft.

By the end of the first 24 hours, the retailer typically has a working hypothesis, a preliminary case file, and a decision: continue building, hand off to law enforcement, or connect it to an already active investigation.

This early window often determines whether an incident becomes a solved case or another unsolved loss. And for many ORC teams, the clock starts the moment the first report hits their screen.
 
 
Locked Cabinets & Weighted Shelves
Coles trials locked cabinets, weighted shelves in new clamp down on shoplifting
Weighted shelves are among a series of high-technology measures being trialled by an Aussie supermarket giant to crackdown on professional thieves.

Coles has begun testing several new anti-theft methods at its Highpoint West store in Melbourne's west in a bid to stamp-out career thieves by picking up on unusual customer behaviour. High-value items including baby formula and meat are among the products held on weighted shelves in the Maribyrnong store.

If too many items are taken at once, an alarm is triggered and staff are notified to investigate. A voice message also plays in-store, reminding shoppers of operating CCTV.

"If a customer takes one item that's a normal transaction, but if someone wants to what we call sweep and take a large quantity in one go, [a bell rings]," Coles chief operations and supply chain manager Matt Swindells said. "It could be a customer who wants to buy a large quantity of meat, which we're delighted about, but more often than not though it's not, and so there's an intervention."

As part of the trial, cosmetic items are placed behind locked display cabinets, which can be unlocked remotely by a staff member observing CCTV of the aisle. Other measures, including surveillance vision that replays at the checkout when a customer puts an unscanned item in their bag have already been rolled out in many stores.

Smart gates operational at many Coles checkouts also stop anyone who hasn't paid for their goods from leaving. Coles says the high-scale surveillance is not aimed at targeting "petty criminals".

"These are organised crime gangs and they are coming to our stores repeatedly, stealing high-value items in high-volume and then onselling them," Swindells said. 9news.com.au


Crime Hotspot Sees Some Improvement
Albuquerque sees decline in violent crime, but still ranks high among major US cities

Albuquerque Police Department reports a significant drop in violent crime rates, yet the city ranks 19th in homicides among major U.S. cities, Target 7 investigation finds.

The Albuquerque Police Department announced a notable decrease in violent crime rates, including homicides, robberies, and shootings, in Albuquerque, although the city still ranks 19th in homicides among 59 major U.S. cities.

Police Chief Harold Medina held a news conference this week, declaring a safer Albuquerque and highlighting improvements in crime clearance rates.

Medina shared statistics showing a 39% reduction in shootings with injuries, a 32% decrease in homicides, a 22% drop in robberies, and a 15% reduction in rapes compared to the previous year.

Despite these improvements, Albuquerque ranks worse than cities like Chicago, Denver, and Long Beach in terms of violent crime per capita overall. Target 7 determined these numbers by analyzing Major Cities Chiefs Association data from the first three quarters of 2025.

However, the data also indicates there have been 19 fewer homicides, 102 fewer rapes, 153 fewer robberies, and 456 fewer aggravated assaults than in 2024. koat.com


Violent Crime is Surging Across Canada
New report warns violent crime surging across major Canadian cities

Violent crime is rising in nearly all major Canadian cities, according to a troubling Macdonald-Laurier Institute report.

Violent crime is rising in nearly all major Canadian cities, according to a troubling Macdonald-Laurier Institute report, with sexual assaults increasing in every major urban center over the past decade.

The Prairie provinces — Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta — bear the brunt. Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon and Edmonton consistently rank among the worst cities in the country for violent crime.

Winnipeg’s violent crime rate, for example, is twice that of Ottawa’s, and its severity index is 37 per cent higher than Saskatoon’s, which was the next most violent city in Canada. Robbery in Winnipeg is also more common than virtually anywhere else, clocking in at more than quadruple that of 16 other major metropolitan cities. Its homicide rate, for instance, dwarfs Quebec City’s by almost an entire order of magnitude.

Atlantic Canada isn’t faring much better: Moncton and St. John’s top the violent crime rate rankings in that region, with Halifax — the largest city among the Atlantic provinces — also showing a 24 per cent long-term increase in violent crime. junonews.com


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