Retail Crime Can Be Dangerous and Intimidating.
Retail stores are a vital part of any community. They conveniently and quickly provide the goods local people want and need. And shops are places where residents work and build their careers. Finally, stores also provide entertainment and can be a welcome diversion for busy, stressed citizens.
But ongoing thefts and looting intimidates workers, shoppers, and their loved ones while boosting fear of criminal victimization and the resulting avoidance behavior. Store thefts can result in Injury and worse, as well as strip stores of desirable goods local citizens seek forcing them to look elsewhere for better, safer shopping options.
Partnerships
No individual store or even chain can flourish alone in this climate of increasing crime victimization and lower consequences for those that harm others where they work and shop. Retailers are working together to build stronger, science-based cross-company, local policymaker, and law enforcement partnerships at the individual retail center and market levels in part via the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC).
Over 70 US retail companies work together with 80 protective solution companies and PhD-level research scientists on anti-crime community engagement and technological solutions via Gainesville, FL based Loss Prevention Research Council. LPRC’s Director and University of Florida Research Scientist/Criminologist Read Hayes, PhD works with a team of eight to support retailers as they deal with theft, fraud, and violence across their stores and supply chain using data analytics, randomized field experiments, offender interviews, a series of simulated retail environment labs, and other scientific methods.
What and How
The LPRC team is available to discuss retail crime dynamics, and group and individual crime reduction strategies and tactics at: [email protected]