The Bunker Blog

Looking for a job in the field of Loss Prevention?  Believe it or not, there are some open positions out there.  Here are some resources that will help you find a job in loss prevention:

LPJobs.com – No doubt the most well known resource for loss prevention jobs is LPJobs.com. Here you can search by keyword, region, state, or even city.  If there is an opening in LP, it is probably listed here.

GetLossPreventionJobs.com –  Newer site, but they have some great tools on the site, including some advanced searches, jobs posting email updates, a resume template for quick application to jobs, etc. The site also is free for job seekers, and free for employers to post jobs.

The Usual Suspects – Career Builder, Monster, and Hot Jobs all post loss prevention jobs, too. Each has different pros and cons. None of them, however specialize in loss prevention, so search results may be less than with sites specifically designed for loss prevention.

There are also some other resources that can help you find a new job in loss prevention:

LinkedIn – Sign up, get recommended by a colleague, and start networking. Join a Loss Prevention group and take part in the discussions there. You can also use your Facebook or Myspace pages to advertise your job search.

Forums and Groups – Join loss prevention forums and groups and take part in the discussions there. Don’t be afraid to ask if anyone knows of any jobs in your area.  Here is a LP Group on Yahoo! to get you started, and there are several more out there. Just google “loss prevention group” or “loss prevention forum”.

Good luck with your job search. Hope this info helps.

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This “Mom”, whose name is being witheld, apparently taught her 21-year-old daughter to steal, and now the duo is teaching her 9-year-old son the family trade. The three were caught after stealing from a Target in New Jersey.

Apparently, mom and big sister would hand off merchandise to the little boy, who then concealed it under his jacket. $430 worth of clothes, electronics, and toys.

Does anybody see a pattern here? Oh, and the best part is, Mom and sis got a summons and were released.

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Here is a news story from WNYC about the increase in shoplifting incidents in New York City since the beginning of the recession. You can listen to the news report below:

But in my experience, I have seen a significant increase in internal theft cases, also, since about the beginning of the third quarter of 2008. The cases have also been much larger in terms of value, too. These, to me, are a much bigger problem than the rise in shoplifting incidents.

A dishonest employee, on average, will be responsible for about eight times more loss than the average shoplifter. Since this economic downturn, most retailers have cut payroll and other benefits in efforts to survive. Employees have been severely impacted by that, and in many cases, have made the decision to subsidize their incomes by stealing.

When employees begin working together to steal, like in this case where Walmart employees were working together to allow thousands of dollars worth of merchandise out the door, the losses could potentially be catastrophic.

What doesn’t make sense to me is that many retailers are cutting the very departments that can protect against these kinds of losses. Loss Prevention agents are losing their jobs daily, and are falling victim to the same cuts that are causing otherwise good employees to make the decision to steal.

Anybody want to weigh in on this?

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Seems like there is no shortage of stories about the rising rate of shoplifting and internal theft today.  Most of these news stories either directly or indirectly blame the rise on the recession.

There is also no shortage of new incidents like this one in Mississippi, where several employees at a local retailer were involved in a fraud scheme where the were paying either very little or nothing for merchandise from the store.

At the same time, retailers across the country are trimming down their loss prevention departments. Payroll budgets are getting slashed, and many jobs have been lost in efforts to cut costs and increase profitability.

With less bodies in the stores serving customers; less LP agents on the floor protecting the merchandise; and with retail crime already on the rise; things sure don’t look good for retailers’ shrink lines this year.

I still say this economic recession is an excuse when it comes to theft. However, employees whose schedules have been cut, who see that their company is cutting costs, starting with payroll; may be tempted to subsidize by stealing from their company.

Folks recently unemployed may take to stealing as a “means to survive”, at least  that is how they would justify it.

The fact is, this whole situation looks like the “perfect storm” when it comes to increased shrink. Sales are down, theft is up; there are less people protecting the stores, and more people stealing from them.

There are a lot of displaced LP agents out there who have recently been unemployed themselves. The jobs that do become available will be tough to get because there will be many more applicants than normal. This gives retailers the opportunity to stack the deck with their retail LP teams.

I have a feeling that some of us (retailers) are going to have that “punched in the gut” feeling when we see the numbers this year. It’s bad enough to see sales going down. Add increased shrink to that scenario, and well, you know what I mean.

We have to be prepared for, and expect the worst. At the same time, we have to continue to meet each new challenge with a renewed determination to hold the line. We may not make many huge gains in the war on shrink this year, but we can at least win a few battles, and make sure the enemy takes some casualties, as we hold the line on retail shrink for 09.

Good luck to us all. As always, feel free to comment. Discussion is welcome and encouraged.

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As I was going through some notes today, I realized that I had never written here about an incident that happened to me several years ago. I think it may explain why I’m so bent on bashing these so-called parents who take their kids along on their little shoplifting expeditions.

I was working as a loss prevention supervisor for a large retail chain at the time. I was watching the store’s cctv system when I noticed two females grabbing anything and everything they could. Without checking size, price, or anything else, they were shoving loads of apparel into two shopping carts.

In one of these carts was a small child, about 3 years old. I continued to watch until I was pretty sure these two were going to steal my stuff. I called the store manager and told him I needed him up front. He came up and I met him just outside my office. I discreetly pointed the pair out to him, and he stepped outside to assist when I went to make the stop. I continued to observe these two stuff over $3000.00 worth of our merchandise into these carts. Then they headed straight for the door, without even attempting to conceal the merchandise in any way. As they stepped out the door, I approached them both, and the store manager stepped up at the same time.

That’s when everything went wrong. The mom of the little girl gave her cart a push, out into the parking lot, with the little girl still sitting in the cart. Of course, I ran out to stop the cart before it could tip over or get hit by a vehicle passing through the lot.

Meanwhile, the two shoplifters ran to their vehicle and started it up. By the time I got to the child and stopped the cart, the store manager was there with me. He took the child from the cart and proceeded back to the store to call police.

At this point, you would think that this mom would stop to get her child, but she didn’t. Instead, while the store manager and I were saving her child, she pulled up to the second cart, and with her car engine running, was trying to load the merchandise from that cart to her car.

I ran up to the car, reached inside the driver side window, turned the car off, and took out the keys. At this point, I told her that she would have to come inside. She cursed me and said “We’ll walk”. When I asked her about the child, she said that she would get her back later, and she and her accomplice proceeded to walk away.

I followed them while the store manager called police. I knew we had a “no touch” policy, but I had already bought myself disciplinary action by reaching into her vehicle. Plus, I was downright angry at this point. So, I did what I knew I shouldn’t have done. I grabbed her up and locked her arms behind her. I then escorted her to our sidewalk and stood her against the wall, face-first. Her friend followed, although I’m not sure why.

Within seconds, police arrived. They listened to our account, watched our video, including the incident outside, and then proceeded to write her a summons on the spot and release her, along with her baby.

So, I got written up for “breaking the rules”, and she got charged with larceny. It was a long time ago, but it still eats at me everytime I read or hear about some parent who puts their child in danger by taking them shoplifting. This so-called mom was prepared to leave her daughter with us to escape getting a citation.

I’d like to say that, were this to happen today, I would handle it differently; but I gotta tell you, I’m not sure I would.

By the way, after a review of the video in this case, my disciplinary action was removed from my file.

Anybody else want to share a similar experience?

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