Eric Tasso, President and CEO, IONODES explains how sophisticated technologies are helping businesses fight back against rising crime.
It takes only minutes inside an urban US drugstore to see the evidence of today’s challenging retail climate. Everyday items, from deodorant to cosmetics, are locked inside cabinets.
A security officer strolls nearby. On the heels of rough COVID-19 years, many retailers are struggling to operate profitably and safely amid increasing crime. Business conditions vary widely according to geography and business type but there are some alarming trends.
While not entirely new, organised retail crime (ORC) – large scale retail theft with the intent to sell, distribute or return stolen goods for their cash value – is on the rise.
These high profile thefts are often part of sophisticated crime rings that coordinate their attacks far in advance.
Criminals are increasingly brazen, simply walking in and walking out with goods, knowing they can flee before law enforcement can respond.
And, while ORC is becoming more prevalent and dangerous, everyday shoplifting by individuals also impacts retailers of all sizes.
Numbers tell the story
The 2023 Retail Security Survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) points to the issues and ramifications of the current retail reality.
Shrinkage (or shrink) measures losses calculated by a retailer during a specific period.
The study released this year found that when taken as a percentage of total retail sales in 2022, shrink represented $112.1b in losses, up from $93.9b in 2021.
The study showed that shrink was primarily driven by theft, including organised retail crime. Theft – both internal and external – accounted for nearly 65{4c780420328ebf91e728def6e03d5124000ffe0456af2028d721e00ca095008f} of retailers shrink.
Perhaps even more concerning is heightened violence. According to the study, a retailers’ top priority is to provide a safe environment for employees and customers.
Yet a staggering 88{4c780420328ebf91e728def6e03d5124000ffe0456af2028d721e00ca095008f} of retailers reported that shoplifters (overall) are “somewhat more or much more aggressive and violent compared with one year ago.”
And those that specifically track the number of violent shoplifting incidents reported that they saw shoplifting events involving violence increase 35{4c780420328ebf91e728def6e03d5124000ffe0456af2028d721e00ca095008f} on average.
Due to issues such as these, many retailers have been forced to dramatically alter their business models, including reducing operating hours at some locations (45{4c780420328ebf91e728def6e03d5124000ffe0456af2028d721e00ca095008f}), altering the availability of products in stores (30{4c780420328ebf91e728def6e03d5124000ffe0456af2028d721e00ca095008f}) or even closing locations (28{4c780420328ebf91e728def6e03d5124000ffe0456af2028d721e00ca095008f}).
Capitalising on tech advances
Against this backdrop, it’s easy to see why retailers are looking at novel approaches to protect property, workers and profits. For most, it’s a multipronged approach.
Retailers are forging closer relationships with law enforcement at state, local and federal levels and boosting security measures. Most often, this boost is led by technology.
Local law enforcement and private security personnel can only do so much. Technology extends both real time and investigative security capabilities.
Recent technology advancements, especially related to video access and sharing, are putting techniques once only available to sophisticated security operations centres (SOCs) within reach for small and medium sized business owners through more cost-effective, easily deployable solutions.
Body-worn cameras are being developed specifically for retail environments.
These compact yet powerful connected devices are equipped with features like location tracking, 4K video and 4G LTE, allowing workers to relay conditions in real time, stream video and send alerts.
They are used both for loss prevention and to enhance safety and security.
Tools like these are enabling retailers to use police-like investigation centres to fight theft.
A recent example involved a leading big-box retailer hit repeatedly with large scale theft.
Its internal security team spent months investigating the thefts – reviewing security camera footage, tracking licence plates and surveilling suspects.
Eventually, they identified the criminal network allegedly responsible and shared their findings with the local sheriff’s office, who then delivered search warrants and arrested the suspects.
Many private sector companies are going beyond merely assisting law enforcement to handing over the bulk of evidence that leads to prosecutions.
The rise of real time crime centres
Real time crime centres (RTCCs) take the concept of public-private collaboration even further.
An RTCC is a centralised hub with personnel that use technology to access video from public and private cameras and sensor data to enable law enforcement to function more efficiently and effectively.
RTCCs are steadily gaining ground in the fight to protect communities against public safety threats.
While initially implemented primarily in major downtown areas, RTCC adoption is spreading to smaller communities.
It’s estimated that there are now more than 150 RTCCs nationwide, from New York and Detroit to Albuquerque, New Mexico and Mesa, Arizona.
Cities and municipalities are turning to RTCCs at a time when law enforcement is challenged to keep pace with rising crime, especially when faced with staffing shortages and flat or falling budgets.
Additionally, there is widespread recognition that policing is by nature reactive.
State-of-the-art technologies enable public and private security forces to proactively deter and detect crime and provide the tools to respond faster and more effectively.
There is no singular formula for an RTCC. At its core, an RTCC facilitates data gathering, analysis and information sharing that helps response and decision-making.
Within that framework, there are hundreds of technologies that can be deployed, including analytics that trigger alerts across a range of applications. Some RTCCs may only have the basics.
At a minimum, an RTCC requires access to public IP cameras – and ideally, private cameras – and a video and data integration platform.
Other solutions can then layer on top. No matter how many disparate technologies are deployed, however, no one wants to manage multiple systems and interfaces.
Either a fully-fledged VMS or video aggregation tool is key to centralised video viewing and management.
Risk vs. reward
While cities and municipalities are responsible for implementing RTCCs alongside law enforcement, citizens’ desire for safer communities is helping to drive adoption.
It’s a win-win as law enforcement agencies are simultaneously looking for ways to “do more with less.”
But, it’s not all upside. As crime centres consolidate information from cameras, sensors and other sources of intelligence into single platforms, privacy concerns abound.
The more we rely on video, the greater the privacy challenges.
While not trivial, this type of pushback is nothing new.
New technologies in the digital age, from ubiquitous cell phone and internet use to digital commerce, have brought privacy concerns that continue to be debated.
In addition to worries over “big brother” surveillance and tools such as facial recognition software are pervasive cybersecurity concerns.
Many larger organisations with on-staff CIOs and IT departments understand the reputational and organisational risks of data breaches.
So, cybersecurity concerns pose a significant barrier for entry. One way to mitigate this risk is by choosing solutions carefully, procuring external expertise if needed.
It’s essential that infrastructures and policies follow cybersecurity best practices and that vendors have the necessary compliance certifications.
At the end of the day, communities need to weigh the risks versus the rewards. The benefits of an RTCC are far ranging, both for law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.
Technology amplifies the eyes and ears of officers and detectives.
The ability to view and share live and video from both public and private cameras as well as to ingest sensor data such as license plate readers (LPRs), access control systems and gunfire detection solutions empowers law enforcement to respond faster, solve more investigations, identify crime patterns and staff more effectively.
Technology housed within RTCCs enables crucial real time situational awareness, which allows officers to respond to incident and distress calls more prepared and improve safety and outcomes.
Advanced analytics and mapping software helps operators quickly visualise, correlate and share relevant information with officers in the field and partner agencies.
A connected community
Solving today’s security challenges across a varied retail sector isn’t a one-note solution.
Technology is serving up vital tools that can be leveraged to extend private security and public law enforcement efforts. But, collaboration is vital.
Whether a small security system or sophisticated RTCC, it can’t exist in a vacuum. It takes information sharing, cooperation with neighbours and law enforcement, open dialogue with partners and vigilance.
We’re all in it together.
