Getting older is not all bad. This is my 32nd year in LP, and I still love it. I have learned a lot, but the more I learn, the more I realize how little we really know. One thing is certain: LP is a critical part of retail success. I also believe the key to LP success is deterrence.
Obviously, loss prevention exists to support the organization’s operating goals and structure. Intimate understanding of how and why the organization works is critical. It is hard to protect something we do not completely comprehend or support. We need to really understand what our leaders are trying to accomplish, as well as our current processes and infrastructure.
Although retailers now sell other people’s stuff through a variety of channels, physical stores, offices and distribution centers still dominate. LP professionals should help the company’s facility managers better control these mission-critical spaces. The company cannot meet or beat its goals if its sales and support facilities are not safe and secure. And adequate safety and security is a function of the quantity and quality of effort in each space.
While acknowledging the importance of corporate strategy, process and structures, this article focuses on a third area of LP expertise — deterrence. The neat thing is that sufficient deterrence helps the company meet its overall goals through better space management. Deterrence is what LP does, and we should understand how it works…or does not work…and excel at managing it.
In short, deterrence is the inhibiting influence that personal concern or “fear” exercises over a potential offender. This effect occurs when a person tempted to commit a crime refrains from doing so because he or she fears imminent apprehension and severe consequences.
As we all know, real-world deterrence is much easier said than done. To this end, our Loss Prevention Research Council and University of Florida teams are focused on the mission of creating better deterrence in busy, far-flung stores.
To shed further light on how leading retailers are working with the LPRC to make their companies more successful with research, Vice Presidents Ken Cornish of The Kroger Co. and Bill Titus of Sears Holding Corporation discuss their challenges and the use of science to win in this month’s Loss Prevention magazine feature articles.