In today's complex retail landscape, effective crime prevention requires a collaborative approach that goes beyond individual store boundaries. By working together with local businesses, law enforcement, and security services, retailers can significantly enhance their security posture and mitigate the risk of crime.
The Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC) recognizes the critical role of the community in preventing retail crime, dedicating one of its Five Zones of Influence on this area. This is because organized crime often operates across multiple locations and jurisdictions, encouraging local organizations to collaborate and leverage available data to coordinate efforts with neighboring businesses and law enforcement agencies.
Historically, retailers have relied on their own internal security measures to prevent crime. However, this approach is no longer sufficient in today's complex threat environment. By leveraging their data and collaborating with other stakeholders, retailers can pool their collective knowledge and resources to create a more comprehensive and effective security strategy.
In the context of retail security, "community" encompasses a broader ecosystem of stakeholders, including neighboring local businesses, private security operations centers (SOCs), security services, and law enforcement agencies with real-time crime centers (RTCCs). Given the staggering economic burden of retail crime - with estimated losses totaling £1.8 billion in the UK, $112 billion in the US, and €17 billion in the EU - it's clear that individual retailers cannot effectively combat this issue alone. To address this challenge, collaborative initiatives have emerged, such as The Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (C.L.E.A.R) in the United States and Pegasus in the United Kingdom, fostering partnerships between law enforcement and the retail private sector to share intelligence, best practices, and resources in the fight against retail crime.
Security Operations Centres (SOCs)
SOCs are typically privately run centers employed by retailers to provide real-time threat detection as well as reactive services. By analysing visual data they help provide situational awareness and proactive detection, reducing incident response times in turn, while enabling forensic analysis of recorded incidents. They also assist with incident log management and information storing and sharing.
Real-Time Crime Centers (RTCCs)
RTCCs are run by law enforcement agencies to provide real-time situational awareness of the area and helping to determine the appropriate response to any live incidents and prevent further escalation in the moment. Both public and privately owned (where available) surveillance technologies feed into a centralised network, greatly enhancing visibility and area covered. Powerful software then automatically analyze footage in real-time, flagging incidents and suspicious behaviour. This also streamlines post-incident processes that could otherwise take days, significantly reducing investigation timelines.
Technology Integration: Key to Success
At the heart of successful community collaboration is the ability to analyze meaningful information in real-time. This requires a robust technological infrastructure that can facilitate the exchange of data between different stakeholders. Open technology standards and centralized networks are essential for ensuring seamless communication and minimizing interoperability issues.
By utilizing video management systems (VMS) equipped with cutting-edge features like forensic search, retailers can significantly streamline the identification and location of specific incidents, individuals, and vehicles linked to organized crime. With a pre-existing database of known identifiers, retailers with their partnering security operations centers (SOCs) and real-time crime centers (RTCCs) can rapidly pinpoint and investigate suspicious activities. This enhanced search functionality enables faster response times, improved evidence collection, and increased collaboration between stakeholders, ultimately bolstering the entire community's ability to combat retail crime.
While data protection regulations such as GDPR and CCPA impose strict rules on the collection, use, and storage of personal data, they do allow for the sharing of personal data with law enforcement agencies under certain circumstances. Retailers must ensure that they comply with these regulations when sharing information with external parties.
Embracing a Collaborative Approach to Retail Crime Prevention
The future of retail crime prevention lies in collaborative and strategic coordination between retailers, law enforcement, and security services. Beyond just managing individual incidents, sharing information in this manner has far-reaching benefits. By aggregating insights and incident data, retailers and the broader community can identify patterns, trends, and repeat offenders with greater ease. This collective intelligence enables the development of data-driven strategies to reduce crime, while also streamlining the investigative process and minimizing manual effort. Furthermore, initiatives like the Loss Prevention Research Council's (LPRC) SaferPlaces program demonstrate the value of collaborative research in improving loss prevention strategies. By engaging law enforcement, experts, retail staff, customers, and even former offenders, these programs uncover valuable insights into the factors driving retail crime, ultimately contributing to a safer and more secure shopping environment.
The future of combating retail crime lies in the shared exchange of information. Community collaboration and technology integration are essential components of a comprehensive retail security strategy. By working together and sharing information, retailers can significantly enhance their security posture and mitigate the risk of crime. As the retail landscape continues to evolve, it is imperative that retailers prioritize community collaboration and invest in the necessary technology infrastructure to support this approach.
