The Bunker Blog

Here we have yet another example of a shoplifter deliberately trying to injure a store employee. Thankfully, the injuries seem to be minor, according to this story. It seems like the shoplifters are getting more and more desperate.

Apparently, there is video of this here

A store clerk was hit and injured by a suspected shoplifter’s car.
Police say the incident happened around 6 p.m. on December 16 at the Academy store at 1351 S Round Rock.
The 38 YO female store clerk heard the anti-theft alarm at the store and saw a woman rapidly leaving the store and heading for the parking lot.
The woman got into a car, which was parked in a handicap parking spot near the store’s front doors.
The employee followed her and attempted to get the car’s license plate number.
That’s when the fleeing suspect’s vehicle backed into the store clerk causing minor leg injuries.
Police describe the single suspect as:
Hispanic female
30 to 35 years old
5’5”
about 240 pounds
She has long black hair worn in a braided ponytail. At the time of the offense, she was wearing a heavy pink jacket, trimmed with black fur, and carrying a large maroon handbag.
If convicted, the woman faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. It is not known what merchandise was taken.

LiveLeak.com – Fleeing shoplifter suspect’s car hit a store clerk

Technorati Tags: employee injured by fleeing shoplifters,retail theft,shoplifting shoplifters,loss prevention

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Every successful business sets goals. In fact, most businesses have many goals, both short term and long term. Sometimes, though, small and medium sized businesses may overlook one very important goal: The shrink goal. To reduce shrink, you need to know your current shrink level, have a plan to reduce it, and have something (a goal) by which you can measure the effectiveness of your efforts. Jim Lockwood, at SevenActions.com, has written a great article on setting SMART goals. These same principles can be applied to setting shrink goals. Here is how:

• Specific Goal – Specifically, how much shrink is acceptable? Most of us would immediately answer, “None”, but that is not realistic in most cases. Businesses need to understand what shrink is, and then set a goal as to what is the acceptable number, in dollars, and as a percent to sales.
• Measurable Goal – This is where you need to know your current situation. You’ll need to take inventory to see what is “lost”. Spot checks throughout the year on high shrink items will help you measure progress, and then a follow up inventory, at least annually, will give you your results.
• Achievable Goal – Don’t set a goal that you don’t even believe you can reach. This is very important. If you have a high shrink level, an achievable goal may be to cut that shrink by 20% over the next year, or it may be achievable to cut it by 40%. If you believe it is possible, after identifying the causes, to reduce shrink by 40%, then it is.
• Reasonable Goal – It is not reasonable to expect to eliminate all shrink at once. Most of the time, shrink is reduced incrementally by eliminating the current causes, and then reacting to new causes as they arise. With the right plan, and a real commitment to reduction of losses, it is reasonable to expect to lose less than 1% of sales to shrink.
• Time-Based Goal – Set a date by which you want to achieve your shrink goal. Give yourself a year so that you have a full year of sales to compare with your losses and have a true read of your shrink as a percentage of your sales. However, you can also set “waypoint” dates where you can perform mini-inventories in high shrink areas so you can re-direct your efforts and revise your plan if necessary.

Because a reduction in shrink equates to a huge increase in profits, it is absolutely worth the time and effort to set a shrink goal and hold your business, and yourself, accountable for reaching it.

Technorati Tags: retail loss prevention,retail shrink,shrink reduction,shrink goal,lp best practices

Popularity: 28% [?]

This is another bulletin from www.privateofficer.com. If this doesn’t boil your blood, something’s wrong. I know this has absolutely nothing to do with retail loss prevention, but I just want to rant a little, so please bear with me.

It was 37 degrees outside, and this so-called “mother” leaves her 10-month-old child in the car while she goes dancing?!?! WHAT?

This is exactly the kind of parenting that produces the values deficit we see in teens today. I just can’t imagine having a parent, or parents, like this. How do you punish her? What is appropriate? I just don’t know the answer to that. My emotions say one thing (like, put her in a cold car, wearing a diaper, and lock her in there for hours), but my reason says that there has to be a way to correct this behavior and make her take responsibility for her actions.

I wonder what she thought was going to happen. Is this a result of the “ME” generation? Have we, as a society, started down a slippery slope where today’s generation puts their needs, their wants, and their fun, before everything, including their own children? This is really scary stuff.

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. — A Crossville mother is accused of leaving her baby in a cold automobile while she went dancing at a bar.
Police said they received a call from a club patron about a baby in a car that was unattended in the parking lot. When officers arrived and began to investigate they found that the mother was inside the club and had left the baby alone. Officers took Leaha Richardson off the dance floor of Mr. Edds Friday night to ask her why she left her 10-month-old son in her van.
Police charged Richardson with with child abuse and transported her to the county jail.
The temperature outside at the time was 37 degrees.
The baby’s grandparents have temporary custody of the child.

MySpace.com: Read Bulletin

Technorati Tags: baby left in car,dancing mom,Crossville TN

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