Designer clothing, gift cards, electronics, DVDs, CDs, razor blades and over-the-counter medicines are most at risk from organised retail crime, a US report suggests.
The ASIS Foundation has released a report on organised retail crime. Written by American consultants Chris Richardson and Walter Palmer, the report suggests a need to rethink the strategy toward dealing with organised retail crime. They argue that it affects all segments of the industry, including drug stores, supermarkets and mass merchant chain stores.
The research is based in the United States, but sends out a message to the rest of the world where the issue is less considered. “We are hearing more about organised retail crime, and this report needs to be heeded,” says Prof Martin Gill, chair of the ASIS Foundation Research Committee. “There is a lot the rest of the world can learn from the US experience. Clearly the problems there have not always been met with the best solution. This report is a timely reminder that we must take steps to develop a detailed understanding of who is at risk and how that is best managed.”
A major problem is that there is a lack of clarity about what constitutes organised retail crime. “From our research, it is clear that organised retail crime is a significant issue for many retailers,” Palmer says. “However, it is also clear that no one can decide on what constitutes ‘organised retail crime’ and, therefore, without a clear definition, it is certainly impossible to clearly identify its total impact.”
Another issue is the lack of understanding from law enforcement. To back up their view that police officers and others need to be better prepared, they cite a US National Retail Federation study that found that 61per cent of respondents believed law enforcement did not understand the complexity and seriousness of organised retail crime.
Moreover, the impact differs across the retail sector. “Organised Retail Crime has more of an impact on certain types of retailers than others,” Richardson notes. “This can be largely attributed to the types of goods they sell.”
Industry and retail associations have increasingly acknowledged organised retail crime as a growing problem, fuelled, at least in part, by the emergence of internet auction sites, lack of effective legislation to increase criminal sanctions for ORC and the ability to reintroduce stolen good back into legitimate supply chain channels.
Co-author Walter Palmer notes the problem is indeed significant outside the United States. “It seems clear that some executives in Europe see a need to look more closely at this issue and are concerned this trend will increase the viability of shoptheft for profit.”
To view “Organized Retail Crime: Assessing the Risk and Developing Effective Strategies,” go to www.asisfoundation.org
About the CRISP Reports
Connecting Research in Security to Practice (CRISP) Reports seek to summarise the prevailing knowledge about a specific aspect of security, and then recommends approaches to counter the threat. Previous CRISP Reports include “Preventing Gun Violence in the Workplace,” “Strategies to Detect and Prevent Workplace Dishonesty,” “Lost Laptops=Lost Data” and “From the Group Up: Security for Tall Buildings.” These reports are available as free downloads at –
