ESSAY: Hiring and Training Loss Prevention Personnel

After reading this week’s material, answer the following question in the Forum:

– Discuss which factors should be considered when hiring a new LP officer.

– Why are these factors important?

ANSWER

Hiring and Training Loss Prevention Personnel

            Dishonorable shoppers and unscrupulous employees, in the United States, account for approximately $7.5 billion in retail theft losses each year (Kajalo & Lindblom, 2011). Therefore, a majority of major retailers hire loss prevention (LP) officers/specialists to combat theft by both the employees and shoplifters. These specialists provide security for the retail stores, apprehend swindling employees, and prevent merchandise loss from potential shoplifters (Sennewald & Christman, 2011). However, to guarantee the safety …

One of the factors is experience and technical skills. An LP officer should have a loss prevention or security background, including a track record on loss prevention or security (Hayes, 2007). Other factors associated with experience include excellent IT, communication, observation, and investigative skills, including exhibit physical fitness. With excellent investigative skills, an LP officer will be able to stage stings and investigations on shoppers and employees suspected to have committed fraud or theft (Kajalo & Lindblom, 2011). Again, IT skills are also important in handling or monitoring surveillance devices in the retail store, while proper communication allows for the officer …

Lastly, these factors are important as part of the hiring process. For instance, hiring an LP officer with a track security record and an IT background is important since he/she will be able to understand security surveillance and risk management better (Sennewald & Christman, 2011). At the same time, hiring an LP officer with excellent observation, investigative, communication…

References

Hayes, R. (2007). Retail security and loss prevention. Springer.

Kajalo, S., & Lindblom, A. (2011). An empirical analysis of retail entrepreneurs approaches to prevent shoplifting. Security Journal, 24(4), 269-282.

Sennewald, C. A., & Christman, J. H. (2011). Retail Crime, Security, and Loss Prevention: An Encyclopedic Reference. Burlington: Elsevier Science.