A
Accountability
Accountability is the obligation to answer for results and the manner in which responsibilities are discharged. Accountability cannot be delegated.
Administrative Error
Errors or mistakes in the administration/operation of the business that result in losses.
Asset Protection
See "Loss Prevention"
Audit Trail
Audit trail or audit log is a chronological sequence of audit records, each of which contains evidence directly pertaining to and resulting from the execution of a business process or system function.
B
Bad Stop
When you stop someone for theft, but determine that the actual theft did not occur.
BOB
See "Bottom of Basket".
BOLO
"Be On the Look Out".
Boosters
Professional shoplifters or organized shoplifting groups are often referred to as "boosters".
Booster Bag
A bag used by a shoplifter to prevent detection by electronic article surveillance systems. The bag is usually lined with several layers of tin/aluminum foil.
Bottom of Basket
The area below the main holding area of a shopping cart. Often used to carry heavier items, and a common area for people to place items they want to avoid paying for. (Example of use: Every cashier needs to check the BOB before finalizing the sale.)
C
CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, limited set of monitors.
Civil Demand
Civil recovery laws allow store and retailers to prosecute alleged shoplifters in civil court. All 50 states have some form of civil recovery law. In some jurisdictions, both a civil recovery demand and a ticket or arrest for "stealing" is initiated by the retailer.
Civil Recovery
See "Civil Demand".
CPTED
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
Conceal
To hide something from view.For example Illinois defines conceal as "although there may be some notice of its presence, that merchandise is not visible through ordinary observation." In some states it is enough to conceal merchandise while in others the shoplifter must take the merchandise past the last point of purchase.
Control
A process, procedure, or business rule that reduces the impact / likelihood of a loss. (Example: Two people verifying a deposit is an example of a cash control. A procedure where a manager must approve all refunds is another example of a control.)
Coop
Elevated and/or concealed platform from which to observe the sales floor. More common among east coast loss prevention.
D
Diversion Program
Typically offered to first time offenders. It allows a person to complete a state mandated program, possibly pay a fine/restitution, and be on probation for the duration of the program. After successful completion of the program the original charges are typically dropped.
DVR
Digital Video Recorder
E
Electronic Article Surveillance
Refers to the security tags that are attached to merchandise and cause an alarm to sound on exiting the store.
Electronic Journal
Replace paper journals used in early POS systems. Records details about the sales and operation of the register, and allows a person to later search transactions based on a variety of terms.
Exception Reports
Exception reports are compiled on an annual basis into a report. Usually the reports are received monthly or bi-weekly. They include information on cash audit overs and shorts, no-sales, flagged returns, employees ringing themselves up, fake employee numbers used to avoid commission docking, excessive markdowns and/or discounts, and merchandise voids. Exception reports have dramatically reduced the amount of time an investigator needs to detect a possible sign of employee embezzlement.
Exit Interview
Interview of employees leaving the company to see how the employee perceives the company, or how others view the operation of the company.
Exposure
The potential maximum impact of a risk.
External Theft
External theft is defined as those losses that occur from a source outside the company or store. (Example: shoplifting)
F
Fence
A person who converts stolen goods. They will buy goods at a small percentage of retail, and then resell those goods either themselves or through another party.
G
Grazing
Employees consuming food or products while working without paying for the items.
H
i
Integrity Shops
Used to detect employee theft at the register. A person posing as a customer will complete a transaction using a variety of methods to detect theft.
Internal Theft
Internal theft is defined as those losses that occur from a source inside the company or store. (Example: employee theft of cash or merchandise)
J
Journal
An electronic or paper record of sales, transactions, and operations of a point of sale(cash register).
K
L
Loss Prevention
Preventing expense to a company resulting from loss of cash, merchandise, or unnecessary expense.
Loss Ratio
The ratio of losses to sales. Usually expressed as a percentage. (Example: $1000 in losses, $75000 in sales, results in a loss ratio of 0.013 or 1.3%)
M
Margin
The net sales minus the cost of goods and services sold.
Mystery Shop
Purchases by unidentified shoppers to evaluate an employees service and behaviors. Some shops are focused on detecting losses while others measure customer service.
N
O
ORC
See "Organized Retail Crime".
Organized Retail Crime
Organized retail crime. Usually applied to organized groups of professional shoplifters, fences, and associates.
OSHA
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A Federal agency within the US Department of Labor that is responsible for setting standards to promote and enforce employee safety in the workplace.
P
PTZ
Pan tilt zoom. A type of camera that can be remotely controlled to move up-down, side-to-side, and to to zoom in or out.
Q
R
RFID
Radio-frequency identification uses a RFID tag applied to or incorporated into a product or it's packaging for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. This technology is different than EAS tagging. RFID tags can contain and transmit unique data.
Risk
Possible loss or exposure to loss. (The loss does not have to be something stolen, it could be exposure to a lawsuit, etc.)
Risk Management
The process of identifying, assessing, communicating and managing a risk or potential risk with the goal of mitigating or avoiding the risk or loss.
S
Shrink
Loss of product at a store by internal or external causes. (Example: That store has high shrink.)
Shoplifter
A person who commits the act of shoplifting.
Shoplifting
The act of stealing merchandise from a store.
Six Steps
1. You must see the shoplifter approach your merchandise
2. You must see the shoplifter select your merchandise
3. You must see the shoplifter conceal, carry away or convert your merchandise
4. You must maintain continuous observation the shoplifter
5. You must see the shoplifter fail to pay for the merchandise
6. You must approach the shoplifter outside of the store
Source Tagging
Attaching EAS(Electronic Article Surveillance) tags during product manufacturing or packaging.
Sliding
Refers to when cashier is passing merchandise around the cash register barcode scanner without actually scanning the item.
T
Tag Pollution
Non-deactivated EAS tags from other stores. These unactivated tags cause false positive alarms.
U
Under-ring
To cause the cash register or other sales recording device to reflect less than the full retail value of the merchandise.
V
W
Wardrobing
When a customer purchases an item of clothing, wears, and the returns it to the store.
X
Y
Z
This work by Deran Durant is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.