ESSAY: Retail Theft Reports

For this assignment, you are to write a 5 to 8 page (this includes the Title and Reference pages) paper discussing Retail Theft Reports. There are two parts to this Assignment.

1) Write an essay (minimum two full pages of text) which addresses the following:

– What role does the written Retail Theft Report play in Loss Prevention?

– Why is it so vital in the fight against shrinkage?

– What constitutes a well written Retail Theft Report?

2) Construct a Retail Theft Report based upon the following information:
• Suspect – male white, age 20-25 years, black hair
• Date July 30, 2013
• Observe suspect enter and select several bottles of Motrin PM and Tylenol Extra Strength and concealed items in pockets of the field jacket.
• Maintain observation
• Suspect passed all points of sale without paying for items
• Value of product $1250.00
• Time 8: 30 PM
• Subject also concealed 25 DVD in a foil line shopping bag
• Organization: Kmart located on Main Street, (Store number 6666) Anytown, AL
• Wearing blue NY Yankee baseball cap, army style field jacket and blue jeans

Research: Additionally, using the APUS Online Library, conduct research and incorporate at least two (2) additional sources other than your readings to support your essay. Use the APA Style to cite your “in-text” references and to list your references on a reference page. A copy of APA Style Examples is available the APUS Online Library http://www.apus.edu/Online-Library/tutorials/apa.htm for your use.

ANSWER

Retail Theft Reports

Part 1

            A written retail theft report plays a significant role in loss prevention. Loss prevention requires information on the nature of retail theft, the suspects (whether they are employees or shoppers), time of the theft, the description of the suspects, the value of the products stolen, and the date the incident took place (Sennewald & Christman, 2008), among other details. All the information is recorded in the retail theft report for reference before appropriate action is taken. Primarily, the role of a retail theft report in loss prevention is to …

For example, a successful loss prevention measure can only be realized once the suspects have been identified, and apprehended (Romeo, 2016). This approach is facilitated by the retail theft report as the description of the suspects will have been provided, including the nature of theft, and the stolen items recovered. Additionally, an advanced written retail theft report contains data/information on ways…

The fight against inventory shrinkage, first, requires a better understanding of the loss patterns in the retail store, the popular items amongst the shoplifters and employees, and the preferable time for shoplifting, and the loss of items. Therefore, fighting against inventory shrinkage requires detailed information, which is contained in the written retail theft report. The report provides the necessary data/information for analysis before using it to identify retail theft rings, as well as mapping out certain unusual behaviors for future reference, as part of loss prevention (Sennewald & Christman, 2008). Again, such a report contains information for use to prevent employee theft by understanding ….

Additionally, fighting against inventory shrinkage is facilitated by a retail theft report since the information contained therein can be used by the management to oversee the redesigning of the store layout (Chen & Sandino, 2012). The layout of a retail store can play a significant role in preventing losses. In this case, with information on previous losses and cases of employee theft and shoplifting, the data contained in the report is important for a resign of the layout, for example, to a free-flow, which is ideal in providing maximum visibility, from all…

A well-written retail theft report constitutes detailed information of the theft within the premises of the retail store. The information comprises the time the incident took place, and the individuals responsible for the theft, be it employees or shoppers, the gender of the culprit, age, and physical description. A well-drafted report also contains observations by the loss prevention officer involving entry point of the suspect, the section of the store the incident took place, how the items were concealed, and the specific items recovered (Romeo, 2016). Additionally…

Part 2: Actual Retail Theft Report

            The theft took place on July 30, 2013, inside Kmart, a retail store (store number 666) located on Main Street, Anytown, AL. At around 8:30 pm, based on the information recorded by the surveillance camera mounted facing the store entrance, a white male suspect aged between 20 and 25 years with back hair entered the store. Like any other shopper, the unsuspecting black …

At the beverage section of the store, he actively selected several bottles of Tylenol Extra Strength and Motrin PM. From where he was standing, it was difficult to determine the specific number of bottles selected. The difficult to determine the number of bottles picked from the shelves was also because he concealed them in the field jacket pockets. In another section of the store, the subject also concealed ….

References

Chen, C. X., & Sandino, T. (2012). Can wages buy honesty? The relationship between relative wages and employee theft. Journal of Accounting Research, 50(4), 967-1000. doi:10.1111/j.1475-679X.2012.00456.x

Romeo, J. (2016). Preventing loss and preserving the customer experience. Security: Solutions for Enterprise Security Leaders, 53(9), 60-63.

Sennewald, C. & Christman, J. H. (2008). Retail crime, security, and loss prevention: an encyclopedic reference. Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-12-370529-7.