Sentry Security & Investigations can provide a detailed Loss Prevention Survey to access your small to medium size retail/food operations to help you combat the rising cost of Shoplifting, Fraud, and Employee Theft. 2.5 out of 5 Retail and Food business fail within one to five years . DON’T you be one of Them!!!!

Our Services include:

1. Test Shoppers, to covertly view your Facility looking for signs of dishonesty and/or theft.
2. Loss Prevention Surveys, We will review every facet of your operation, From your Physical Security to internal and external weakness and provide methods to tighten up our overall operation and save bottom line profits.
3. Pro or re-active services too include:
CCTV installation if needed, “The most expensive solution is not always the first/best answer.”
4. Employment Termination Issues/Escorts. Limit your liability, allow ur Team to assist in the escort of dishonest/problem employees. 

READ/Review the statistics impacting your business!

Three common scams that retail thieves use in addition to outright shoplifting:

Bar code fraud
Scammers switch bar codes, which contain the prices for products, from lower-price items onto higher-price ones. Unsuspecting (or complicit) checkout clerks ring the items up for the lower price.
Bar code programs are found on the Internet, and the codes are printed onto adhesive paper. Retailers are encouraging manufacturers to print bar codes onto packages to help prevent bar code fraud.

Gift card fraud
Stolen credit cards, which need to be used quickly, are often used to buy up large quantities of gift cards -- which are much easier to buy in a short period of time than bulky merchandise.
The gift cards are then used to buy merchandise at the store or are sold on Internet auction sites. Thieves also sometimes copy numbers from gift cards in stores and make counterfeit cards, which they use after customers purchase the gift cards, and they are activated. Criminals sometimes check cards' available balances on retailers' websites. |When stolen goods are returned, gift cards are often given for store credit and then sold or used.

Return fraud
Sometimes thieves simply return stolen goods and either receive cash from retailers who don't require receipts or use counterfeit receipts to get cash or credit. In some cases, thieves will buy one item and steal several other versions of the same item, then use the first item's receipt to repeatedly make returns to the store for cash or credit.

Three common scams that retail thieves use in addition to outright shoplifting:

Bar code fraud
Scammers switch bar codes, which contain the prices for products, from lower-price items onto higher-price ones. Unsuspecting (or complicit) checkout clerks ring the items up for the lower price.
Bar code programs are found on the Internet, and the codes are printed onto adhesive paper. Retailers are encouraging manufacturers to print bar codes onto packages to help prevent bar code fraud.

Gift card fraud
Stolen credit cards, which need to be used quickly, are often used to buy up large quantities of gift cards -- which are much easier to buy in a short period of time than bulky merchandise.
The gift cards are then used to buy merchandise at the store or are sold on Internet auction sites. Thieves also sometimes copy numbers from gift cards in stores and make counterfeit cards, which they use after customers purchase the gift cards, and they are activated. Criminals sometimes check cards' available balances on retailers' websites. |When stolen goods are returned, gift cards are often given for store credit and then sold or used.

Return fraud
Sometimes thieves simply return stolen goods and either receive cash from retailers who don't require receipts or use counterfeit receipts to get cash or credit. In some cases, thieves will buy one item and steal several other versions of the same item, then use the first item's receipt to repeatedly make returns to the store for cash or credit.

Read the statistics impacting your business!!!

 Retail theft is an organized criminal business that costs U.S. retailers and consumers billions each year. How professional thieves, known as boosters, steal items and how fences move them for resale:

Targeted businesses
• Supermarkets
• Department stores
• Drug stores
• Electronics stores

Profit from theft
Boosters make the most profit per item stolen; Level 3 fences make the most profit by volume. Once an item is stolen, it takes from 48 to 72 hours to pass between each fence.

Boosters
Work alone or in teams. The more sophisticated boosters cross state lines and have lookouts and getaway cars. They use foil-lined bags or purses to defeat theft-detection devices. Boosters often target specific products and have regular buyers.

How theft rings operate
1. Manufacturer sells item to retailer for $75.
2. With a 28% markup, retailer puts item for sale at $96.
3. Booster steals item, sells to Level 1 fence for about 30 cents on the retail dollar, or $28.90. Profit: $28.90
4. Level 1 fence sells to Level 2 fence for about 40 cents on the dollar, or $38.40. Profit: $9.50
5. Level 2 fence sells to Level 3 fence for about 60 cents on the dollar, or $57.60. Profit: $19.20
6. Level 3 fence, posing as second-source wholesaler, sells to retailer for about 75 cents on the dollar, or $72. Profit: $14.40

Level 1 fences
Buys stolen merchandise from boosters and sells it to higher-level fences. They may operate out of their homes or their own small businesses.

Level 2 fences
Buys stolen items from lower fences or boosters. They usually deal with larger amounts of stolen items and may own or operate a local business.

Level 3 fences
Cleans and repackages items for resale. They often pose as legal wholesalers or distributors and sell stolen merchandise to retail store chains, large and small, who may be unaware that the items are stolen. Fences often mix stolen and legitimate merchandise for resale.

Sources: Jerry Biggs, Organized Retail Crime Division Coordinator, Walgreens; National Retail Foundation
 

Read the statistics impacting your business!!!

 Retail theft is an organized criminal business that costs U.S. retailers and consumers billions each year. How professional thieves, known as boosters, steal items and how fences move them for resale:

Targeted businesses
• Supermarkets
• Department stores
• Drug stores
• Electronics stores

Profit from theft
Boosters make the most profit per item stolen; Level 3 fences make the most profit by volume. Once an item is stolen, it takes from 48 to 72 hours to pass between each fence.

Boosters
Work alone or in teams. The more sophisticated boosters cross state lines and have lookouts and getaway cars. They use foil-lined bags or purses to defeat theft-detection devices. Boosters often target specific products and have regular buyers.

How theft rings operate
1. Manufacturer sells item to retailer for $75.
2. With a 28% markup, retailer puts item for sale at $96.
3. Booster steals item, sells to Level 1 fence for about 30 cents on the retail dollar, or $28.90. Profit: $28.90
4. Level 1 fence sells to Level 2 fence for about 40 cents on the dollar, or $38.40. Profit: $9.50
5. Level 2 fence sells to Level 3 fence for about 60 cents on the dollar, or $57.60. Profit: $19.20
6. Level 3 fence, posing as second-source wholesaler, sells to retailer for about 75 cents on the dollar, or $72. Profit: $14.40

Level 1 fences
Buys stolen merchandise from boosters and sells it to higher-level fences. They may operate out of their homes or their own small businesses.

Level 2 fences
Buys stolen items from lower fences or boosters. They usually deal with larger amounts of stolen items and may own or operate a local business.

Level 3 fences
Cleans and repackages items for resale. They often pose as legal wholesalers or distributors and sell stolen merchandise to retail store chains, large and small, who may be unaware that the items are stolen. Fences often mix stolen and legitimate merchandise for resale.

Sources: Jerry Biggs, Organized Retail Crime Division Coordinator, Walgreens; National Retail Foundation
 

How much shoplifting costs you is directly related to your profit margin. For example, if you have a 10% profit margin, and someone steals a $2.00 item, you will have to sell $20.00 in merchandise to make up for that loss. Some stores have very low profit margins, and suffer greatly because of shoplifting. Grocery stores often have profit margins of around 1%. If someone shoplifts steaks worth $7.00, the store must sell goods worth $700.00 to recover the loss. It's easy to see how out-of-control shoplifting can quickly threaten the viability of your business.

Because of this relationship between profit margin and the cost of shoplifting, it's good to spend some time thinking about what merchandise you should spend the most effort protecting.
 Before you can figure out how much shoplifting costs your business, you have to determine the difference between the inventory you should have and what you actually do have. Most businesses do inventories to calculate this difference, which is known as "shrinkage." Shrinkage is the result of four main things: administrative and bookkeeping errors, employee theft, vendor or deliveryman theft, and shoplifting.

Higher than normal shrinkage levels are associated with:

stores with persistent overstocks and higher markdown ratios
multi-floor stores with many entrances and exits
stores with supplementary storerooms and warehouses
sparsely staffed stores, open long hours
stores with high personnel turnover rates
mall stores with a combination of individual assistance, self-service, and central checkout counters
stores with inadequate screening of employees
 

 It can be hard to tell what percentage of your shrinkage is due to shoplifting. You can get a rough estimate based on how many shoplifters you catch, and how much merchandise you recover, but this depends a lot on what security measures you have in place. You can also look for signs of shoplifting activity, such as hangers and ripped-off priced tags lying around, merchandise placed where it shouldn't be (on the floor, for example), and product packages disposed of in hiding spaces. Generally, stores where there isn't much customer service have bigger problems with shoplifting, and certain categories of stores have more shoplifting because their merchandise is more desired by thieves. You also have to take into account the neighborhood around your store. Stores in cities tend to have a bigger problem than stores in the suburbs and rural areas.
 

 Fruitland Park, FL — Over 530,000 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended and more than $116 million recovered from those thieves by just 23 major retailers in 2006, according to the 19th Annual Retail Theft Survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, the leading loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm. Shoplifters and dishonest employees stole over $6.0 billion in 2006 from these 23 major retailers.

"This is only the second time in the past 9 years where both the apprehensions and recovery dollars from shoplifters and dishonest employees has increased. Shoplifting apprehensions and recovery dollars were up an amazing 11.2% and 13.9% respectively", said Mark R. Doyle, President of Jack L. Hayes International. "And while employee theft apprehensions were up just under 7%, the recovery dollars were up over 16%." Mr. Doyle added, "The seriousness of retail theft is a much greater problem than many people realize. The theft losses experienced by retailers are driving consumer prices higher, hurting our economy, and even forcing some retailers to close stores or go out of business."

This highly anticipated annual survey reports on over 530,000 apprehensions taking place in just 23 large retail companies representing 14,118 stores with combined 2006 annual sales in excess of $537 billion.

Some of the survey highlights include:

• Over 530,000 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2006, up 10.6% over 2005. The total dollars recovered from these apprehensions was over $116 million, up 15.15% over 2005.
• 463,682 shoplifters were apprehended in 2006, reflecting an increase of 11.2% from the prior year.
• For the 6th straight year, the dollars recovered from those apprehended shoplifters ($59.6 million) increased; this time by 13.9% over 2005.
• Surveyed companies apprehended 1 in every 27.9 employees for theft. (Based on 1.85 million employees.)
• The number of dishonest employees apprehended (66,507) and the dollars recovered during those apprehensions ($56.6 million) both increased in 2006 (6.6% and 16.4% respectively).
• On a per case average, dishonest employees steal approximately 6.6 times the amount stolen by shoplifters ($851.44 vs $128.71).

TOTAL RETAIL THEFT

How much shoplifting costs you is directly related to your profit margin. For example, if you have a 10% profit margin, and someone steals a $2.00 item, you will have to sell $20.00 in merchandise to make up for that loss. Some stores have very low profit margins, and suffer greatly because of shoplifting. Grocery stores often have profit margins of around 1%. If someone shoplifts steaks worth $7.00, the store must sell goods worth $700.00 to recover the loss. It's easy to see how out-of-control shoplifting can quickly threaten the viability of your business.

Because of this relationship between profit margin and the cost of shoplifting, it's good to spend some time thinking about what merchandise you should spend the most effort protecting.
 Before you can figure out how much shoplifting costs your business, you have to determine the difference between the inventory you should have and what you actually do have. Most businesses do inventories to calculate this difference, which is known as "shrinkage." Shrinkage is the result of four main things: administrative and bookkeeping errors, employee theft, vendor or deliveryman theft, and shoplifting.

Higher than normal shrinkage levels are associated with:

stores with persistent overstocks and higher markdown ratios
multi-floor stores with many entrances and exits
stores with supplementary storerooms and warehouses
sparsely staffed stores, open long hours
stores with high personnel turnover rates
mall stores with a combination of individual assistance, self-service, and central checkout counters
stores with inadequate screening of employees
 

 It can be hard to tell what percentage of your shrinkage is due to shoplifting. You can get a rough estimate based on how many shoplifters you catch, and how much merchandise you recover, but this depends a lot on what security measures you have in place. You can also look for signs of shoplifting activity, such as hangers and ripped-off priced tags lying around, merchandise placed where it shouldn't be (on the floor, for example), and product packages disposed of in hiding spaces. Generally, stores where there isn't much customer service have bigger problems with shoplifting, and certain categories of stores have more shoplifting because their merchandise is more desired by thieves. You also have to take into account the neighborhood around your store. Stores in cities tend to have a bigger problem than stores in the suburbs and rural areas.
 

 Fruitland Park, FL — Over 530,000 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended and more than $116 million recovered from those thieves by just 23 major retailers in 2006, according to the 19th Annual Retail Theft Survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, the leading loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm. Shoplifters and dishonest employees stole over $6.0 billion in 2006 from these 23 major retailers.

"This is only the second time in the past 9 years where both the apprehensions and recovery dollars from shoplifters and dishonest employees has increased. Shoplifting apprehensions and recovery dollars were up an amazing 11.2% and 13.9% respectively", said Mark R. Doyle, President of Jack L. Hayes International. "And while employee theft apprehensions were up just under 7%, the recovery dollars were up over 16%." Mr. Doyle added, "The seriousness of retail theft is a much greater problem than many people realize. The theft losses experienced by retailers are driving consumer prices higher, hurting our economy, and even forcing some retailers to close stores or go out of business."

This highly anticipated annual survey reports on over 530,000 apprehensions taking place in just 23 large retail companies representing 14,118 stores with combined 2006 annual sales in excess of $537 billion.

Some of the survey highlights include:

• Over 530,000 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2006, up 10.6% over 2005. The total dollars recovered from these apprehensions was over $116 million, up 15.15% over 2005.
• 463,682 shoplifters were apprehended in 2006, reflecting an increase of 11.2% from the prior year.
• For the 6th straight year, the dollars recovered from those apprehended shoplifters ($59.6 million) increased; this time by 13.9% over 2005.
• Surveyed companies apprehended 1 in every 27.9 employees for theft. (Based on 1.85 million employees.)
• The number of dishonest employees apprehended (66,507) and the dollars recovered during those apprehensions ($56.6 million) both increased in 2006 (6.6% and 16.4% respectively).
• On a per case average, dishonest employees steal approximately 6.6 times the amount stolen by shoplifters ($851.44 vs $128.71).

TOTAL RETAIL THEFT

Hiring and Employee Theft

Hiring and Employee Theft