Retail Crime's Repeat Offender Problem
Auror reported that more than 3 million events have been linked to repeat offenders worldwide through its network.

10% of Offenders Responsible for 70% of Retail Crime Loss and Harm, Auror Data Shows

New findings highlight the growing importance of collaboration, intelligence-sharing and technology in combating organized retail crime.

A relatively small group of repeat offenders is responsible for a disproportionate share of retail crime, according to new data released by Auror following its North America Network Summit in Denver on October 15.

Retailers using the Auror platform reported that the top 10% of offenders account for 70% of external loss and harm in their stores globally, underscoring the importance of identifying and disrupting repeat offenders rather than treating every retail crime incident as an isolated event.

The findings were shared as major U.S. and Canadian retailers gathered to discuss retail crime challenges and opportunities for greater collaboration over the next 12 months.

Over the past five years, North American retailers have recorded approximately 11.6 million retail crime events through Auror's platform. That reporting has helped identify 18,000 repeat offenders operating across multiple organizations, illustrating how shared intelligence can reveal patterns that individual retailers might otherwise miss.

Auror also reported that more than 3 million events have been linked to repeat offenders worldwide through its network, which includes more than 62,000 stores across North America.

The figures highlight a growing emphasis within loss prevention on connecting incidents, identifying repeat offenders and building stronger cases that can support investigations and law enforcement partnerships.

Technology is also helping streamline the reporting process. According to Auror, some major retailers have reduced average crime reporting times to just six minutes, potentially allowing store teams to document incidents more efficiently while maintaining their focus on daily operations and safety.

"Tackling organized retail crime syndicates requires retailers, law enforcement and industry partners to all come together as a united network," said Jon Briegel, Auror's Global Director of Solution Engineering.

The broader takeaway for the retail industry is that effective crime prevention increasingly depends on what happens beyond an individual store's walls. Connecting information across locations and organizations can help investigators recognize patterns, prioritize high-impact offenders and develop a more coordinated response to retail crime.

As retailers confront persistent theft, violence and organized criminal activity, collaboration and actionable intelligence remain central to protecting employees, customers and merchandise.


Theft & ORC Driving Retail Loss
IHL Group: The biggest source of retail loss is…
A new joint study from IHL Group and Sensormatic Solutions reveals where retail losses occur and how much money retailers are losing.

External theft and organized retail crime is the largest individual source of retail loss (25%), but “Beyond Shrink: 2026 Global Total Retail Loss Study” from IHL Group and Sensormatic Solutions also indicates that while it accounts for 26% of total loss among retailers generating $1 billion or more in revenue, for retailers with revenue under $250 million it drops to 17%.

In a related external theft/organized retail crime finding, the study shows that 71% of the largest surveyed retailers reported seeing increased shoplifting, compared with just 28% of the smallest retailers. And looking at internal loss, the study indicates administrative process errors cost an average of $103.40 per incident, close to the $107 average cost of an employee theft occurrence.

Return fraud increased for 68% of respondents, nearly matching the 69% overall reporting increased shoplifting in their retail locations. Even so, respondents ranked fraud prevention only fifth-most-important when prioritizing loss-related performance measures. Supplier fraud, warehouse/sales-area shrink and goods-receiving loss together account for 33% of total respondent losses.

Australia reported the highest rate of organized retail crime growth in the study, with 80% of respondents reporting increases, while 71% of U.S. respondents and 67% of Spanish respondents also reported rising activity in this area, which IHL and Sensormatic analysis indicates is the fact organized retail crime is now an international challenge.

The average loss prevention budget reported in the study is about 1.2% of sales, but respondents reporting spending above 2% of sales were the only cohort in the study to report more declines than increases across loss vectors. In addition, respondents that align staffing and monitoring to traffic patterns report better loss outcomes, with 91% citing peak traffic periods and 89% citing event-driven crowd surges as key drivers of loss. chainstoreage.com


Crime Stoppers Paused in Toronto
Toronto Crime Stoppers pauses program after CBC investigation reveals details of data leak
Toronto Crime Stoppers is pausing its program, effective immediately, said its chair, Sean Sportun, in a statement sent late Wednesday evening.

The news follows an exclusive CBC investigation from earlier in the day revealing that information from more than 1.5 million tips submitted to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs over the last 25 years was exposed in a massive data breach.

It was the first time precise figures were made public showing the severity of the information exposed, as well as how many Canadian tipsters were compromised.

Toronto Crime Stoppers now says it has removed the "Tip Submit” feature from its website and will no longer accept or process any new information intended for the program. It has also advised Navigate360 to immediately suspend the intake function for the Toronto Crime Stoppers chapter from its platform.

In the statement, the organization advised the public not to send tips by phone, online or through its app "until we have a safer way to protect you." cbc.ca


Low Level Arrests Surge As Violent Crime Falls
2025 policing trend: Fewer serious crimes, more minor arrests
Arrests for low-level crimes, including vagrancy and drug possession, rose in the U.S. from 2024 to 2025 even as rates of violent crime including homicide plummeted to historic national lows, according to a new analysis of federal data from the criminal justice and immigration reforms advocacy group FWD.us.

The report analyzes publicly available FBI and immigration arrest data and does not include details of whether charges were dropped or if people served any time in jail or prison.

Four states, California, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona, accounted for over half the increase in vagrancy arrests, according to the report. The legal definition of vagrancy is "roaming from place to place without a permanent job, home, or material resources."  npr.org


Alpha Vision to Showcase AI-Powered Retail Crime Intelligence at WSORCA 2026

Springfield Police announce a decline in crime statistics

UK: How our people help shape policing through digital and data
 

Moving Beyond Compliance-Based Safety Training
Retail Safety Training Is Shifting From Compliance to Preparedness

By the D&D Daily staff

As retailers navigate changing store environments, loss prevention and asset protection teams have an opportunity to strengthen workplace safety through practical training, employee engagement and proactive risk management.

For years, workplace safety training in retail has often centered on compliance requirements, annual refreshers and standardized procedures. While those elements remain important, retailers are increasingly recognizing the value of preparing employees to respond confidently to everyday situations that can create safety risks.

From slips and falls to equipment handling, emergency evacuations and crowded sales floors, retail employees encounter potential hazards throughout their shifts. Addressing those risks requires more than distributing safety manuals or completing online training modules.

One approach is incorporating short, scenario-based exercises into regular store operations. Rather than relying exclusively on lengthy training sessions, managers can use brief discussions during team meetings to reinforce safe practices and review how employees should respond to specific situations.

For loss prevention and asset protection professionals, this creates an opportunity to expand their influence beyond traditional security responsibilities.

LP/AP teams often have visibility into incident reports, operational vulnerabilities and recurring safety concerns across multiple locations. That information can help identify where additional training, clearer procedures or changes to store operations may be necessary.

Employee participation is another important consideration. Workers who feel comfortable reporting hazards, near misses and unsafe conditions can provide valuable information before an incident results in an injury.

However, reporting systems are only effective when employees believe their concerns will be taken seriously. Store leadership must demonstrate that safety feedback leads to meaningful action rather than simply additional paperwork.

Technology can also support these efforts. Digital reporting platforms, mobile training tools and centralized incident management systems can help retailers identify patterns, document corrective actions and deliver consistent guidance across locations.

Ultimately, effective workplace safety programs depend on consistency. Training must be reinforced, procedures should be reviewed regularly and employees need opportunities to practice what they have learned.

For retail LP/AP leaders, the goal is not simply to document compliance. It is to help create a workplace where employees recognize risks, communicate concerns and make safer decisions throughout the workday.


Retail’s Untapped Frontline Talent Pipeline
Why Is the Frontline Stuck at the Counter?
An Urban Institute analysis of federal survey data found that more than 60 percent of American workers held a frontline retail job early in their careers. This past July, 3.7 million people between 16 and 24 were working in retail.

In my class of 40 students, 31 had worked in retail, but only five were planning to pursue a retail career. I’ve seen the same pattern over two years. After three decades in the industry, it doesn’t surprise me. The entry-level jobs they held were designed to show them a task; it was never designed to show them the business.

That should give retail leaders something to sit with. Retail sales associates outnumber retail first-line supervisors and managers by approximately 255.87 percent based on U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. The person you hope to recruit after graduation may already be working for you, and much of what they believe about a retail career has been shaped on the sales floor.

What have they been able to see from there?

My answer is that what people believe about a retail career often isn’t a failure of the industry’s marketing. It can be a reasonable conclusion drawn from the part of the business they’ve been shown. Employees form their opinion of a retail career from the decisions they watch their employer make.

How we handle their questions, whether we back their judgment, and what happens when something goes wrong is the only career story they experience.

When was the last time you took your sales associates through retail complexity hidden in plain sight? Take a product sitting on a shelf. Someone decided to sell it, negotiated its cost, forecast demand, allocated inventory, and set a price. Other people worked out how to promote it, present it, and get it to the customer, whether that meant a truck, stockroom, or pickup locker. What looks like a simple purchase brings together finance, merchandising, operations, technology, and a fair amount of human judgment. therobinreport.com


Home Depot commits $1B towards veteran causes
A key use of the new investment will be to help resolve immediate and long-term veteran housing challenges, including veteran homelessness, through “scalable, innovative solutions.”

EBay cuts 1K jobs, downsizing for the second time this year

Teen Spending Up 6% YoY, Per New Survey

Connecting Chemical Safety, Workforce Readiness and Emergency Response