Why would an armed robber choose your retail location? Because money is available.

Loss prevention security in a robbery situation must be treated very serious. Your security and loss prevention program should always include preparation for a robbery.

Most robberies only take one to two minutes to complete.

IF A ROBBERY OCCURS IN YOUR STORE OR AT THE NIGHT DEPOSIT, REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING:
                                            
* The safety of associates, customers and you is always top priority.                      
                                            
* Be completely cooperative.                
                                           
* Be observant.                                 
                                           
DO’S AND DON’TS DURING A ROBBERY             
                                            
* Do not resist–heroics are uncalled for.  
                                            
* Keep it short–the sooner it’s over, the better.                               
                                            
* Do give up the money when demanded.       
                                            
* Do not argue.                             
                                            
* Do not over-react, do not attempt to grab the weapon or call out for help.              
                                            
* Make every effort to remain calm. Set the example for your fellow associates.   
                                            
* Be attentive.  Listen to the robber and do exactly what you are asked.            
 
* Do not make any sudden movements.  Warn the robber of any surprises or unexpected noises.                                   
                                            
* Expect strong/foul language.  Expect to be told to lay on the floor or ground.              
                                            
* Be alert.  Try to remember details of the robber’s appearance, clothing and/or speech.         
                                                                  
* Keep any holdup note, but do not allow people to handle it.                      
                                            
* If possible, watch the robber’s method and direction of escape.  Do not go with the robber! 
                                           
AFTER A ROBBERY, TAKE THE FOLLOWING STEPS:
                                            
* Lock the front door or gate. Robbers have been known to return to the store.            

* Call the police immediately.

* Close off the area in which the robbery took place.        
                                             
* Write down everything you can recall about the robbery. Provide this information to the police upon their arrival.  

* Do not give the police an exact count of the money stolen. Tell them you will make an exact count and get back to them. You do not want this amount to show up in a police report, then the newspaper.
                                 
* Give the police any holdup note.          
                                            
* Notify your supervisor immediately.                   
                                            
* Fill out a company security and loss prevention report. Forward a copy to your supervisor.                                          

* Refer any media questions to your corporate office or loss prevention security department.

For more information about robbery or loss prevention security contact us at security and loss prevention or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta

The Fine Print – DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY

The information provided is for informational purposes only. It is important that you follow your company’s policies and procedures. The techniques presented although conservative should still be compared with individual state and local laws before proceeding. You should consult your own legal counsel before adopting or using any of the recommendations made. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. expressly disclaims any liability whatsoever, which may arise as a result of adhering to or failing to implement procedures discussed in this material.

Loss prevention security is achieved with many programs and concepts running at the same time. However, the foundation of all of this is the company policy and procedure manual. Is it a living-breathing document that is emphasized daily by upper and middle management? Or is it used only and a means to prop open the office door?

Your P & P should clearly spell out how the company operates and when someone asks a question the first source that the person should be referred to is that manual. You must create a loss prevention security culture when employees automatically start with the P & P manual. This accomplishes several goals.

One of the biggest time and profit wastes in a company is reinventing the same wheel over and over. A policy and procedure manual creates a standard. Do it that way. Another issue that a P & P manual solves is the constant interruptions for information that should be readily available to employees.

For example, you have a procedure for receiving. Everyone that touches that area should know the correct way to receive product. It should be the same way and not open to interpretation. Security and loss prevention is only achieved when everyone is doing the same things the same way.

Of course all of this is only possible if you keep the manual up to date with relevant and current information that has changed with your business changes. Loss prevention security personnel should be involved along with all other areas to review and insure that changes are made as business changes.

Security and loss prevention personal can then focus more on prevention and go after the money that is leaking off the bottom line in more complex areas. Loss prevention security should be a profit center. You will never achieve that until you have a stable foundation.

Make your policy and procedure manual and loss prevention a corner stone in your companies profit model.

For more information about security and loss prevention in Atlanta contact us at: loss prevention security or call 1.770.426.0547

Loss prevention security professionals that have been in the business for some time understand that simply conducting employee theft investigation after investigation is not the primary solution to company profitability.

I began to notice early in my career that the loss prevention people are really the ones catching the sludge coming out of the end of the pipe. We deal with the most undesirable soon to be ex-employees. When you are constantly doing this you have a tendency to look up the pipe and try to figure out where all of this comes from. The answer is that it starts the moment that a person walks in to apply for a job.

If your company has poor or weak hiring policies then you are simply setting the company and yourself up for more sludge. I am not even going into the issue of what this costs the company to train and replace the bad hire let alone the cost of that a poor performer caused you in lost sales and productivity. That is for another blog.

Loss prevention is exactly that, preventing loss. In a way when we have to conduct an employee theft investigation we have lost. Whatever the employee did should have been prevented. So how do we do this?

Security and loss prevention must be involved and have input into the hiring process. We should be working directly with Human Resource management as partners to achieve the company’s goal, which is a profit.

Our company should be selecting the most desirable and best candidate for the position. Part of this should be consideration for their background and attitudes. Has this person been involved in any undesirable behavior, criminal activity, poor personal money management and poor work history? In addition what is this candidates attitude towards management, supervision and loss prevention. What is their work ethic? All of these areas affect the company and loss prevention mission, profit. Loss prevention security is not simply chasing bad guys

This is in addition to security and loss prevention involvement in other areas such as inventory control, merchandising and store layout. Loss prevention security personnel must interface with all areas of the company to insure that the profit mission is achieved. But again these are issues for another days blog.

Security and loss prevention is one of the major keys to a profitable company. Ignore it as many have done and face an unprofitable environment while catching more sludge than you should have to.

For more information contact us: security and loss prevention or call 1.770.426.0547