As retailers prepare for the year's busiest shopping season, they face a growing threat: retail crime has evolved far beyond simple shoplifting into complex, organized operations. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), organized retail crime (ORC) became a top priority for 78.1% of retailers in 2023, reflecting a steady rise from 70.7% in 2022. The impact is substantial: external theft, including ORC, accounted for 36% of retail shrinkage in 2022, making it a major driver of losses during both peak seasons and year-round operations.

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Compounding the issue, 67% of retailers reported increased violence and aggression associated with ORC, and the share of shoplifting incidents classified as felonies nearly doubled, from 8% pre-pandemic to 16% in early 2023.

The Multi-Billion Dollar Response

Retailers and law enforcement are mobilizing unprecedented resources to combat ORC. In California alone, $242.25 million in grants was allocated for ORC prevention through the Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant Program, leading to over 6,000 documented incidents and nearly 2,500 arrests in Q3 2024. Importantly, 40% of grant recipients implemented advanced data systems to monitor crime trends, enabling more effective and targeted interventions.

For businesses, the impact of retail theft extends beyond the immediate loss of goods. Rising costs for security measures and financial losses from theft have forced 64% of small businesses to increase prices. Yet, traditional measures are proving inadequate, with stores apprehending shoplifters in only 2% of incidents and making arrests in just 1%.

Solutions for Modern Loss Prevention

As retail crime grows more violent—8 in 10 retailers report rising aggression levels—retailers are turning to advanced technologies to address these challenges. These tools are designed not only to protect assets but also to disrupt organized criminal networks and support community-focused solutions. Examples of innovative approaches include:

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• Walmart's Smart Prevention: AI-enhanced surveillance and smart barcodes at self-checkout systems help identify organized crime patterns and enable targeted interventions.
• Target's Research Initiative: Conducting a nation-wide roll-out an AI-powered system at self-checkout to detect unscanned items and track potential shoplifters
• Lowe's Project Unlock: RFID chips and blockchain technology render stolen power tools inoperable, disrupting organized theft networks.
• Best Buy's Full-Stack Strategy: Long focused on theft prevention, Best Buy combats it with asset-protection staff, single-entry stores, fewer self-checkouts, and secure storage for high-risk items.
• CVS Health's Collaborative Approach: CVS partnered with law enforcement to dismantle a $50 million ORC operation in the San Francisco Bay area.
• Dick's Sporting Goods' Surveillance: Employs over 18,000 cameras across 720 stores and mobile surveillance units for perimeter and vehicle monitoring, enhancing both in-store and parking lot security.
• Walgreens' Anti-Theft Measures: Combats theft with AI-enhanced monitoring, partnerships with high-tech security providers, and collaboration with law enforcement to tackle ORC.

While these technologies are crucial in deterring crime, their true power emerges when their data flows into a unified ecosystem. Each smart barcode scan, surveillance alert, and license plate reading becomes part of a larger intelligence network. Retailers are increasingly leveraging this wealth of data to facilitate a balanced, community-conscious approach. By analyzing crime patterns, retailers can:

• Target high-risk periods and locations with precision
• Focus enforcement on organized criminal networks while directing low-level offenders to social services
• Collaborate with law enforcement and nonprofits to implement solutions that address root causes of crime, such as economic hardship

Programs like the Restorative Justice Project in Oakland and the Hope Diversion Program in Phoenix exemplify this balanced approach. By integrating advanced technology with community-conscious strategies, these initiatives rehabilitate offenders while maintaining security.

The Power of Data in Crime Prevention

Data-driven decision-making is transforming retail crime prevention, and ForceMetrics is leading the way by enhancing safety, collaboration, and efficiency through actionable insights and seamless information sharing. ForceMetrics equips retailers at both local and corporate levels with tools to improve resource allocation, prevent crime, and engage with communities effectively. Highlights include:

• Improved collaboration with a direct communication pathway between store managers and law enforcement, enabling real-time intelligence sharing and evidence exchange for faster, more effective interventions.
• Smarter resource deployment through advanced crime analytics, showing when and where specific crimes are likely to occur. For example, ForceMetrics can pinpoint high-risk hours, helping store teams allocate loss prevention resources more effectively.
• Holistic corporate insights into organized retail theft and community needs. Headquarters can visualize regional crime patterns, evaluate intervention impacts, and strategically deploy security or new stores based on community data.
• Community-focused solutions by guiding investments in social services. ForceMetrics helps foundations identify areas of need, such as food insecurity, enabling targeted initiatives like food banks to reduce theft, while monitoring trends to assess the impact of these efforts.

By connecting local teams, corporate offices, and community partners, ForceMetrics enables retailers to adopt a data-driven, balanced approach to crime prevention that safeguards assets, reduces theft, and supports surrounding communities.

Transform Your Approach to Retail Security

Retail crime is evolving, and the most effective prevention strategies combine cutting-edge technology with community-focused solutions. From AI surveillance to data-driven insights, tools like ForceMetrics empower retailers to protect their assets, collaborate seamlessly with law enforcement, and foster social responsibility.

Contact us to discuss how ForceMetrics can support your business with innovative, data-driven, and socially conscious crime prevention solutions.