Summer 2026

Asset Protection | Profit Enhancement | Retail Performance

Insights Retailers as the Community's Eyes and Ears Deploying New Tech amid Privacy Concerns Inside the Mind of a Shoplifter

PLUS:

The Cost of Bad Questions in Interviews

Summer 2026 | v25.3 losspreventionmedia.com Official Publication of the Loss Prevention Foundation

Harnessing the Power of Process

ion Lea t c e n Six S t igma for Asset Pro

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Summer 2026

Contents

Features

26

Deploying New Technologies Amid Privacy Concerns

By Courtney Wolfe

Why ESRM Is the New Frontier

THE REVOLUTION Why ESRM Is the New Frontier

By Scott McBride

Loss Prevention Magazine

20

30

“You Could Change Somebody’s Life” Retail’s Role as the Community’s Eyes and Ears

Summer 2026

Summer 2026

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The Revolution: Why ESRM Is the New Frontier

By Scott McBride

By Kelsey Stamey

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Zdenka Darula / Shutterstock.com

By Ben Borer, LPC, MBOE, LSSBB

FEATURE

12

Harnessing the Power of Process: Lean Six Sigma for Asset Protection

Departments 6 Editor’s Letter

Take Time for Your Anchors

By Stefanie Hoover, CFI

8 Editorial Board

58 Solutions Showcase

10 Retail Sponsors

60 Solutions Showcase

40 Founders’ Awards

62 Solutions Showcase

Featuring Cory Lowe, PhD, Director of Research, LPRC, and Professor Robert Hanson, Department Head, Criminal Justice and Loss Prevention Department, NMU

Leadership When the Playbook Is Gone

By Steve and Stacy Sell

46 Something Good

RILA AP Conference Attendees Give Hope to Children in Need

Pinkerton

64 Solutions Showcase Vector Security Systems

66 Solutions Showcase Motorola Solutions

68 Solutions Showcase Checkpoint Systems

50 Off Script

74 Loss Prevention

52 Interviewing

The Cost of a Bad Question: How Small Changes in Wording Can Change the Truth

By Dave Thompson, CFI

Inside the Mind of a Shoplifter

By Justin J. Smith, PhD, and Isabella E. Lanza

Summer 2026

CIS Security Solutions

70 Career Center

Introducing Off Script

By Oscar Arango

Loss Prevention Magazine

Axis Communications

48 Consider This

When Stores Start Talking Back

By Adam Gilvin

42

Is There an AI Bubble?

What Does That Even Mean?

By Tom Meehan, CFI

9 Solution Partner Advisory Board

36

54 Retail Trends

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When Your Position Is Eliminated, Your Reputation Isn’t

By J. Patrick Burns, CPP

Foundation Certifications

78 People on the Move 82 That’s a Wrap

Artificial Intelligence:

Beware of the Tail

By Jacque Brittain, LPC

EDITOR'S LETTER

Take Time for Your Anchors T

here is something about hot summer weather that makes me restless. It’s probably ingrained from my childhood; I can remember trying to squeeze in those last few moments of sprinklers, picnics, kick the can, and chasing fireflies, delighting in summer moments but still looking forward to the promise of a busy, cooler fall. I was one of those weird kids who enjoyed school, so I was always torn at this time of year. I loved summer, but those new school supplies always spoke to me— anyone else remember picking out that Trapper Keeper?

Fast-forward to adulthood, and it’s the same but different: trips with family, concerts with friends, hiking, golf, and more are all jammed into what little time we have. But still, the prospect of getting back to a routine, and yes, cooler temps, is enticing.

As we move into this new season, wistfully or hopefully, may I offer some advice? Try to take some of that drive to squeeze a little more fun, family, and friends from summer and move it into your daily routine. With so much chaos and change in the world, we need the anchor of family and loved ones, and the mental reset that hobbies provide, to help us get through the daily grind. It’s way too easy to sit at that desk on a project or spend hours in the stores and lose track of time; the next thing you know, the day is gone. Over time, does this accumulate into health issues or degradation of relationships? Most likely, if you let it.

Let me expand on this to careers and the changing of seasons that happen there as well. In this issue, you’ll hear from

Powered by The Loss Prevention Foundation President Caroline Kochman

Caroline.Kochman@losspreventionfoundation.org Vice President, Editor-in-Chief Stefanie Hoover, CFI StefanieH@LossPreventionMedia.com

Stefanie Hoover, CFI Editor-in-Chief professionals who are making career transitions, and you’ll learn from their journeys.

I thank them for sharing, and they are doing a great job of adapting to their circumstances.

What I want to emphasize, as I observe others either moving to new jobs, dealing with life challenges, or retiring, is to have those anchors ready to go when this happens: family, friends, and outside interests. Don’t wait until your company downsizes to realize that you have no hobbies other than work. Don’t let retirement creep up on you and then discover your only friends exist inside the world of LP, and they were really just acquaintances. Don’t let your family connections wither because you’re busy climbing the corporate ladder.

Pressures at work will ebb and flow, as will the chaos in the outside world. Your anchors will be there for you if you give them the care and attention they need.

As this season comes to a hot and smoky close, we are proud to present our summer issue. In this issue, as with every issue, we aim to highlight a variety of topics that LP professionals at any season of their career will find useful. We hope you enjoy and learn from others’ experiences, see the latest solutions, or consider a new way of thinking.

We are thrilled to have a number of new contributors within this issue and want to encourage you all to consider sharing your passion with the community and contributing as well. And, as always, we’d love to hear your feedback; please share your thoughts with us at editor@losspreventionmedia.com. l

Editorial Director Jacque Brittain, LPC JacB@LossPreventionMedia.com Managing Editor Courtney Wolfe CourtneyW@LossPreventionMedia.com Assistant Editor Drew Taylor DrewT@LossPreventionMedia.com Retail Technology Editor Tom Meehan, CFI TomM@LossPreventionMedia.com Contributing Writers Lauren Fritsky Kelsey Stamey David Thompson, CFI Design & Production SPARK Publications info@SPARKpublications.com

With so much chaos and change in the world, we need the anchor of family and loved ones, and the mental reset that hobbies provide, to help us get through the daily grind.

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Creative Director Larry Preslar Advertising Strategist Ben Skidmore 972-587-9064 office 214-597-8168 mobile Ben@PartnersPR.com Subscription Services New or Change of Address LPMsubscription.com or circulation@LossPreventionMedia.com Postmaster Send change of address forms to Loss Prevention Magazine 33 Walt Whitman Road, Suite 121W Huntington Station, NY 11746

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Loss Prevention aka LP Magazine aka LPM (USPS 000-710) is published bimonthly by Loss Prevention Magazine, 33 Walt Whitman Road, Suite 121W Huntington Station, NY 11746. Print subscriptions are available free to qualified loss prevention and retail professionals in the U.S. and Canada at LPMsubscription.com. The publisher reserves the right to determine qualification standards. For questions about subscriptions, contact admin@losspreventionmedia.com.. Periodicals postage paid at Huntington Station, NY, and additional mailing offices.

© 2026 Loss Prevention Foundation

Loss Prevention, LP Magazine, LP Magazine Europe, LPM, and LossPreventionMedia.com are service marks owned by the publishers and their use is restricted. All editorial content is copyrighted. No article may be reproduced by any means without expressed, written permission from the publisher. Reprints or PDF versions of articles are available by contacting the publisher. Statements of fact or opinion are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the publishers. Advertising in the publication does not imply endorsement by the publishers. The editor reserves the right to accept or reject any article or advertisement.

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Marty Andrews, CFI Vice President, Loss Prevention, VF Corporation

Rick Beardsley Senior Director of Loss Prevention and Safety, At Home Group

Cassandra Brown Vice President of Asset Protection Walmart

Linda Campbell, CFI Senior Director of Asset and Revenue Management Caleres

Ray Cloud Group Senior Vice President, Loss Prevention, Ross Stores

Scott Draher, LPC Vice President, Asset Protection, Safety, and Operations, Lowe’s

Carmen DuBose, LPC, CFI Senior Director of Asset Protection, Hibbett/City Gear

Brian Friedman, CFE, CFI, LPC Divisional Vice President, Asset Protection and Risk Management, REI Co-op

Malcolm Gaspard Senior Vice President, Loss Prevention, Kohl's

Scott Glenn, JD, LPC Vice President, Asset Protection, The Home Depot

Cynthia Grizzle, CFI Vice President, Asset Protection, Nordstrom

LeeRoy Hegwood, CFE, CFI, EnCE Director, LP, Global Security & Resilience Starbucks

Robert Holm Director, Global Safety and Security McDonald's

Mike Lamb, LPC Vice President, Asset Protection and Safety, (Ret.) Kroger

Michael Limauro, LPC Head of Asset Protection, Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores

David Lund, MBA, LPC, CFI Executive Director, International Association of Interviewers

Scott McBride Chief Global Asset Protection Officer American Eagle Outfitters

Richard Peck, LPC Senior Vice President, Loss Prevention, The TJX Companies

LPM's Editorial Board is composed of some of the loss prevention and asset protection industry's top executives from a wide range of retail sectors. These senior executives provide guidance to the LPM team on article topics and industry issues that are of current concern and interest to LP professionals. To learn more about the Editorial Board, contact Stefanie Hoover, CFI, at StefanieH@LossPreventionMedia.com.

Hank Siemers, CFI Vice President, Global Protection Services, Tiffany & Co.

Mark Stinde, MBA, LPC Vice President, Asset Protection, Casey's

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SOLUTION PARTNER BOARD

Rhett Asher

SVP, Community Relations and Partnerships

Sharon Costanza

Clint Hedgpeth

Amy Day-O'Connor

Eric Servais, LPQ

Tom Meehan, CFI

Rex Gillette

Oscar Arango

Scott Thomas

Tom Chamard

Segment Development Manager, Retail

Senior Enterprise Account Executive

Director of Sales NA

CEO

Craig Greenberg Chief Commercial Officer

VP, Retail Sales

National Director for Signature Brands

Cita Doyle, LPQ, LPC

Dave Sandoval

VP, Sales and Marketing

President

Tony Sheppard, MSM, CFI, LPC

Robb Northrup

Director, Marketing & Communications

Vy Hoang

Matt Kelley, MBA

Steve Fahey

Kevin O'Brien

Cathy Klein

EVP of Business Development

VP Sales, US Retail

Allan Watters, LPC

VP, Retail Risk Solutions

Director, Security Sales

LPM's Solution Partner Board is composed of the magazine's strongest solution provider supporters. These executives provide their counsel on how the magazine can better advance and serve the loss prevention and asset protection industry. To learn more contact Ben Skidmore at Ben@PartnersPR.com.

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VP of Retail Strategy

Senior Director Business Development

Head of Retail, Go To Market

Mike Jennings

Senior Director, Enterprise Marketing

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Chief Customer Officer

Global Head of Retail Strategy

Global Leader, Strategy and Transformation

RETAIL SPONSORS

Join these great companies as an LPM corporate sponsor. Email Editor@LossPreventionMedia.com for more information.

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a service provider to

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Harnessing the Power of Process Lean Six Sigma for Asset Protection

By Ben Borer, LPC, MBOE, LSSBB

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People Images / Shutterstock.com

FEATURE

Harnessing the Power of Process

S

uccess in asset protection has historically been defined by absence: the shrink that was mitigated, the liabilities prevented, and the incidents resolved. We have traditionally measured our efficacy by the quietness of a shift, the lack of discrepancy in a ledger, and the closed status of an investigation file. However, as modern retail risk environments become increasingly volatile and corporate margins are compressed by macroeconomic pressures, this legacy, reactive framework is reaching its absolute limit. Relying solely on a defensive posture leaves modern retail operations exposed to systemic losses that happen long before an item ever reaches a physical shelf. For AP leaders looking to secure a seat at the executive table, the mandate is clear: we must pivot away from operating as traditional corporate cost centers and emerge as vital corporate value creators.

The most potent toolset for this operational evolution isn’t found in a new closed-circuit television camera system or a smarter electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag. Instead, it is found in the rigorous, data-driven methodology of Lean Six Sigma (LSS).

The AP profession is experiencing a paradigm shift, realizing that operational excellence isn’t a strategy reserved exclusively for automotive manufacturing plants or heavy industrial fulfillment centers. Rather, it represents the foundational key to risk mitigation, sustainable loss reduction, and enterprise- wide bottom-line growth.

By aligning the traditional investigative mindset with the structural discipline of process optimization, AP professionals can stop chasing individual symptoms of loss and start engineering systems that are inherently resilient to risk.

New Africa / Shutterstock.com

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

To understand why this evolution is necessary, one must understand how operational excellence reshapes the very DNA of a retail enterprise. Operational excellence is not merely an ongoing initiative or a series of sporadic cost-cutting exercises; it is an organizational philosophy that embeds efficiency and risk mitigation directly into daily workflows. When implemented correctly, it transforms AP from an isolated department that reacts to crises into an integrated business function that actively protects margin at every point of the supply chain.

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Within six short months of implementing the standardized receiving model, the organization achieved a 15 percent reduction in unexplained inventory variance.

Operational excellence is the cornerstone of a successful AP strategy as it drives efficiency, consistency, and proactive risk management. By streamlining processes, optimizing technology, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, our organization can significantly reduce shrink, enhance inventory accuracy, and improve the overall customer experience. A focus on operational excellence ensures that AP initiatives are not reactive but embedded in daily operations, making AP and operational efficiency a natural byproduct of every decision. Ultimately, this enables us to safeguard profits, strengthen brand reputation, and maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly challenging retail environment. Global AP touches our stores, corporate sites, distribution centers, and employees throughout the entire company. This reach allows the ability to impact multiple phases within the organization.

Lean Six Sigma Is the Force Multiplier

At first glance, a field detective investigating organized retail crime syndicates and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt optimizing a manufacturing assembly line seem worlds apart. One tracks suspects, manages surveillance, and builds legal cases; the other tracks cycle times, analyzes defects, and builds Fishbone diagrams. But if you strip away the industry-specific jargon and look closer at their core objectives, you discover that both disciplines are fiercely obsessed with the exact same thing: the reduction of loss.

The synergy between these fields becomes obvious when you evaluate the two component methodologies of Lean Six Sigma through an AP lens.

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Lean: The Pursuit of Efficiency

Lean is the relentless, uncompromising pursuit of eliminating waste, known in Japanese operational philosophy as Muda.

Waste is any activity, step, or process that consumes resources but adds absolutely no value to the final customer or the business bottom line.

In traditional AP terms, waste manifests constantly but is frequently misdiagnosed as an unavoidable cost of doing business.

For instance, consider the hours an AP associate spends executing manual physical audits that yield no actionable insights due to flawed data entry, or the unnecessary, repetitive movement of high-value inventory throughout a backroom that systematically increases the risk of product damage or internal theft. Lean provides AP professionals with a systematic vocabulary to identify these hidden operational drains and eliminate them permanently.

Six Sigma: The Battle against Variance

If Lean focuses on speed and the elimination of waste, Six Sigma focuses on precision and the elimination of variation.

In the world of AP, variation is the ultimate catalyst for security vulnerabilities. If your nightly closing and lock-up procedures differ slightly across 500 different retail locations, you do not have a unified corporate security program—you have 500 distinct, unpredictable vulnerabilities waiting to be exploited.

Six Sigma relies heavily on the structured Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) framework to dissect processes and strip away variables until a system performs consistently every single time. By leveraging statistical analysis rather than relying on managerial intuition, Six

LossPreventionMedia.com

Focus Area

Lean Methodology

Six Sigma Methodology

Primary Goal

Eliminate waste (Muda) and maximize flow

Reduce variation and eliminate process defects

AP Equivalent

Streamlining audits, removing administrative bottlenecks

Standardizing closing routines, stabilizing inventory intake

Core Metric

Cycle time, touch time, and process efficiency

Defect rates, error margins, and compliance percentages

Primary Tool

Value Stream Mapping, 8 Wastes, 5S System

Statistical analysis, DMAIC framework, Root Cause Analysis

Sigma ensures that critical compliance and safety processes become as predictable, repeatable, and reliable as a heartbeat.

Operational excellence is ultimately about engineering a workplace culture where every single employee, every single day, feels actively empowered to evaluate and improve the way they work. For AP teams, this means moving beyond a legacy mindset of simply catching the “bad guy.” Instead, it challenges leaders to analyze and repair the broken, volatile corporate processes that allowed the “bad guy” to succeed in the first place.

Lean Philosophy: Reinvestment of Savings

The foundational architecture of Lean rests upon two coequal pillars: Respect for People and Continuous Improvement (Kaizen). Lean is never something that should be aggressively imposed upon frontline associates by a corporate office; rather, it requires leaders to actively engage with the workers who execute tasks daily.

For an AP manager, applying Lean means regularly stepping away from the desk and conducting a Gemba walk—a Japanese term referring to the physical space where the actual, valuegenerating work occurs, whether that is the sales floor, the logistics loading dock, or the high-volume customer returns desk.

When an AP leader walks the Gemba with a trained Lean eye, they begin to

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see the traditional Eight Wastes lurking in every corner of their retail footprint, following the acronym DOWNTIME. 1. Defects: This includes incorrectly printed inventory tags, corrupted EAS configurations, or glaring entry errors in critical incident reporting logs that require manual retrofitting.

2. Overproduction: This is characterized by the generation of massive, text-heavy exception reports or compliance audits that no corporate stakeholder ever reads, wasting computational power and administrative time.

3. Waiting: This occurs when frontline AP associates or store managers must sit idle for hours waiting for district approvals, corporate access permissions, or regional clearances before they can move forward with an active investigation or an emergency operational adjustment.

4. Non-Utilized Talent: This involves deploying highly trained, high-salaried corporate investigators to perform basic, repetitive data entry, file sorting, or routine video monitoring that could easily be automated or delegated.

5. Transportation: This is the unnecessary, risky logistical movement of physical cash drops or high-shrink, high-value goods between multiple unmonitored holding zones within a facility.

6. Inventory: This represents excess, stagnant merchandise sitting unorganized in rear storage rooms for weeks, creating massive blind spots that make the inventory highly vulnerable to internal, employee-driven shrink.

7. Motion: This manifests as poorly planned store floor plans or chaotic backroom layouts that force employees to walk long, inefficient paths to move stock, which simultaneously creates physical blind spots for security cameras.

8. Extra-Processing: This is the execution of redundant, multilayered inventory audits conducted simply because the organization’s primary receiving and documentation processes are deeply distrusted.

It is vital, however, to clarify a common misconception within the industry: do not confuse Lean Six Sigma with a ruthless cost-cutting exercise or a thinly veiled headcount elimination process.

When properly implemented, LSS is a growth strategy. By stripping waste and administrative friction out of an AP department or within the organization, you don’t eliminate the professionals

Six Sigma allows AP leaders to look past subjective gut feelings and leverage rigorous statistical analysis to isolate the true mathematical root causes of loss.

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New Africa / Shutterstock.com

FEATURE

Harnessing the Power of Process

photobeps / Shutterstock.com

executing the work; instead, you unlock the capacity to reinvest those captured operational hours and financial savings directly into the department.

When you prove to the C-suite that your team can systematically save the organization money through process efficiency, you fundamentally alter the budget conversation. You transition from begging for defensive capital expenditures to confidently securing increased departmental investments, because the executive team now views your department as an engine of continuous, predictable financial improvement.

Six Sigma Edge: Reducing the Variance of Loss

If Lean acts as the broom that clears out operational clutter and accelerates process speed, Six Sigma acts as the high-powered microscope that sharpens focus and eliminates defects. In the AP field, we are continuously forced to contend with outliers—those frustrating,

high-risk locations that exhibit inexplicably massive, double-digit shrink numbers year after year, despite receiving identical, or even advanced security hardware and corporate training to their low-shrink counterparts.

Six Sigma eliminates this chaotic guesswork. It allows AP leaders to look past subjective gut feelings and leverage rigorous statistical analysis to isolate the true mathematical root causes of loss. Data-driven decision-making systematically drives better business outcomes and permanently reduces structural corporate risk.

The primary mechanism for achieving this level of operational control is the DMAIC framework. Let’s explore exactly how an AP leader can deploy this fivephase methodology to solve a persistent, high-dollar shrink problem:

1. Define

The objective of this initial phase is to explicitly define the operational problem down to its precise

parameters. A legacy AP approach might define a problem broadly as: Total shrink is too high in our retail stores.

A Six Sigma approach rejects this ambiguity and crafts a laser-focused problem statement: Unexplained inventory loss within the consumer electronics category of Region 4 has risen by 22 percent over the last two quarters, costing the enterprise $145,000 in lost margin.

By narrowing the scope, the team knows exactly where to direct their analytical resources.

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2. Measure

Once the problem is identified, the team must collect comprehensive baseline data regarding the current state of the process. In this phase, AP professionals move beyond basic spreadsheets and employ advanced statistical tools such as P-charts (proportion control charts) or X-bar charts to visually map out loss trends over time against calculated statistical control limits.

This data collection allows the team to determine whether the loss is a result of normal, systemic background noise (common cause variation) or if it is being driven by a distinct, erratic operational anomaly (special cause variation).

3. Analyze

With the data visualized, the team initiates a deep-dive root cause analysis.

A favored tool here is the Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagram, which forces investigators to systematically evaluate multiple potential contributors to loss across key categories Instead of jumping to the immediate, biased conclusion that external shoplifters are causing the issue, the team asks “Why?” five consecutive times. Through this rigorous questioning, they might uncover that the consumer electronics shrink isn’t being caused by theft at all, but rather by a technical data-sync failure between the store’s point-of-sale inventory registers and the central distribution logistics database.

4. Improve

During the Improve phase, the team designs, develops, and implements a targeted pilot solution aimed squarely at the root cause discovered during analysis. For instance, if the investigation

revealed that high-value electronics were regularly misplaced or stolen during chaotic nighttime shift handoffs, the team might engineer a highly structured, double-verification digital custody process for high-shrink goods.

Rather than rolling this out to all 500 stores simultaneously, they pilot the new protocol in three high-variance test locations to scientifically measure its realworld efficacy before committing capital for an enterprise-wide launch.

5. Control

This final phase represents the most critical, yet frequently neglected, step in the entire life cycle of an initiative.

How do we guarantee that our hard-won process improvements persist over time, preventing the organization from naturally sliding back into old, sloppy habits?

We build permanent, self-sustaining systemic guardrails.

The team formalizes the new protocol into rigid Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), designs highly visual workplace cues, and deploys real-time digital dashboards. These dashboards are configured to automatically trigger an operational alert to regional AP leaders the exact microsecond a store’s process execution metrics begin to drift back toward high-variance territory.

Do not confuse Lean Six Sigma with a ruthless cost-cutting exercise or a thinly veiled headcount elimination process.

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Real-World Impact

To fully appreciate the transformative potential of LSS within the AP vertical, it is highly instructive to analyze how these conceptual frameworks translate into measurable, real-world retail case studies.

Case Study 1: The “Perfect Receiving” Initiative

A major national big-box retail chain was suffering from an alarming, multimillion-dollar annual shrink line item that corporate leaders assumed was driven by sophisticated ORC networks operating on the sales floors. An AP team trained in Lean Six Sigma was deployed to audit the operational pipeline. Through meticulous data mapping, they discovered that an astonishing 30 percent of their “theft” was completely artificial—it was administrative error occurring due to chaotic, broken intake procedures at the regional distribution centers (DCs).

The team aggressively applied Lean principles to completely redesign the physical layout of the receiving bays, standardizing floor locations to drastically minimize unnecessary human motion. Concurrently, they used Six Sigma statistical modeling to analyze temporal historical data, identifying the precise shifts and specific hours where documentation errors peaked.

The results were immediate and profound: within six short months of implementing the standardized receiving model, the organization achieved a 15 percent reduction in unexplained inventory variance.

Case Study 2: ORC Investigation Streamlining

An AP department tasked with combating ORC felt thoroughly overwhelmed, tracking an unprecedented volume of complex retail theft syndicates with a flat, non-expanding headcount.

The department leader recognized that simply demanding the team “work

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New Africa / Shutterstock.com

FEATURE

Harnessing the Power of Process

Sergey Skleznev / Shutterstock.com

Fostering a Culture of “Why?”

harder” was a recipe for burnout and failure, choosing instead to utilize LSS to meticulously map out their end-to-end investigative workflow.

The resulting Value Stream Map exposed a massive operational bottleneck: the team discovered that their highly skilled field investigators were spending up to 40 percent of their total weekly working hours sitting completely idle, waiting for large digital video files and evidence packages to slowly upload or download across unoptimized corporate networks.

To eliminate this waste, the department re-engineered their case management protocols around a Continuous Flow model and successfully advocated for automated data triggers. By optimizing the digital pipeline and removing nonvalue-added administrative friction, the department doubled the total number of criminal cases closed per month while maintaining their exact same investigator headcount and dramatically reducing workplace frustration.

While the quantifiable metrics and financial savings generated by Lean Six Sigma are undeniable, the single greatest asset that this methodology offers an organization isn’t found on an executive spreadsheet or a financial ledger—it is the fundamental transformation of the workplace culture.

LSS systematically shifts an organization away from a traditional, reactive, and often adversarial “policing culture,” moving it decisively toward a collaborative, proactive “coaching” and “problemsolving” culture. When an organization embraces an LSS mindset, the script is completely flipped. When a process breaks down, or a security breach occurs, the team collectively pauses and asks an entirely different, objective question: “What failed within our system that allowed this mistake or vulnerability to occur?” This subtle pivot changes everything. It completely de-stigmatizes human error and encourages frontline employees to speak up instantly the

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FEATURE

Harnessing the Power of Process moment they notice a flaw in daily operations. The overarching goal of LSS is not simply to teach people how to use a handful of statistical tools; it is to teach leaders how to truly observe. When an AP professional trains themselves to view the corporate landscape through the objective, analytical lenses of flow, waste, and variation, they stop being viewed as a cost burden and become entirely indispensable strategic partners to the corporate C-suite.

Practical Steps to Get Started

The thought of adopting an enterprise-wide LSS framework can feel overwhelming to an AP department that is already running at maximum capacity. However, it is vital to remember that you do not need to possess a certified LSS Master Black Belt to begin making meaningful, process-driven improvements to your department. You can initiate this transformation by taking five highly practical, incremental steps:

Enrolling your high-potential AP managers in certified LSS Belt Programs provides them with the formal framework needed to bridge high-level corporate theory with the gritty, day-to-day realities of AP. will point you directly to the hidden pools of Lean Muda that are actively bleeding money from your operations.

4. Measure Small, Win Big

Avoid the temptation to try to fix your organization’s entire retail shrink problem all at once. Instead, pick one highly specific, manageable, and localized area of operational friction that routinely causes headaches for your team.

Resist the urge to over-engineer solutions. Focus your efforts on securing quick, highly visible wins by correcting one specific type of process error in one isolated, high-risk location. Document the baseline data before your intervention, measure the improvement rigorously, and use that localized success as a powerful proof of concept to build institutional buy-in across the broader enterprise.

2. Visually Map the Process

5. Formally Invest in Education

1. Identify a Discrete Pain Point

Gather your key stakeholders in a room with a whiteboard and physically draw out every single individual step, handoff, and decision point required to take the target process from start to finish. Do not map out the process as the corporate manual says it should work; map it out exactly how it actually occurs on the messy retail floor. You will likely be deeply shocked to discover just how many redundant loops, administrative bottlenecks, and dead ends silently exist within your current daily workflows.

3. Interview Frontline Associates to Find Waste

Go directly to your Gemba. Spend time talking face-to-face with your frontline store associates, receiving clerks, and floor investigators. Ask them one simple question: “What is the most frustrating, time-consuming part of your job every day?” The individuals who physically execute these tasks are always your most brilliant, untapped source of truth. They

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As your momentum builds, formalize your department’s commitment to this new way of working by investing in structured professional development.

Enrolling your high-potential AP managers in certified LSS Belt Programs provides them with the formal framework needed to bridge high-level corporate theory with the gritty, day-to-day realities of AP.

The Future of AP Is Process Improvement

The historical boundaries that once defined the retail sector are breaking down rapidly. The modern AP professional can no longer afford to operate simply as a “guard at the gate,” waiting passively for an incident to occur before springing into action.

In the modern retail ecosystem, AP professionals must step forward and claim their roles as the proactive process engineers of a highly secure, efficient, and resilient program.

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By adopting the analytical discipline of LSS, we fundamentally change the nature of our work. We stop endlessly chasing downstream shadows, and we start designing upstream systems that are inherently structurally resistant to loss.

The innovative work currently being executed by forward-thinking AP leaders serves as a framework for this industrywide transition. As we continue to bridge the historical gap between rigorous academic process methodology and the high-stakes reality of commercial AP, the ultimate business outcomes become indisputable: we forge a measurably safer working environment, cultivate a significantly more engaged frontline workforce, and engineer a profoundly stronger corporate bottom line.

In the modern, highly competitive battle for long-term retail profitability, LSS is no longer just an optional corporate strategy—it has evolved into the ultimate combined defensive and offensive weapon for the AP professional. l Ben Borer, LPC, MBOE, LSSBB, is the senior director of global asset protection for American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., with responsibility across five brands and 1,200-plus locations throughout North America, as well as business resiliency and asset protection operations. Since joining AEO in 1998 as a sales associate and moving to asset protection in 2004, he has held multiple AP field leadership and operations roles dedicated to protecting people, property, product, productivity, proprietary data, and profit. He resides in Columbus, Ohio, and holds a master’s in business operational excellence (MBOE) and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB) from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business.

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“You Could Change Somebody’s Life” Retail’s Role as the Community’s Eyes and Ears

By Kelsey Stamey

I

magine: an elderly gentleman who is confused about how to use his smartphone.

A desperate mom trying to find an on-trend outfit for her daughter’s birthday gift. A victim of exploitation with no help on the horizon. A runaway teen with nowhere to go.

These are very different individuals, with very different levels of need, but all may be able to find aid in the same place: a retail store.

Retail teams at physical stores interact with large numbers of the public every day, and they’re well positioned to notice unusual behaviors or when someone needs help.

Online stores are great, but there is no substitute for a brick-and-mortar store when it comes to supporting vulnerable individuals or locating someone who is missing.

From exploitation victims to abducted or runaway children, people who truly need assistance may find it in a store.

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New Africa / Shutterstock.com

FEATURE

Retail's Role as the Community's Eyes and Ears

Human Trafficking: From Trust to Fear

Human trafficking is a crime that involves the coercion, defrauding, or force of another person into a commercial sex act or some type of labor. It’s a crime that often happens in full view, and indicators of its existence can be subtle. It can originate as an online relationship, or the perpetrator can be someone in the victim’s family or personal network—someone who starts off from a place of trust before they escalate to exploitation.

Traffickers often rely on tactics such as false promises of love or a better life, emotional manipulation, or violent threats to exploit another person. At times, the victim doesn’t even realize they are being trafficked.

Due to the elusive nature of the crime’s signals and the fear many victims have around reporting, it’s hard to pin down the prevalence of human trafficking in the US. But the scale of the problem is immense.

Every year, the National Human Trafficking Hotline fields thousands of calls, texts, and emails reporting possible trafficking situations. In 2024, over 8,000 of those messages were confirmed to be from victims or survivors of human trafficking.

The organization acknowledges these communications reflect only situations reported to the hotline and are not a complete picture of the total number of victims.

Non-family abductions make up only 1 percent of missing children cases annually, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Missing Children

bambambu / Shutterstock.com

While child abductions and kidnappings by strangers are widespread in popular media, they’re exceedingly rare. Non-family abductions make up only 1 percent of missing children cases annually, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Most missing kids (92 percent) are runaways.

“A lot of people have [the action-thriller film] Taken in their head right now, this abduction that leads to a trafficking scenario, whereas the reality is it’s often a relationship that’s built up over time online,” says Gavin Portnoy, VP of communications and brand, NCMEC.

Who’s at Risk?

Any person, of any demographic, can be a victim of exploitation, human trafficking, or online enticement, but traffickers often prey upon those we typically see as the most vulnerable populations: individuals with disabilities, mental health diagnoses,

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substance use concerns, or people who must rely on others to meet basic needs, for example. In some cases, this can mean children or teens.

“The kinds of kids with no adult, caring supervision are extremely high-risk, extremely vulnerable, especially if they’re living on the streets,” said Kevin Metcalf, VP of the Law Enforcement Division with Whooster, an investigative data solutions company, and founder of the National Child Protection Task Force.

Intersections with Retail

Links between missing kids, human trafficking, and the retail industry can be overt or under the radar—but they’re substantial. Perpetrators are not operating completely underground, in a vacuum, or in a foreign land. They are here, in every state, using or abusing legitimate businesses of all shapes and sizes to conduct their criminal operations. “Business owners are going to see trafficking in small-town USA. It’s not just big-box stores that are (affected),” says Metcalf.

The following areas illustrate some of the most common links.

Runaways or Victims as Shoppers.

Retailers “operate in a public environment where anybody and everybody can travel inside the four walls of a store,” says Khris Hamlin, VP of asset protection and retail technology for the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). Traffickers and their victims shop to meet their basic needs while they are conducting their operations.

They may be more likely to visit store locations—especially convenience stores and gas stations—along a major highway, where a quick escape is handy.

“Traffickers, people who are not at a fixed address, are probably going to convenience stores more than the average person for food or fuel,” according to Jeff Lenard, VP of media and strategic communications, National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS). Large, multi-tenant retail centers like shopping malls may also be a convenient shopping destination for traffickers or runaway children, since it may be easier to blend in with the crowd.

The data underscores the frequent intersection of trafficking victims and missing children with retail spaces. Recent NCMEC statistics indicate that between 2019 and 2023, 5,447 children went missing from or were recovered at a retail location.

Of those, over 1,100 were known to be victimized through child sex trafficking.

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Shoplifting and Theft. Trafficking is referred to as a “crime of crimes” by the Polaris Project, a prominent antihuman trafficking organization. This moniker highlights how victims are often coerced into illegal activity as part of their exploitation, giving the victim the criminal record, rather than the trafficker.

“The trafficker will always create that buffer between themselves and the law,” says Metcalf.

Sometimes this illegal activity can include forcing someone to steal items of value for the trafficker to resell, seemingly legitimately (e.g., via an online marketplace).

Other times, it can involve the coercion of minors into spending money they don’t have on gift cards, also for eventual resale.

“We’re seeing kids go to extremes where they’re literally finding ways to get money to these perpetrators, and this is where the retail intersection comes in,” says Portnoy. “They’re going to retail establishments, they’re getting whatever gift card they’re told to get, they’re purchasing it there in the store, and taking it back, essentially giving it to the predator.”

Victims may also be forced into credit card fraud or identity theft to get money for their trafficker. “During my exploitation, about four or so months in, I was introduced to a life of crime,” says Alina Donahue, speaker, trainer, and trafficking survivor. “My trafficker would give me his ultimatum: ‘You can either sleep with X number of men or go to a store and buy me something of value I can sell in the streets with some credit cards I just stole.’

Because I was always in survival mode with him, I chose what I thought was safest. I didn’t care who the credit card belonged to.” Donahue says she developed a sense of which retail employees would be lenient on store policies and let her make major purchases without checking her ID. Victims as Employees. Non-retail commercial enterprises, such as restaurants, spas, or massage parlors, may be comprised of employees who are labor trafficked under the facade of legitimate industry. When these types of businesses share spaces in multi-tenant retail centers, the opportunities for exploited individuals to cross paths with retail teams increase.

Supply Chain Concerns. High demand from US consumers often causes retail companies to outsource the production of their goods to other countries. Multinational supply chain networks tend to be complex and layered, which means it is rarely a simple matter to determine whether

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forced labor or exploitation exists among foreign workers.

What Retailers Can Do

Between 2019 and 2023, 5,447 children went missing from or were recovered at a retail location.

Of those, over 1,100 were known to be victimized through child sex trafficking.

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The size and complexity of these issues can be daunting. But most retailers have the capacity and resources to start somewhere in the fight against human trafficking and protecting children, and it’s critical that they do. Loss prevention teams can help lead the charge. The below actionable steps can be great places to start.

Educate retail teams. Retail LP pros can play a role in ending human trafficking by educating themselves and their teams about the crime type, its serious nature, and how it relates to retail. The US Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign offers a basic toolkit for educating the private sector on human trafficking awareness, while NCMEC’s awareness resources are also valuable for professionals on the front lines. Code Adam is also a powerful tool that equips retail teams with procedures to respond quickly and effectively to situations involving a missing child. (Note: Code Adam is getting an “overhaul,” according to Portnoy, and retailers can be on the lookout for new, streamlined training materials starting in fall 2026.)

Getting a store team’s buy-in on the mission has value beyond possibly observing and reporting a criminal incident or locating a missing child. It can also build up front end associates’ understanding of their role’s higher purpose—a role which we all know often comes with a fair amount of turnover.

“Knowing what you mean to the community can be the glue in keeping [associates] or having somebody walk,” says Lenard. “Their value is beyond a transaction.

It’s about a customer. There’s the possibility, and you may not even know it, that you could change somebody’s life immeasurably for the better just by being there and maybe noticing something, or just by being a comforting human being.”

Post signage. Making signs offering resources highly visible, especially in high-risk locations (such as stores near the freeway or stores open late at night), ensures trafficking victims or runaway teens have access to potentially life-saving information. These posters often describe warning indicators of human trafficking and include contact information for hotlines, law enforcement, or advocacy groups that can help.

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FEATURE

Retail's Role as the Community's Eyes and Ears

What Retailers Can Do Be the eyes and ears of the community.

Develop policies of non-confrontation and careful escalation to the necessary resources, including law enforcement, when appropriate.

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Consider placing these signs in dressing rooms, restrooms, or other private spaces where a potential victim may have a rare moment alone. Such a message “tells the person, first off, you matter, we care about you. It doesn’t mean the person is going to use that number that day, but it’s giving a little bit of hope to somebody who may not be feeling it,” says Lenard. “Second, it’s telling somebody, when you’re ready and able to make the call, here’s how you do it. We have those [signs] in roughly 50,000 convenience stores, which is about a third of the convenience stores in the country.”

Some retail businesses are even designated with distinctive yellow signs as “Safe Places,” designated sites where youth in crisis can walk in and ask for immediate help.

Watch for red flags and concerning behaviors and have thoughtful policies in place for responding. Retail environments are part of broader public systems, and human trafficking or child abduction activities will intersect with those spaces.

But it’s important to remember those intersections are likely to be brief and without much context. Retail LP or AP staff have a responsibility to respond to concerns when they arise, but we should lead with an “awareness” mindset rather than an “investigative” one.

In other words, be the eyes and ears of the community. Develop policies of nonconfrontation and careful escalation to the necessary resources, including law enforcement, when appropriate. “It’s not [retail’s] job to save the day,” says Donahue.

“But when you hire someone, or when you’re training your team, make sure they know the rules. You don’t know what you could potentially have prevented just by following the rules.”

NACS’ Lenard agrees. “What you shouldn’t do is almost as important as what you should,” he says. “It’s important to communicate [the right] resources for apprehension. As much as it might be awful to see and notice something, and not do something in that moment, you shouldn’t.”

Handle shoplifter interviews with traumainformed care. What if a shoplifter in your store turns out to be a human trafficking case? LP professionals should be aware of this possibility and, if they believe the shoplifter may be a victim, proceed with caution during an interview. According to a US Department of State fact sheet on implementing a trauma-informed approach with survivors, “personal safety and self-

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Traffickers often rely on tactics such as false promises of love or a better life, emotional manipulation, or violent threats to exploit another person.

At times, the victim doesn’t even realize they are being trafficked.

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preservation are the primary focus of the trafficking victim; concerned with basic matters of survival, victims may seem unresponsive or reluctant to engage.” A greater degree of patience and careful rapport-building are likely to be required in that conversation. Start by assuring the shoplifter they are in a safe place.

Another important point to keep in mind: “It’s not retail’s responsibility to ask someone if they’re being trafficked,” says Donahue.

Victims often have a knee-jerk response to want to protect the offenders due to the trauma impact, according to the State Department’s fact sheet.

If escalation to law enforcement is appropriate, however, empower your LP teams to take the necessary steps, Donahue says. “Sometimes an arrest can lead to a victim’s salvation. I say that with all seriousness, because it happened to me. I was so angry when I was arrested, but I had no idea that was the end of my exploitation.”

Take advantage of technologies that can help curb trafficking and locate missing children. As a baseline, point-of-sale analytics can be a useful tool in identifying unusual purchasing behaviors, such as the sale of a bunch of high-value gift cards at once, or a series of attempts at fraudulent transactions. Although these records by themselves can’t tell the whole story, retailers can use them to flag concerns to law enforcement or help build a case against a trafficker.

Going one step further, some retailers have implemented license plate reader (LPR) systems in their parking lots that can indicate suspicious vehicle behavior or raise an alert when a license plate matches a law enforcement watchlist. Retail crime intelligence platform Auror recently announced a partnership with NCMEC, for example, to enable retailers to receive realtime notifications about vehicles associated with active AMBER Alerts. “When used with guardrails, these tools can give law enforcement the ability to get that data much more quickly,” says Hamlin.

Other tech that may be useful in retail’s response to human trafficking concerns include AI-assisted video analytics, which can detect and flag concerning behaviors; digital reporting tools for team members to escalate potentially dangerous issues discreetly and without confrontation; and geospatial data, such as QR codes that can offer information about children missing in a given area, for example.

New Africa / Shutterstock.com

FEATURE

Retail's Role as the Community's Eyes and Ears

Assess supply chain risks and safeguard against labor abuses. Regulatory controls have been enacted to try to address this global human rights concern, but retail companies also bear responsibility. Leaders must scrutinize their supply chains to ensure no goods created from forced or child labor are making their way into stores.

Hire former trafficking survivors without stigma. Another way retail leaders can aid in the eradication of human trafficking is by hiring and equipping survivors with critical job skills, thereby offering them a pathway to economic security. According to Seattlebased nonprofit Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST), “a lack of employment opportunities is one of the most serious barriers individuals face when attempting to rebuild their lives after escaping a trafficker.”

Retailers may want to consider working with survivor consultants to implement trauma-informed policies and ensure a psychologically safe workplace.

Fundraise or host awareness events. There are likely dozens, if not hundreds, of worthy

US-based nonprofit organizations combating human trafficking or dedicating resources to locating missing children. Look for an opportunity to partner with one or more of these organizations. At the 2026 RILA Retail Asset Protection Conference in Phoenix, for example, retailers came together to build over 500 Hope Bags in partnership with NCMEC, to provide survivors with the basic items they need for a fresh start immediately after they are recovered (read more about this in our “Something Good” column, on p. 46).

“A lot of stores don’t like talking about [donations] because they think it’s bragging,” admits NACS’ Lenard. “There’s an opportunity to change that mindset from, not bragging, to ‘Join us.’ I think that can make more of an impact.”

stop human traffickers. But it can respond in a thoughtful way to keep our communities as safe as they can be.

“It’s going to be a never-ending fight, a neverending struggle, and I have to accept that,” says Metcalf. “But what keeps you going is the next one. Just one more. How do we help that one more? How do we help get one more person out of this?”

“It depends on the leaders to say, ‘We’re in,’” says Lenard. “It doesn’t mean you have to change everything about your operations and what you do on a daily basis, but [it’s more than] ‘We put stickers in the women’s room, and when they got scraped off or unusable, well, that’s that. We did our thing.’ It has to be, ‘We’re going to stick with this.’” l

Why It Matters

It’s hard to discuss cases of exploitation and forced criminality. It can be a heavy conversation. But when the conversation centers around action, it imbues the topic with a bit of hope. The retail industry can’t prevent children from going missing or completely

Kelsey Stamey is an experienced freelance writer and former staffer of LP Magazine. She can be reached at kelseykstamey@gmail.com.

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FEATURE

Deploying New Technologies amid Privacy Concerns

Deploying New Technologies amid Privacy W Concerns There are more technologies at LP’s disposal than ever. But how do you get customers on board?

By Courtney Wolfe

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hile exact numbers and statistics have been debated, the fact that retail crime has increased in the last decade is clear. And not only has crime increased, but it has become more violent in nature.

In the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2026 Impact of Retail Theft and Violence Report, retailers reported higher frequencies of various methods of external theft, and 40 percent said that shoplifters are exhibiting more aggression and violence than they did a year ago.

As a result, retailers and solution providers have worked hard to find new and efficient ways to protect both people and profits. The results have been impressive, especially with the advancement of artificial intelligence: facial recognition, license plate recognition (LPR), and more have all made it easier than ever to identify and capture bad actors.

But as retailers started rolling these technologies out in stores, misinformation spread, and consumers became concerned. Of course they wanted to feel safe while shopping, but at what cost?

“The media’s obsession with the dramatic aspects of facial recognition or LPR often creates confusion about its actual positives and its real issue: a lack of education and standardization,” said Tom Meehan, CFI CONTROLTEK CEO Tom Meehan, CFI. Matt Kelley, MBA, SVP of business and market development at LiveView Technologies (LVT), said that concerns about security technologies often stem from not understanding how Matt Kelley, MBA they work and are used. “For example, some shoppers fear that in-store cameras continually build a database on individuals, when cameras are mostly used to identify potentially suspicious behavior that a human guard does not see and record incidents.”

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Cameras, sensors, and alarm or alert systems have been used in stores for decades and have largely been accepted as commonplace. The difference today is that consumers are increasingly sensitive to the sharing of in-store footage with third parties and potential AI use cases, such as facial recognition.

“Digital privacy has become much more of an issue in the past two decades as greater amounts of data have been collected about place users,” said Cory Lowe, PhD, director of research for the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC). “Much of this data does not constitute personally identifiable information (PII) and is related to more general movement/product engagement patterns, but retailers know there is a lot of value in understanding their customers and how they Corey Lowe, PhD journey through the store and engage with product and store staff. This requires collecting data.”

LP teams are aware of the value in knowing as much about prolific offenders and threats as possible, as it enables them to better investigate and mitigate threats. At the same time, Lowe explained, sensors and analytics are becoming more accessible. And while all of this is happening, national, state, county, and municipal governments are getting involved—a recipe for confusion.

“One question sits underneath all of them: ‘Am I in a database?’” said Paul Jones, vice chair of the Loss Prevention Foundation.

“People assume that if a store runs facial recognition, everyone who walks in is enrolled and kept. The burden is on us to show Paul Jones that isn’t true—not the shopper to take it on faith. Below that overarching question sit four more: Will this be sold or handed to someone else? Will I be misidentified? What happens when the data is permanent? And does this get repurposed later for something I never agreed to? Mission creep is the concern I take most seriously.”

This “mission creep” Jones mentions—consumers agreeing to trade their personal information for security but it later being used for marketing or more nefarious purposes—is a big, and reasonable, concern. While we have become desensitized to the constant collection of data, the thought of what exactly that data is being used for has become disquieting.

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“Digital privacy has become much more of an issue in the past two decades as greater amounts of data have been collected about place users.”

—Cory Lowe, PhD One 2023 study from the Pew Research Center shows that 81 percent of Americans believe they don’t have much or any control over what data about them is collected by commercial businesses, and 79 percent are very or somewhat concerned about how companies use the data collected. In addition, 59 percent say they have very little or no understanding about what companies do with the data collected.

Consumers may be especially jaded since social media platforms’ abuse of data has become mainstream news. In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission found that major social media and video streaming services had engaged in the vast surveillance of users in order to monetize their personal information while failing to adequately protect users online.

So, if social media companies did it, why wouldn’t retailers?

“I suspect a lot of the concern comes from the fact that most retailers’ business objectives are related to retailing generally,

“When it comes to safety and security in retail settings, more advanced technologies simply better and more quickly analyze information, such as video surveillance data, that is already collected.”

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so members of the public may be concerned retailers will use the information for sales and marketing purposes, or otherwise abuse the data,” Lowe said.

“However, LP teams have little interest in that because they are focused on preventing retail loss, especially loss due to crime. They also know that using these technologies for other purposes will make it more difficult to get buy-in and adoption.”

But it is hard to un-sow the seeds of distrust once they are planted. This becomes especially complicated when retailers share data with law enforcement.

“There are a lot of people who are concerned with the criminal justice system in the United States, including officer interactions with individuals, policing generally, mass incarceration, disparate contact and impact according to race, and other issues,” Lowe explained. “To the extent retailers work with agencies within the criminal justice system, many members of the public will express concerns. To the extent retailers use technologies to collect information that is shared with law enforcement, these technologies and their use will be further scrutinized.

This is why effective governance and ethical use of these technologies is so incredibly important.”

Is It Possible to Change the Tide?

Yes, there is a lot working against retailers who want to implement these advanced technologies in their stores—but it’s not all doom and gloom.

The Security Industry Association (SIA) recently conducted a study which showed that 70 percent of US adults supported the use of facial recognition technology, specifically for workplace safety.

“There is also the key question, that is often overlooked, of whether a technology implementation truly alters any privacy expectations,” said SIA Senior Director of Government Relations Jake Parker. “When it comes to safety and security in retail settings, more advanced Jake Parker technologies simply better and more quickly analyze information, such as video surveillance data, that is already collected. There is already an understanding—and expectation—of such monitoring.”

LVT conducted a study this year which also showed a willingness from consumers to be surveilled if it improves safety. Of those

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FEATURE

Deploying New Technologies amid Privacy Concerns surveyed, 60 percent said they support cameras with AI in public spaces to detect suspicious behaviors before they occur, and 79 percent said it is acceptable for businesses to use security cameras with facial recognition technology to match against a list of known violent offenders.

In addition, 78 percent of respondents said they feel safer in retail/public parking lots that use LPR over ones that do not.

“I think [consumers are warming up to the idea of trading privacy for security] but principally when it deals with protecting and mitigating matters dealing with safety and security,” said Mike Lamb, owner Mike Lamb of MLamb Consulting Services. “If the trend on violence continues in the retail landscape, I firmly believe consumer attitude will change and ultimately create a better understanding of how technology and privacy do not have to be mutually exclusive.”

The question, Jones said, is whether the intrusion is narrowly tailored to the purpose. “Ask abstractly whether people support facial recognition in stores and you get resistance. Ask whether they support identifying the man who already assaulted a cashier so he can be stopped before he does it again, and support rises sharply.

People aren’t being inconsistent—they’re making a proportionality judgment. The variable isn’t math, it’s whether people understand the purpose and trust the operator.”

Retailers have an opportunity here.

Yes, consumers are wary of sharing data because other industries have used and abused it. But if we as an industry prove to be trusted stewards of personal information, we can make the rollout of new technologies much easier on ourselves.

“I’ve learned that people rarely object to technology because it’s new,” Jones mused. “They object because they don’t know where the boundaries are. So the debate has shifted. It’s no longer whether the technology belongs in a store; it’s whether a retailer can show it’s using it responsibly. The companies that come out of this well will do both—protect people, and earn trust while they do it.”

Earning Trust

Though consumers and lawmakers may not yet be fully on-board with the use of

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“The question consumers are really asking is whether the technology is being used responsibly and in their interest.”

—Mike Shore emerging technologies in stores, we are at a crucial point as an industry where, if we do things right, we could potentially win them over.

“The question consumers are really asking is whether the technology is being used responsibly and in their interest,” said Mike Shore, senior VP and general Mike Shore manager of enterprise at Axon. “When organizations can demonstrate that, the reception tends to be positive.”

SIA Senior Director of Industry Relations Ron Hawkins said that privacy and security should be complementary, not antagonistic. “The key is to deploy systems in a way that supports both by Ron Hawkins protecting the sensitive information that is collected and ensuring that it is only used for limited, authorized purposes.”

SIA has a full library of best practice resources for the use of facial recognition, video surveillance, and more that you can find on their website, securityindustry.org.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is also a valuable resource for retailers. Its Face Recognition Technology Evaluation (FRTE) is considered the gold standard for assessing automated face recognition algorithms. Conducted by the US Department of Commerce, these open, ongoing evaluations benchmark developers worldwide on accuracy, speed, and demographic bias across millions of real-world images.

“If an LP team reads one thing before it buys, read NIST, and ask every vendor to show you its report card,” Jones suggested.

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Dr. Lowe of the LPRC added that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expects organizations that use facial recognition to implement reasonable safeguards that identify and mitigate risks for consumers.

As a part of this process, Lowe notes that organizations should conduct due diligence on the accuracy of any facial recognition system, and reviewing the NIST FTRE program is one practical way to support that due diligence and make informed decisions.

Doing your homework before implementing technologies, Lamb agreed, is essential. “Understand the scope and capabilities of the service provider you are potentially engaging in order to understand capabilities and gaps. Partner with your internal legal and operations teams to ensure all points of concern are fully vetted and agreed upon. Monitor continuously to ensure compliance to those standards.”

Other recommendations we want to emphasize include: 1. Write the policy before you buy the technology. Specifically for facial recognition technology, Jones suggests you determine enrollment criteria, data retention, review cadence, and a removal process on paper with legal, operations, HR, and communications teams in the room.

If you can’t write the policy, you aren’t ready to deploy the system. Kelley adds that even for systems that do not include facial recognition, you should establish clear data retention policies, such as deleting non-incident footage after thirty days to reassure consumers that surveillance is targeted and purposeful, not invasive.

2. Be explicit with transparency.

Everyone we spoke with for this story really drove home the importance of transparency when rolling out new technology. Let your customer base know what technologies you are using, with visible signage to inform the public that surveillance cameras, LPR, body-worn cameras, and more are active. Many will appreciate knowing that their safety is being monitored.

3. Train your associates. This is where many systems fail—not the algorithm, but at the person who decides whether to walk up to someone and accuse them of a crime. An alert is a prompt to look more carefully,

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not a verdict. Human oversight is absolutely critical.

4. Make sure the installation is right.

Lighting can really impact the effectiveness of technologies such as facial recognition. Under-exposure of darkskinned individuals and over-exposure of fair-skinned individuals can both produce errors, meaning a lighting problem can become a bias problem. Jones said that most accuracy complaints he’s heard trace back to the installation, not the actual system.

5. Ensure the cybersecurity of physical security. As security units become more sophisticated, they are essentially IoT devices on a store’s network, Kelley explained. Retailers must demand the same level of cybersecurity for their physical security stack as they do their IT infrastructure. Securing the data in transit and protecting against unauthorized access is just as critical as protecting the privacy of the footage itself.

6. Stay informed on restrictions. Laws and regulations are constantly changing, and differ drastically by location. Staying informed on these is crucial if you are looking to rollout any type of biometric technologies in stores. You may even feel called to get involved with an organization like SIA that is working to shape legislation which will impact the industry for years to come.

“The companies that succeed over the next decade will be the ones who refuse to choose between privacy and safety, and build the systems and governance to deliver both,” Jones concluded. “Our industry deserves some of the criticism it has received. We spent years talking about what the technology could do instead of explaining how it could be governed. That has to change. AI will keep improving on its own; public trust won’t—it has to be earned, through transparency, accountability, and restraint. In the end, I don’t think the future of this technology will be decided by better algorithms. I think it will be decided by better institutions.” l

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Courtney Wolfe is LPM’s managing editor focusing on creating and curating editorial content for the magazine’s print publication and website. Prior to LPM, she was managing editor for SDM Magazine, a trade publication for security systems integrators. She received her bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism from Columbia College Chicago. She can be reached at CourtneyW@LossPreventionMedia.com.

The Tricky Legal Landscape Unfortunately for retailers, even if they can win consumers over, they still must navigate an increasingly tricky legal landscape for AI technologies and data that varies by state, county, and even city.

“One of the major challenges is that technology advances exponentially faster than people can comprehend it,” Meehan said. “Laws lag behind, and regulation tends to be politicized, focusing on perceived rather than actual risk. Additionally, social media platforms like TikTok often take snippets of laws and spread misinformation.”

Since 2021, more than twenty states have adopted comprehensive consumer data privacy laws with similar provisions ensuring no obstacles specifically for necessary safety and security uses of data, and a measure was recently introduced in the US House of Representatives to implement this framework nationally.

And while facial recognition technology is legal for use in retail settings nationally, a handful of jurisdictions—including Portland, Oregon and Erie County, New York—have prohibitions impacting retail use, and New York City, Connecticut, California, Texas, and Washington have passed laws requiring signage to inform customers when these technologies are in use on the premises. In addition, retailers cannot freely use facial recognition in Illinois because of the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

“Unfortunately, myths regarding biometric technologies persist and continue to drive some policy discussions,” said SIA’s Parker. “Also, new measures limiting or regulating the use of ‘workplace surveillance’ technologies have been discussed in the California legislature in 2025 and currently in 2026.

These measures are supposed to be about invasive workplace monitoring and productivity tracking but are overly broad and could limit safety and security tools. SIA has been engaged on such

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measures to help ensure any rules that emerge do not unnecessarily limit tools available to security professionals to keep workers, customers, and others safe.”

Lawmakers are not security experts, and they certainly are not retail LP experts. This leads to confusion on how retailers wish to utilize technologies, and regulations that hinder retailers’ abilities to keep shoppers safe. “[Lawmakers] don’t have enough information and don’t know enough about how retailers operate,” Lowe explained. “They also don’t know enough about how systems are being used. And they tend to make politically expedient, short-term decisions that address the concerns of the most vocal members of the communities they serve. In some cases these may not be the best decisions for the long-term interests of those communities.”

Jones said that while lawmakers and the LP industry agree on the objective—we all want strong privacy protections—the debate is about how narrowly the rules should be written.

“Here’s what I’d ask them to sit with: New York State requires retailers to build workplace violence prevention programs and train employees on threats, but Erie County, New York has now made it illegal to use one of the few tools that can identify the person who committed the last incident,” Jones shared. “A store in Buffalo is legally obligated to protect its associates from violence, and legally prohibited from knowing when the man who assaulted one of them walks back through the door. I don’t think anyone intended that.”

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THE REVOLUTION Why ESRM Is the New Frontier

By Scott McBride

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FEATURE

Why ESRM Is the New Frontier

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that enable resiliency while protecting company assets and investments.

ESRM is not a simple rebranding of LP; it is a complete philosophical overhaul.

Within an ESRM framework, you stop viewing security as a series of isolated silos like physical security, cybersecurity, supply chain integrity, and employee safety.

Instead, you view them as a singular, fluid risk profile. You move from a world of locks and docks to a world of likelihood, impact, and mitigation.

Consider the conversation shift. When you move from asking how to reduce shrink loss from merchandise theft to asking how organized retail crime impacts brand equity and shareholder value, you speak the language of the C-suite. ESRM allows you to quantify intangible factors that protect the product on the shelf and the ongoing continuity of the business.

Retail operations face distinct threats that cross traditional departmental boundaries. A cyberattack on your POS system halts store operations, destroys customer trust, causes shrink, and can create an immediate physical safety issue in crowded locations. A supply chain bottleneck in a foreign port leaves shelves empty, increases store-level friction, impacts margin on existing inventory, and elevates safety risks for frontline staff dealing with frustrated shoppers.

Treating these events as separate issues causes blind spots. ESRM connects these dots, allowing you to build defenses that protect the entire operational chain, create a culture of resiliency, and begin the journey for many to think in terms of the alternative plan.

elcome to the first in our series on Enterprise Security Risk.

For decades, our industry has operated under the reliable, if somewhat narrow, umbrella of Loss Prevention. We were the gatekeepers of the physical store, the hunters of shrink, and the tactical responders to immediate threats. We were able to justify our programs, payroll, and expenses by simple cost savings or cost avoidance ROIs. The landscape has shifted. The retail environments of 2026 are no longer just brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce platforms, or distribution centers. Today, it’s a complex, interconnected ecosystem of omnichannel commerce, global logistics, threat intelligence, and hypervolatile social dynamics that drive LP innovation, integrations, and the ability to influence decision-making.

If you manage your department only through the lens of protecting assets, you are falling behind. The modern era demands the ability to be grounded in tactical oversight, yet flex into strategic mastery. It demands Enterprise Security Risk Management, or ESRM. In this feature series over the coming editions of LP Magazine, we will explore the specific mechanics of this enterprise risk revolution, discussing practical frameworks for risk identification, formal risk assessment documentation, building cross-functional partnerships, and executive communication techniques. We will be together on a journey to reinvent LP and AP for every retail company.

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Redefining the Mission: From Assets to Risk

Historically, LP was a reactive function, even when leaders worked to be proactive. LP professionals had little time to react, and executive teams rarely consulted them on the broader business cases. We measured success by the reduction of a line item on a Profit and Loss statement or our ability to handle sudden crises. We installed gates, hired guards, and deployed cameras. We conducted audits to catch internal theft and added cloud-based systems for case management. While these tactics remain necessary, they no longer meet the expectations of executive teams and boards of directors. Top leaders are focusing on managing comprehensive enterprise risk across multiple domains

expense to mitigate loss. In the ESRM model, the LP leader operates as a strategic adviser. You add to company strategy, provide advance warnings to decision makers, and offer actionable insights into intangibles like associate morale, insurance liabilities, and long-term financial implications.

As a risk expert, you possess a unique vantage point touching every corner of the enterprise. You see the vulnerabilities in seasonal hiring surges, understand the friction points in BOPIS workflows, anticipate the operational fallout of geopolitical instability in overseas sourcing, and you can contextualize the intelligence to have meaning for the business.

The LP Leader as Strategic Adviser

The most significant evolution within the ESRM model is the elevation of the LP professional. In the legacy model, executive teams viewed the LP manager as a cost center, representing a necessary

To become an effective strategic adviser, you must trade a narrow right-and-wrong mentality for a permanent seat at the strategy table through a change in how you communicate across the organization.

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Many LP departments hold responsibility for business continuity.

In these organizations, your insights into risk run much deeper. You possess intimate knowledge of departmental Business Impact Analyses and Recovery Time Objectives for critical systems.

You participate directly in resiliency conversations, setting contingency plans for severe loss scenarios. This positioning allows you to advise business leaders across the entire corporate structure and gain valuable knowledge of the upstream and downstream dependencies that dictate success or failure.

To become an effective strategic adviser, you must trade a narrow rightand-wrong mentality for a permanent seat at the strategy table through a change in how you communicate across the organization. ● Data-Driven Insights: ESRM uses empirical data to forecast where the next disruption will occur. This approach allows the business to adjust operational strategies before a financial or operational loss occurs. Seek to develop forward-looking metrics, Early Warning Indicators (EWI), and Mark to Target Information (MtTi) that provide the strategic advantage. ● Business Alignment: Your LP objectives must directly mirror the organization’s growth and business objectives. If the company expands into higher-risk urban markets, your role is not to say no to the expansion. Instead, it is to provide a clear, risk-managed pathway to yes.

Present executives with realistic threat profiles alongside the specific mitigation costs required to operate safely and profitably in those markets. ● Holistic Ownership: Partner directly with IT, HR, risk management, insurance, and legal teams. In an ESRM environment, security is a shared responsibility across all departments, but the LP leader serves as the primary architect of the operational framework.

Schedule monthly risk alignment meetings with these department heads to review cross-functional vulnerabilities. ● Governance: Create an overarching process to lead risk tolerance

discussions and inform top-level decisions. Establish a dedicated risk task force or committee with a formal mandate to report directly to executive leadership. Use this group to evaluate enterprise risk levels, review emerging threats, and allocate resources efficiently across the organization. ● Transparency: Provide full operational transparency without appearing to criticize other department managers.

Use clear, persuasive communication to reveal operational vulnerabilities and pair every identified risk with an actionable plan to prioritize and mitigate that threat to stores, e-commerce, and supply chain operations.

1. Holistic Risk Assessment

The 4 Pillars of the Retail ESRM Framework

2. Risk Ownership and Transparency

Moving toward ESRM is a journey, and early success can be found in focusing on four core pillars that redefine your operational standard.

Traditional LP focuses on what happened, such as a specific theft event.

ESRM focuses on why it happened and the broader context surrounding the event. Evaluate enterprise risk across four main dimensions: Operational, Reputational, Financial, and Strategic.

For example, a sudden protest outside a flagship retail store is not just a store safety concern; it is a reputational risk that can immediately impact stock price, brand perception, and employee retention. ESRM provides the analytical tools required to weigh all these factors simultaneously and respond appropriately.

In many organizations, store managers and corporate executives treat security as someone else’s problem. They attempt to push all safety and loss responsibilities onto the LP department. ESRM flips this dynamic.

ESRM identifies true Risk Owners, such as store managers, supply chain directors, or e-commerce leaders. The framework empowers these operational managers to make informed decisions based on technical guidance from LP experts. LP provides threat intelligence and technical solutions, while operational leaders own the daily execution within their domains. This clear division builds a culture of vigilance across the workforce that no single team can replicate.

3. Continuous Improvement and Agility

The modern retail cycle moves faster than ever before. A detailed risk profile created in Q1 becomes completely obsolete by Q3 due to shifting consumer habits and emerging criminal tactics.

ESRM is not a static paper manual sitting on a shelf; it is an active operational process.

By adopting an agile operational mindset, you reallocate personnel and financial resources in real time. Shift your operational focus from physical storefronts to e-commerce fraud centers

You cannot change corporate culture overnight, but you can build momentum through systematic changes.

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FEATURE

Why ESRM Is the New Frontier

or regional logistics hubs as your threat landscape changes. Track weekly fraud metrics to identify emerging patterns, then immediately redeploy field investigators to those emerging risk areas.

4. Governance and Communication

Leadership and company culture sit at the very center of ESRM governance.

Engage and communicate continuously across all levels of the organization, moving up, down, and laterally. Listen to direct feedback from store associates who face daily operational friction. Instill a sense of personal risk ownership across every department and hold managers accountable for maintaining LP standards within their teams.

Implementing the Framework: Operational Steps

Transitioning an organization to an ESRM framework requires clear execution steps.

You cannot change corporate culture

overnight, but you can build momentum Leadership through systematic changes.

First, establish a Risk Register. and company Document every identified threat to the enterprise, ranging from storeculture sit level organized theft to vendor cyber vulnerabilities. Rate each risk based on at the very two specific metrics: financial impact probability of occurrence. Multiply center of ESRM and these numbers to create a clear risk score. Present this register to executive governance. leadership, and get their input and support for the score to establish a baseline for Engage and resource allocation. communicate Second, align your risk scoring with corporate risk tolerance. Every retail continuously organization maintains a different tolerance for operational risk. A discount across all retailer accepts higher store-level shrink targets to maintain lower operational levels of the costs. A luxury retailer invests heavily in physical security to protect brand image organization, and high value inventory. Define your exact risk threshold and build moving up, down, company’s mitigation plans that keep exposure within those acceptable boundaries. and laterally.

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costs a fraction of fixing those same gaps after a public rollout.

Addressing the Human Element

Technology, data models, and formal frameworks form the structure of ESRM, but human behavior dictates its success.

Store associates, warehouse workers, and corporate managers execute your security protocols daily. If your risk strategies create excessive friction for these employees, they will bypass safety controls to meet their primary sales or productivity targets.

Map out associate workflows before deploying new security measures. A security step that adds thirty seconds to a store clerk task will fail if that clerk faces strict productivity quotas. Work directly with internal business partners to build security protocols directly into daily tasks. When security tools make an associate’s job easier rather than harder, compliance rates rise significantly.

When operational leaders recognize how risk directly impacts their performance metrics, they take personal ownership of security outcomes.

Third, change your reporting metrics.

Stop presenting basic audit scores and incident totals during executive reviews.

Present comprehensive metrics that show business impact. ● Track loss trends relative to net revenue rather than gross inventory. ● Measure response times to operational disruptions across the supply chain as a cost. ● Calculate the total financial value of risks mitigated before incident occurrence. ● Report employee safety incidents as a ratio of store labor hours worked in the frequency rate.

Fourth, integrate risk management into product and operational launches.

Establish a mandatory LP review phase for every new business initiative. If the operations team plans to launch a selfcheckout initiative or a new home delivery model, the ESRM team must analyze the risk profile during the initial design phase.

Identifying security gaps during planning

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Train store and field leaders to recognize operational risk within their immediate environments. Teach a store manager to view a broken backroom lock or a missing security camera not as minor maintenance items, but as direct threats to store profitability and team safety.

When operational leaders recognize how risk directly impacts their performance metrics, they take personal ownership of security outcomes.

The ROI of Resilience

Executive leadership may ask about the return on investment for this strategic shift. The primary return on an ongoing ESRM investment is operational resilience.

An elevated LP department speaks the language of the business and elevates the performance of the entire organization. You empower the business to take advantage of market opportunities, thwart emerging operational risks, and maximize shareholder value.

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A company that manages enterprise risk effectively withstands major market events easily. When you transition to an ESRM model, you reduce business volatility. You protect corporate profit margins, safeguard frontline personnel, and uphold the brand promise to your consumers.

Consider the practical difference during a major supply chain disruption.

A legacy LP team focuses on monitoring inventory loss at the affected distribution center. An ESRM-aligned team works with logistics leaders to identify alternate transport routes, assesses the security risks of thirdparty carrier warehouses, updates store teams on inventory delays, and adjusts store-level staffing models to handle changing delivery schedules. The ESRM team keeps the business moving forward despite external disruption.

A Call to Lead

The retail ESRM revolution is here today. The question is no longer whether your organization will face significant, complex operational risks.

That is an absolute certainty in modern global retail. The question is whether your department will simply count the financial damage after an incident or steer the company safely through the event.

Step out of the legacy mindset of quietly handling incidents in the background. Embrace your role as a direct guardian of corporate strategy.

This is the new operational standard for retail LP. Welcome to the Enterprise Security Risk Management journey—see you in the boardroom.l Scott McBride is the chief global asset protection officer at American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), a leading global apparel and accessories retailer. As a global security leader with over 30 years of experience in the security, asset protection, and retail industry, he safeguards the company’s people, property, product, productivity, proprietary data, and profit across five continents.

Scott leads the strategic direction for business risk intelligence, health & safety, cyber-physical protections, digital fraud mitigation, technology vulnerability, and operational risk management, in addition to the traditional security and asset protection functions. Scott’s vision is to continue making AEO the safest place to work and shop.

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FEATURE

Why ESRM Is the New Frontier

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FEATURE

Leadership When the Playbook Is Gone

Leadership

When the Playbook Is Gone

By Steve and Stacy Sell

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Loss Prevention Magazine

fizkes / Shutterstock.com

Y

ou already know the feeling: the call that comes at the wrong time, the incident that doesn’t fit the protocol, the moment when your team looks to you for an answer and the honest answer is that you don’t have one yet. You project a calm you don’t entirely feel, make the next decision with incomplete information, and keep moving because stopping is not an option.

What you may not have considered is the cost—not operationally, but personally—and what it quietly does to the people around you who are borrowing their steadiness from yours.

We hadn’t considered it either until two medical crises, eighteen months apart, forced us to stop thinking about leadership as something we did for other people and start understanding it as something that was either built or absent inside of us when everything else was stripped away.

We came into those eighteen months believing we were prepared. Between us, we had spent decades leading—Steve in corporate environments, guiding teams through uncertainty, difficult conversations, missed expectations, and the pressure that comes with being the person others look to when things go sideways, Stacy in special education, where progress rarely follows a predictable timeline, where patience is not a personality trait but a practiced skill, and where a good day sometimes means one student making one small breakthrough that nobody else would notice.

We had spent years talking about resilience, coaching presence, and helping others navigate difficult circumstances.

None of it felt quite the same when our own lives were suddenly on the line.

Within eighteen months, two separate medical crises brought each of us within minutes of outcomes that could have meant death, permanent disability, or irreversible damage. Stacy suffered a serious brain injury that left her in a coma in Mexico for two weeks. Steve suffered a catastrophic bleed following cancer surgery that required emergency intervention and a ventilator.

The first crisis belonged to Stacy.

While on vacation in Mexico, what began as an ordinary day became a medical emergency. One moment Steve was enjoying a day at the beach with his wife.

The next, she was unresponsive.

Suddenly, he found himself in a country where he did not speak the language, trying to navigate a healthcare system he

Under pressure, leaders rarely rise to the level of their aspirations; they fall to the level of their most rehearsed behaviors. didn’t understand, while figuring out how to get Stacy from a beachside emergency to the care she desperately needed. There was no time to research options, gather opinions, or build a plan. Her outcome depended on his immediate action.

Eighteen months later, the roles reversed. Following cancer surgery, Steve suffered an unexpected, life-threatening artery bleed. This time, Stacy found herself alone with him in a hospital room.

The person who had led through the first crisis could no longer lead this one. He was unconscious and literally bleeding to death.

With seconds to act and no certainty about what was happening, she had one job: find help and keep moving.

Months later, we still marvel at the fact that each of us found ourselves in a position to help save the other’s life—not because we were extraordinary, not because we handled every moment perfectly (we didn’t). But when critical moments arrived, some of the

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habits we had developed over decades of leading teams, teaching students, serving others, solving problems, and caring for people showed up when they were needed most.

Leadership was no longer about directing action. It was about regulating fear. Today, what stands out is not that we survived two extraordinary crises; it is that neither of us could have prepared for them—no reasonable person could.

That lived experience moved readiness from theory and into reality. It changed how we think about what readiness and what it actually means. Because when the playbook disappears, the only thing left is who you have practiced being.

For most of our careers, readiness meant preparation: build the plan, anticipate the risks, create contingencies, develop the response.

Organizations do this every day. They invest in communication plans, escalation procedures, crisis simulations, and business continuity frameworks. Those

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efforts matter, but every plan carries a hidden assumption: the future will cooperate. Sometimes it doesn’t.

Neither of our crises arrived with a warning, neither respected timelines, neither provided enough information to make perfect decisions. What carried us through was not preparation for those specific events—it was the habits we had practiced long before them.

One of the first lessons we learned was the power of presence. In both situations, uncertainty was constant. Information arrived in fragments, and recovery resisted timelines. The temptation was always to jump ahead and imagine the worst. What if the outcome is worse than we think? What if this changes everything? What if we’re not ready?

That is what we came to call borrowing

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FEATURE

Leadership When the Playbook Is Gone

Find your WIN each day.

That realization changed how we think about leadership. Under pressure, leaders rarely rise to the level of their aspirations; they fall to the level of their most rehearsed behaviors.

In hindsight, composure, clarity, and ownership did not suddenly appear when we needed them most. They had developed over decades through leadership experiences, difficult conversations, setbacks, successes, and everyday decisions. Crisis simply revealed what was already there.

A normal day at work can feel routine—often it is. But a leader handling a disagreement in a conference room today may be rehearsing how they will lead during the most consequential crisis of their career.

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fear from the future. Many leaders do it because they are trained to anticipate risk and think ahead. The problem comes when tomorrow’s possibilities begin stealing attention from today’s realities.

We learned that presence is not about optimism; it is about focus, and the discipline of concentrating on what is true right now instead of becoming consumed by what might happen next. In our recovery, and in our leadership lives, we found that progress almost always came from focusing on the next decision, the next conversation, and the next step rather than trying to solve every possible future outcome.

The second lesson was humanity.

Before, we would have described

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humanity as important. Afterward, we began to see it as essential.

What we remember most from recovery are not grand speeches or perfect plans. We remember the leadership happening all around us: the physician who slowed down long enough to explain, the nurse who showed patience, the friend who checked in, the colleague who simply said, “We’ve got you.”

Those moments reminded us that leadership is not confined to titles or organizational charts. Sometimes it looks like expertise, sometimes it looks like compassion, often it looks like simply showing up when someone needs you most.

Employees, customers, partners, and teammates all bring unseen challenges into every interaction. Leaders who consistently treat people as people build trust long before they need it. Leaders who treat humanity as optional often discover too late that trust cannot be built during crises—it can only be withdrawn from an account that already exists.

The third lesson was intention. Both crises created moments where fear, frustration, and uncertainty could have taken over. During one particularly difficult stretch, a physician walked into a room filled with worried family members and said something we have never forgotten: “A lot has happened, but nothing has changed.”

At first, it sounded confusing. Later, it made perfect sense. The situation was serious, the emotions were real, but the next step remained the same. Focus on what is in front of you. Make the next decision. Don’t allow fear to outrun the facts.

We’ve carried that lesson into leadership conversations ever since— not as a technique, but as a discipline.

The strongest leaders often pause long enough to ask a different question: Who do we want to be in this moment? Not simply what should we do, but who should we be?

We remain humbled by the fact that each of us was called upon to act in a moment when the other’s life hung in the balance.

Some of those habits were built in places that never seemed extraordinary at the time: in Stacy’s classroom, where patience mattered more than control;

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Your playbook matters but who you become when it stops working matters more. in Steve’s conference rooms, where calm often proved more valuable than certainty; in ordinary conversations, difficult decisions, stressful meetings, and small moments that felt insignificant while they were happening.

At the time, those experiences felt unrelated. We now realize they weren’t—they were rehearsals.

Looking back, we don’t see ourselves as heroes in either crisis. We see two people who found themselves in situations they never imagined and responded with whatever habits they had spent a lifetime developing.

We share this story with deep humility and gratitude. We are profoundly thankful for the physicians, nurses, therapists, family members, friends, and countless others who helped carry us through two crises neither of us could have navigated alone. Recovery was

Loss Prevention Magazine

never guaranteed, and we do not take it for granted.

What our experience did teach us is that when those moments arrived, some of our most practiced habits proved valuable in ways we never could have anticipated. Not because we were perfect leaders—far from it—but because certain habits developed over years of leadership, service, teaching, relationships, and life experience turned out to matter when pressure was at its highest.

Today, we intentionally focus on those habits more than we did before because we have seen their value firsthand.

One lesson in particular continues to guide us: Find your WIN each day.

Not the ultimate outcome, not the final resolution, not the answer to every question—just the next meaningful step, the next right conversation, the next

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act of leadership, the next reason to move forward.

In both of our recoveries, there were days when the future felt too large to carry. Focusing on a single daily win helped return our attention to what was possible instead of what was uncertain.

Eventually, we realized that’s what readiness had become for us—not predicting every challenge, not having every answer, not building the perfect plan. It became the practice of showing up well for the moment in front of us.

The habits that carried us through our crises were not built during crisis. They were built in ordinary conversations, stressful meetings, difficult decisions, and moments when nobody imagined they were preparing for something bigger.

Because readiness is not only about systems, procedures, and plans. It is also about the person who shows up when those plans stop working. Your playbook matters, but who you become when it stops working matters more. And that leader is formed one conversation, one decision, and one daily win at a time. l

Steve Sell is the founder of ReadyLeadershipTM and a leadership keynote speaker, advisor, and former customer success, sales, and marketing executive with more than 35 years of experience helping organizations grow through stronger leadership, customer relationships, and strategic communication. He has held executive leadership roles with retail, technology, LP, and consulting organizations, partnering with many of the world's leading retailers.

Following two life-changing family health crises, Steve now speaks and consults on leadership under pressure, helping leaders build the habits that matter when the playbook no longer applies. He lives in Frisco, Texas, with his wife and business partner, Stacy. Contact him at stevesell@readyleadershipnow.com.

Stacy Sell is director of advocacy and education at ReadyLeadershipTM and spent 30 years as a special education educator in Frisco ISD, where she was recognized for her compassion, resilience, and unwavering commitment to students and families.

Following a life-threatening brain injury and remarkable recovery, Stacy brings a deeply personal perspective on courage, resilience, and the power of human connection. She now co-presents leadership keynotes and workshops with her husband, Steve, helping leaders understand how presence, humanity, and intentionality become their greatest strengths when facing uncertainty and change. Contact her at stacysell@readyleadershipnow.com.

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LPM Founders’ Awards Celebrate

The LP Magazine Founders’ Awards offer a means to celebrate industry accomplishments on an ongoing basis, recognizing the loss prevention professionals, teams, solution providers, law enforcement partners, and others who demonstrate a stellar contribution to the profession.

The ability to influence change is a product of drive, creativity, and determination, but it also requires a unique ability to create a shared vision that others will understand, respect, support, and pursue. Each of the following recipients reflects that standard of excellence, representing the quality and spirit of leadership that makes a difference in our lives, our people, and our programs. Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of our latest honorees.

Industry Professionals EXCELLENCE IN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP

Cory Lowe, PhD

Director of Research The Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC)

“Never stop working to be the best partner you can be,” says Lowe. “Partnership is a skill you can build, but a special kind of attitude is underneath.

It’s caring about the mission so much that your ego and your own benefit stop mattering. The best partnerships happen when everyone involved is more committed to solving the problem than to anything else.”

Cory joined the LPRC as a research scientist during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, working with retailers to give the industry a way to benchmark precautions when no one had a playbook.

He has since worked on many projects to support retailers and legislators, including studies on the risk and protective factors for retail crime and what makes prevention programs work. He

EXCELLENCE IN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP

Professor Robert Hanson Department Head, Criminal Justice and Loss Prevention Department, Northern Michigan University (NMU)

The ability to influence change in loss prevention isn’t always driven by those leading the discussion from a boardroom—sometimes elevating an industry is something found in those leading the discussion from a classroom. Leadership is not just about managing programs, but transforming lives and changing perspectives to take the industry to another level. Experience matters, but growth and development is grounded in something more. Our educators often lead the way.

Professor Hanson arrived at NMU after eight years of service in the US Army with the Army Security Agency, Counterintelligence, and Criminal Investigation (CID). He joined NMU’s Criminal Justice Department, directed the NMU Regional Police Academy, and over decades combined practical experience with academic rigor to shape the next generation of public safety and security professionals.

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currently serves as director of research, shaping the research agenda, guiding the scientists, and allocating resources to deliver the most value.

“When building business partnerships, be a person worthy of trust, be humble, and be a realist—maybe even with a dash of healthy cynicism,” he says. “Trust is not a trait you have— it’s something you earn through consistent interactions over time.”

“Humility is being neither unsure nor too sure of your talents. It is being clear-eyed about your strengths without being so taken with them that pride sets in. Pride makes you less accessible, and if you want to connect with people and be a good partner, you have to stay accessible.

“Realism is not a flaw—it is part of the human condition. But self- interest becomes a problem when it’s short-sighted. I try to keep focused on the value I can provide rather than what I can get. A good partner makes the value of a partnership so clear that the ‘what's in it for me’ question never has to be asked out loud.”

By the 1990s, however, Hanson noticed a shift.

Former students began returning to campus to recruit soon-to-be-graduates for loss prevention roles. He discovered that a significant percentage of the LP workforce was highly competent, but lacked the formal credentials to advance.

His solution was to design a program that met professionals exactly where they were. Working with the National Retail Federation and several major retailers, he championed the creation of the Retail Loss Prevention Management degree program at NMU. Recently retired, Professor Hanson currently serves on the NRF Loss Prevention Council. His focus remains entirely on the students and the future of the industry. From facilitating internships to bringing student cohorts directly to major industry events, his drive has never wavered.

"I strongly believe in the importance of recruiting talented students to seek a challenging and rewarding career in loss prevention as their first choice after graduation," he explains.

His work stands as a model for how higher education can respond to evolving industry needs and how persistence can elevate an entire profession. l

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FOUNDERS’ AWARDS

FEATURE

Inside the Mind of a Shoplifter

INSIDE THE MIND OF A SHOPLIFTER

What the people who steal from stores can teach retailers about stopping them.

By Justin J. Smith, PhD, and Isabella E. Lanza

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“W

e aren’t here to judge you—we are here to learn from you.”

This is not the kind of greeting you’d expect from someone dedicated to loss prevention science, but at the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC), that single sentence can be the key to unlocking some of the most valuable insights. When you build rapport with a shoplifter and get them talking, they reveal things no security camera ever will: exactly how, and why, they steal and commit other offenses. For years, scientists at the LPRC have been sitting down with the very people most stores spend millions trying to stop and asking them to explain what they do and what situational and environmental factors influence their behavior.

The LPRC conducts research on the effectiveness of LP solutions and industry trends. The research team consists of criminologists, data scientists, geographers, and other social scientists.

Since its inception in 2000, the LPRC has collaborated with retailers and solution partners (manufacturers of crime prevention technology) across the AP/LP industry. Through its research, the LPRC seeks to support retailers as they work to prevent theft, fraud, and violence, as well as support LP programs’ operational effectiveness.

In January 2025, the LPRC launched a new initiative at its labs in Gainesville, Florida. This initiative is a part of a broader offender research program where we work to recruit and interview shoplifters.

Through a standardized questionnaire, researchers can learn about topics such as store and merchandise selection, theft techniques, modus operandi (MO), deterrents, disposal of stolen merchandise, personal background and demographic characteristics, and arrest and conviction histories. During the interviews, the participants are also shown approximately forty different crime prevention solutions in our Engagement, Activation, and Simulation Labs and asked for feedback about the various strategies and solutions.

Why Talk to Offenders?

Much can be learned about human behavior by talking with people who are intimately involved in it. At the LPRC, we apply this approach to retail offenders, specifically shoplifters. Shoplifters have different motivations, reasons they select certain stores over others, and they know how to look for and exploit security weaknesses. For example, some

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offenders have expressed a great deal of knowledge about removing tags or other security devices, concealing merchandise, and resale value. All of this is foreign to most people who have never, or seldom, shoplifted. But what is most important is understanding how and why offenders choose targets, including products and locations. Often, offenders tell us what makes a location or product a more desirable target. By understanding this, we can understand the opportunities to prevent retail crime. This is one of the greatest benefits of interviewing offenders.

There are several ways that offender interviews benefit retailer and solution partner members of the LPRC and the LP community at large. On the retail side, we have taken offenders to actual retail locations and elicited feedback on vulnerabilities and weaknesses in store security. Such insights may lead to the development of new LP solutions and

When you build rapport with a shoplifter and get them talking, they reveal things no security camera ever will: exactly how, and why, they steal and commit other offenses. practices that can then be tested. For solution partners, the LPRC frequently collects and analyzes offender feedback around prototypes of new LP technologies before they go to market. Such commentary leads to the development of a more robust solution that may have higher deterrent value or be harder to defeat. Of course, this is just one part of what makes loss prevention science so interesting; we also work with customers and employees to understand how solutions impact their shopping and working experiences.

All of this is done to ensure retailers are balancing their use of friction so they can deter offenders, not customers.

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Finding and Recruiting Offenders to Talk

To interview offenders, you must first recruit them. The LPRC uses several methods to recruit offenders, including: ● Online job boards ● Facebook community pages ● Flyers posted at homeless encampments, alcohol and drug rehabilitation facilities, and college campuses in Gainesville ● Flyers disseminated via the Court Services Probation Office ● “Snowball sampling”—a sampling strategy in which we interview a single offender, build rapport, and then ask them to connect us with their associates In exchange for their valuable time and insights, the LPRC offers interviewees a gift card. Interviews usually range between one and two hours, and gift cards are offered instead of cash to reduce the likelihood of the money being used for illicit purposes.

A mock-up of a retail gondola at the LPRC Engagement Lab.

Getting Offenders to Talk to Us

The LPRC uses several methods to encourage interviewees to be as candid as possible. First, during the rapport-building phase, we emphasize the confidential nature of the interviews. Second, we work to ensure that the interviewee does not believe we are making moral judgments about them and their behavior. In fact, most of the standard practices to achieve openness fall under the categories of reinforcing confidentiality or emphasizing the human element of research. Other strategies include: ● Highlighting that the LPRC is not a law enforcement agency and “won’t come

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FEATURE

Inside the Mind of a Shoplifter

after them” should they reveal shoplifting or criminal history. ● Using a “first name policy” among all interviewers and interviewees—we encourage them to call us by first names, and we do not require last names unless they choose to share. ● Reinforcing informed consent and the interviewees’ ability to withdraw at any part of the interview process. ● Respecting the privacy of interviewees and their choice to reveal or not reveal sensitive information. ● Keeping language neutral, avoiding words with negative connotations such as “steal,” “thief,” or “criminal” in exchange for “take” or “someone.”

For example, instead of asking an offender, “How would a shoplifter steal this?” we would opt to say, “How could someone take this from a store?” instead.

Using all these approaches shows offenders how the LPRC operates.

The LPRC is a place where they can share their unique and valuable perspectives on theft prevention solutions, and, by doing so, help us prevent these activities in the future.

If we do not use these strategies, then we cannot provide the industry with the information it needs to continue innovating.

Settings for Offender Interviews

realistic environments, such as the LPRC Engagement Lab and Simulation Lab. As an overview, the Engagement Lab is a mock store environment for solutions and product integration. It allows LPRC researchers to model theft prevention solutions the same way they would be in physical stores, offering a unique element of realism for interviews.

The Engagement Lab demonstrates protected products by categorical sections, such as health and beauty, hardware, luxury items such as purses and perfumes, and laundry. These categories are chosen based on research and feedback from LPRC retail members about high-theft items.

Some items are at a higher risk of being stolen due to their portability, value, or usefulness.

The Simulation Lab is another setting that offers insights into offender behavior. Equipped with 270-degree screen capabilities, the Simulation Lab can project vivid and immersive real-world settings.

Utilizing auditory and visual elements to simulate alternative settings, the Simulation Lab increases the versatility of offender research by including outdoor (among other) environments. Many offenders especially enjoy this lab, remarking that it feels like a movie theater.

Previous Findings from LPRC Offender Interviews

Previous LPRC research has revealed many insights into theft prevention technology through

LPRC research with offenders has generated many important

and useful insights. This includes offender perceptions of theft prevention technology such as electronic article surveillance (EAS) pedestals, locking cases, public view monitors (PVMs), and peg hook solutions. For example, research with offenders has found that PVMs are generally seen as a deterrent, with in-aisle PVMs placed closer to high-theft merchandise scoring higher on our deterrence measures.

However, several other findings show the conditional nature of the impact of different solutions.

For example, peg hook solutions requiring associate interaction (as opposed to self-service-style peg- hooks) were found to be effective shoplifting deterrents, but these solution deployments are highly situational and depend on the store to be most effective. The involvement of store associates is important in other ways. For example, offenders tend to be indifferent to EAS pedestals. In fact, deterrence is more a matter of store tagging compliance and whether store staff will act if an alarm is triggered.

Limitations to Our Offender Research

Two key limitations to interview research are: (1) the generalizability of findings, and (2) social desirability bias. The generalizability of findings refers to whether we can generalize the findings to other contexts.

For example, imagine if the LPRC

Much can be learned about human behavior by talking with people who are intimately involved in it.

Immersive video in the Simulation Lab where offenders involved in the research experience real-world settings.

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Using all these approaches shows offenders how the LPRC operates. The LPRC is a place where they can share their unique and valuable perspectives on theft prevention solutions, and, by doing so, help us prevent these activities in the future.

Offenders are asked to evaluate anti-theft devices in action at the LPRC labs.

exclusively interviewed white, female, 18-year-old UF students from Gainesville, Florida who steal cosmetic products at a popular cosmetics retailer. The results from this research might not tell us much about the offending patterns of black, male shoplifters in their 60s. In other words, the interview data would not tell us anything about male offenders, or offenders of other races, or in other age groups, or in any other part of the world, and so on. Therefore, we try to interview offenders of different backgrounds to get a mix of different characteristics and experience levels.

Second, social desirability bias occurs often during interviews when the interviewee does not want to offend the interviewer or cause us to make moral judgments about them or their behaviors, so they give what they believe to be socially acceptable answers. This may include lying, especially about immoral, unethical, or illegal activities. We attempt to counteract this by providing paper questionnaires and not asking face-to-face about sensitive topics. Additionally, we have found that some offenders are comfortable speaking in hypotheticals rather than admitting past offenses. In other words, “if I were to shoplift, this is how I would do it.”

On the other hand, social desirability bias can impact

our research in other ways. For example, since we are researchers, offenders may want us to believe they possess characteristics they believe we respect or admire, such as intelligence and critical thinking skills. This creates a problem for our research because, if their thinking is not as rational and calculated as they portray, then we might come to the wrong conclusions about what will work to prevent theft and other retail crimes. Both examples of social desirability bias show the importance of establishing rapport with the subjects—if they believe we are there to judge them, they will not speak candidly.

It is also problematic if they edit their responses to make us think they make rational choices more often than they do, so we try to counteract this by being as approachable and down-to-earth as possible.

Conclusion

The LPRC’s offender interview program is one of a kind. There is nowhere else in the world conducting this research the way we do, and it gives our team unique insights into the motivations, thought processes, and activities of retail offenders. This gives us the opportunity to develop new strategies to prevent theft and support our retail members.

We highly encourage interested retailers and solution providers to contact us with questions and

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study ideas for retail offenders.

If interested in knowing more, please reach out to Justin Smith at Justin.S@LPRC.org. If you are interested in joining the LPRC community, please visit our site to learn about the benefits of a LPRC membership by scanning the QR code in the margin. l Justin J. Smith received a PhD in criminal justice from the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Prior to receiving his doctorate, Justin received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice, both from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. He is also a graduate of Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts where he majored in theater. He has presented at national conferences, such as the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and regional conferences such as the Southern Criminal Justice Association. He has taught undergraduate courses such as Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Famous Crimes and Trials. His primary research interests include police innovation and culture, environmental criminology, and situational crime prevention.

Isabella E. Lanza is an undergraduate political science major with dual minors in Innovation in AI and Sociology at the University of Florida (UF), and interned with the Loss Prevention Research Council. In her time at the LPRC, she conducted offender interviews alongside Dr. Justin J. Smith.

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If you are interested in learning more about the LPRC’s offender interview program and similar research, and are a current LPRC member, please visit the LPRC Knowledge Center. Special thanks to Tiffany Frison, MA, Dakota Moss, BA, and Katie Gray.

SOMETHING GOOD

RILA AP Conference Attendees Give Hope to Children in Need T

he Retail Industry Leaders Association’s (RILA) 2026 Retail Asset Protection Conference offered much of what we’ve come to expect from industry events—educational sessions, an Expo Hall, networking, etc. But one new element stood out from the rest: the opportunity to assemble Hope Bags for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

“RILA has been a supporter of NCMEC for several years,” said Khris Hamlin, RILA VP of AP and retail technology. “We know that large retail stores and parking lots can be places where children are approached, abducted, and/or even trafficked. And we work closely with NCMEC and law enforcement to prevent and stop these types of crimes. This year we wanted to strengthen our partnership with NCMEC, and began exploring meaningful ways the retail industry could support their mission. Together, we identified the Hope Bag program as an opportunity for our members to make an immediate and tangible impact.”

Hope Bags are distributed through law enforcement agencies, victim advocates, child advocacy centers, and other organizations that partner with NCMEC to support children who have been recovered after experiencing exploitation, trafficking, or another traumatic event.

Each Hope Bag contains essential items that help meet a child’s immediate needs after recovery: facial cleansing cloths, shampoo and conditioner, toothbrush and toothpaste, body soap, hoodie or sweatshirt, sweatpants, underwear, socks, snacks, and a $10 food gift card.

“These bags provide immediate necessities during the critical first hours and days following recovery,” Hamlin explained. “More importantly, they send a powerful message: you are safe, you are cared for, and you are not alone. For many children, it’s one of the very first acts of compassion they receive after an incredibly traumatic experience. While a Hope Bag cannot erase what they’ve endured, it represents the beginning of healing and reminds them that there are people who care deeply about their recovery.”

During the course of the 2026 RILA Retail Asset Protection Conference, attendees assembled an amazing 500 Hope Bags for recovered children.

“Watching hundreds of retail asset protection leaders come together around a shared purpose was one of the most meaningful moments of the conference,” Hamlin said. “Those 500 bags now represent 500 opportunities to

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provide comfort, dignity, and hope to children during one of the most difficult moments in their lives.”

Hamlin added that he would like to see the assembly of Hope Bags become an annual tradition and expand across the retail industry as more companies look for meaningful ways to support NCMEC and the children they serve.

Retailers can get involved with NCMEC by hosting a Hope Bag assembly event within their company or at industry gatherings; supporting NCMEC through corporate giving and sponsorships; training associates to recognize and report indicators of child exploitation and human trafficking; building partnerships with local law enforcement and child advocacy organizations; sharing NCMEC resources throughout their organizations; and participating in awareness campaigns and future volunteer initiatives.

For anyone interested in learning more about the Hope Bag program or NCMEC’s mission, please visit ncmechopebags.org.

For anyone interested in learning more about the Hope Bag program or NCMEC’s mission, please visit ncmechopebags.org. The website provides information on upcoming volunteer opportunities, how to host a Hope Bag event, and additional ways to support children who have experienced exploitation or trauma.

“This initiative is especially meaningful to me because I’ve spent my career working at the intersection of retail, law enforcement, and public safety,” Hamlin said. “One thing I’ve learned is that every child deserves someone willing to step forward on their behalf.

While a Hope Bag may seem like a small gesture, for a child who has just been recovered, it represents something much greater.

It tells them they matter. It reminds them that people they’ve never met cared enough to prepare something just for them.

I’m incredibly proud that the retail asset protection community embraced this initiative.” l

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The result is measurable: stronger in-stock rates, faster associate response, and a frictionless path to purchase for every legitimate customer. Scalable from a single category to a full-store deployment.

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CONSIDER THIS

natrot / johavel / Shutterstock.com

Adam Gilvin

Adam Gilvin is the head of asset protection for Bass Pro Shops, bringing over twentyfive years of retail experience across store operations, investigations, supply chain, and enterprise strategy. His leadership philosophy centers on linking shrink to operational performance, team accountability, and customer engagement. Adam is focused on modernizing AP through data, technology, and practical execution, while building strong partnerships across the business.

When Stores Start Talking Back S

AI isn’t scaling surveillance.

It’s scaling awareness.

tores have always been talking. We just haven’t been able to hear them.

For most of retail history, leadership has operated with delayed information. We walk stores to understand them, we run audits to validate them, and we count inventory and review cameras to confirm what already happened. Even at our best, we’ve been managing through hindsight.

Anyone who has led stores for any length of time knows the feeling—your sense when something isn’t quite right long before a report confirms it. A location feels different, standards slip just enough to notice, engagement changes, but proving that instinct usually takes time. And by the time the numbers validate it, the underlying issue has often been present for months.

Retail has spent decades measuring outcomes while remaining largely blind to the behaviors that created them. That’s simply the constraint of operating physical environments at scale—until now.

Artificial intelligence changes something bigger than detection or automation; it changes visibility itself. For the first time, the physical environments we manage are becoming continuously observable—not periodically reviewed or sampled during visits or audits.

And I don’t think we’ve fully absorbed yet how significant that shift really is. There’s an uncomfortable implication hiding underneath it: for years, retail leaders have accepted a certain level of uncertainty as normal.

We assume execution varies between locations. We accept that operational drift happens between visits.

Loss appears, investigations follow, corrections are made, and the cycle repeats.

Inconsistency has largely been treated as the cost of scale. But what happens when that uncertainty begins to disappear? What happens when execution gaps are always visible instead of occasionally?

The challenge changes. The question is no longer whether we can see what’s happening—it becomes whether we’re prepared to act on what we now know.

Innovation in asset protection has traditionally followed a familiar path: better cameras, better alarms, better

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reporting. Each advancement helped us investigate faster or respond sooner. Valuable progress, certainly; but fundamentally, we were still reacting to events after they occurred.

Artificial intelligence shifts that timeline. Computer vision and intelligent analytics don’t just capture incidents; they translate activity into patterns—revealing operational friction, execution breakdowns, and environmental risk long before shrink appears on a financial statement.

Stores begin to talk to us, and they begin to explain themselves. Loss stops arriving as a surprise and starts appearing as a signal, an indicator.

AI doesn’t just improve awareness, it quietly raises the standard of leadership across the enterprise.

Anyone responsible for multi-site operations knows how quickly clarity changes conversations.

AI isn’t scaling surveillance. It’s scaling awareness.

There’s understandable concern across industries that AI will replace people. In AP (and most of retail), I see the opposite playing out. Our challenge has never been effort, really. It’s been reach.

Great AP leaders already understand what drives outcomes: culture matters, execution matters, customer engagement matters. But even the strongest leaders can only physically influence so many locations, observe so many behaviors, or connect so many dots at once.

AI expands that reach. Routine monitoring and pattern recognition move quietly into the background, returning something incredibly valuable to human teams: capacity.

Capacity to coach, capacity to partner, and capacity to improve environments instead of chasing incidents.

AI doesn’t replace judgment; it multiplies it. What may ultimately matter most isn’t what AI sees, but how

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Frame Stock Footage / Shutterstock.com

quickly companies learn from what it reveals. Retail has traditionally learned slowly—a process breaks down, shrink increases, inventory confirms it months later, and action follows after results decline.

Feedback loops have always been delayed, and delayed feedback limits improvement. When insight arrives continuously instead of periodically, companies begin adjusting in real time rather than retrospectively.

Small corrections happen earlier, operational drift gets addressed before becoming normalized, and teams adapt faster because information no longer waits for reporting cycles.

AI compresses the distance between cause and understanding. And when that distance shrinks, performance tends to improve almost naturally.

The organizations that benefit most from AI won’t necessarily be those deploying the most advanced technology. They’ll be the ones capable of learning faster than their competitors—seeing the signs earlier, adapting sooner, and improving continuously instead of occasionally.

Technology creates visibility; leadership determines whether visibility becomes improvement.

For years, AP has helped organizations understand what went wrong. Increasingly, we may help them understand what’s beginning to go wrong while there’s still time to change it. Shrink rarely begins with theft.

Most operators know that instinctively. It starts earlier.

When AI continuously surfaces those early signals, AP naturally moves from reacting to outcomes to identifying the environments that create them. Think less investigator, more interpreter. AP becomes one of the first functions capable of recognizing operational drift as it develops, not after results decline. It’s all about position—AP sits at a different intersection than most other retail functions.

Operations sees sales and labor, finance sees margin, HR sees turnover, and AP sees friction. We see

Loss Prevention Magazine

it because of the tools we already live in every day.

Cameras (or what I tend to think of as data collectors) capture more than incidents, they capture coverage gaps, receiving breakdowns, shifts in energy on the floor. EBR reveals cadence—refund rhythm, voids, and discounts that slowly drift outside normal behavior.

Modern case management connects our input data with external crime patterns, linking activity across stores instead of leaving it isolated.

None of that is shrink yet, but it’s movement, it’s variance, it’s discipline starting to loosen in small ways.

That’s operational drift, and for years we confirmed that drift after the grade posted. Inventory forced the conversation. By then, the behavior had often been present for months.

What’s changing now isn’t effort, it’s timing. There’s an irony in all of this. Retailers have invested heavily for decades in systems designed to measure transactions, inventory, and financial performance, yet much of the actual work happening inside stores remained invisible.

We measured results without fully seeing behavior. AI begins to close that gap—not by replacing leadership, but by reducing uncertainty.

The environment itself starts providing feedback, and when visibility improves, accountability follows— not because someone is watching more closely, but because everyone understands what good looks like in real time.

Greater visibility also changes leadership expectations in ways we don’t often talk about. When insight was limited, variability was easy to explain away. Performance gaps could be attributed to market conditions, staffing challenges, or timing. Limited visibility created a natural tolerance for uncertainty.

As environments become more transparent, those expectations carry less weight. Leaders gain clearer understanding of execution realities across locations, and with that clarity comes a different level of responsibility. The conversation shifts from what happened to what are we choosing to do about what we can now clearly see.

AI doesn’t just improve awareness, it quietly raises the standard of leadership across the enterprise.

Anyone responsible for multi-site operations knows how quickly clarity changes conversations.

AI itself will not be the competitive advantage.

Technology will normalize quickly, and most retailers will deploy similar tools over time. The differentiator will be interpretation.

Technology creates visibility; leadership determines whether visibility becomes improvement. The future advantage in retail won’t belong to companies with the most data, but to those that understand what their environment is trying to tell them.

If shrink is the grade, as I wrote in my previous article, then AI may be the first time retail leaders are able to study performance while the test is still happening—not weeks later, not quarterly, not after inventory—in real time.

AI doesn’t make an organization less human; it finally allows great operators to see clearly enough to lead at the scale modern retail demands. l

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The future advantage in retail won’t belong to companies with the most data, but to those that understand what their environment is trying to tell them.

OFF SCRIPT

Art Furnace / Shutterstock.com

Oscar Arango, LPC

Arango is vice president of retail strategy at Flock Safety. He brings more than thirty years of experience in retail asset protection and security, including senior leadership roles at both specialty and big-box retailers, most recently as the VP of asset protection at Target. He is passionate about leading and developing teams while building security strategies that drive results. At Flock, he serves as an advocate for the retail industry, helping shape solutions that address the challenges retailers face today. He can be reached at oscar.arango@ flocksafety.com. All opinions expressed here are those of Oscar Arango and are not representative of Flock Safety.

Introducing Off Script A

Like many of you out there, I always knew what I wanted to do next—take on that next assignment, move to a new city for a promotion, and move up the corporate ladder.

few years ago, I was facing a dilemma: After over thirty years in the retail loss prevention industry, my job transitioned. Do I continue on the same path?

Or do I get out of my comfort zone and try something completely different? I hadn’t had to look for a job in a very long time, as I had been blessed with being recruited from role to role for the last 25-plus years. I didn’t even know where to start.

Luckily, I had the benefit of being able to consult with a career coach who helped me figure out how to prioritize what I was looking for in my next role. He had me fill out a few worksheets that listed out my goals, priorities, and aspirations. At first it seemed corny, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was an opportunity for me to be intentional with that next step. Like many of you out there, I always knew what I wanted to do next—take on that next assignment, move to a new city for a promotion, and move up the corporate ladder. With the help of many great mentors, teams, and partners, I was able to become the VP of asset protection for one of the premier retailers in the country.

This time was different. I wasn’t looking for a similar role making similar money; I was looking for a role that matched what was most important to me. Those worksheets came in handy when sourcing my next role. What was the top thing I was looking for? Balance.

Everyone talks about it, but the reality with our industry is that crises don’t come with ideal timelines. Whether you’re out with the family watching a movie, fitting in a round of golf, or even just unwinding at the end of a day, a crisis can happen at any moment. I often think about how many family dinners I had to step away from, how many vacations were disrupted, and how many times I was distracted when the kids were telling me about their days.

Simply put, I was burned out. I wasn’t sleeping well, my health was definitely not ideal, I suffered from the ‘Sunday Scaries,’ and I jumped every time an alert went off on my phone. Real talk? It was mostly self-driven. But I didn’t want that anymore. I wanted something I hadn’t done before, that stretched me to use new skills, and that fulfilled me while providing that much-needed balance.

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That’s how I landed in my current role. This role gives me everything I was looking for. It offers more than just a sense of balance; it challenges me to grow, keeps me engaged with my professional network, and provides a platform to influence the industry as a whole.

I am allowed to work in an environment that, while challenging, encourages me to take risks. Everyone here has one goal: contribute to the growth and success of the company. You would think that’s the goal at every organization, but the reality is that sometimes it becomes more about personal or team accomplishments than the success of the logo on the facade of the building.

This role gives me everything I was looking for. It offers more than just a sense of balance; it challenges me to grow, keeps me engaged with my professional network, and provides a platform to influence the industry as a whole.

So why am I writing this article? Here’s the thing: I actually loved what I used to do despite some of the challenges. I had the privilege of working with some incredible people; I’m biased, but I believe we had the best AP team in the business. Leadership and development have always been a passion of mine, and I’d like to find a way to give back to the industry. Here’s the deal—I made a ton of mistakes throughout my career, and I firmly believe that it’s because of those mistakes that I was able to achieve the success I did. My hope is to contribute on a regular basis and share some of what I’ve learned along the way—the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’d love to share topics that I’ve talked to some of you in confidence about—ones we rarely share in broader forums. I promise to give it to you straight and unfiltered. Working for a large corporation for so many years, I often had to remember to stay on script when speaking publicly. This time, I get to go off script. l

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ELITE TRAINING DAYS ce

An Investigative Interviewing Conferen

October 13-15, 2026 The Ingleside Hotel | 2810 Golf Road | Pewaukee, WI 53072

Elite Training Days (ETD) is where the investigative interviewing profession gathers each year. Featuring the exclusive Wicklander-Zulawski (WZ) Master Class, along with a full conference of expert speakers and collaborative learning, ETD offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to sharpen your skills, expand your network, and stay at the forefront of investigative interviewing.

THE EVENT

THE MASTER CLASS

Elite Training Days (ETD) is more than a conference. It is the investigative interviewing conference where professionals come to sharpen their skills, expand their networks, and prepare for what's next. Experience cuttingedge education, groundbreaking research, and practical techniques from leading experts across multiple disciplines. Leave inspired, connected, and ready to conduct better interviews with greater confidence.

Red Team, Blue Team: Challenging Assumptions in Complex Investigations is an advanced masterclass that sharpens investigative decision-making through realistic case scenarios, structured team challenges, and evidence-based analysis. Learn to identify cognitive bias, challenge assumptions, avoid tunnel vision, and build stronger, more defensible investigative conclusions. Designed for investigators who want to elevate their critical thinking when the stakes are highest.

October 13-15, 2026

Learn more, meet the speakers, and secure your spot today!

October 13, 2026 | 8:00AM-3:00PM

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INTERVIEWING

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Thompson is the CEO of Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, providing investigative interview and interrogation training to a global audience.

He has served as a subject-matter expert in developing curriculum and providing consultation to investigators, attorneys, and the academic community. He can be reached at dthompson@w-z.com. © 2023 Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc

David Thompson, CFI

The Cost of a Bad Question:

How Small Changes in Wording Can Change the Truth

Y

A persuasive or leading question may have its place in these contexts, but when it comes to an investigation and supporting our goal of obtaining unreliable information, we need to take the opposite approach.

ou’ve collected the evidence, reviewed alternative possibilities, leveraged an investigative mindset, and scheduled a meeting with the employee. What happens next can significantly impact the quantity, quality, and reliability of information you’re about to receive. Beyond building rapport, demonstrating empathy, and creating a supportive environment comes the simple task of asking the right questions.

After the initial engagement with the employee and setting the stage for the conversation, the investigator attempts to gain the interviewee’s account of what happened.

Investigator A takes a direct assumptive approach and asks the interviewee: You took the money because you were having financial struggles, right?

Investigator B leverages an open-ended question allowing for a free narrative: Walk me through what happened?

Not only are these two very different approaches, but they may result in completely different answers.

Even though both investigators may have had the same goal in obtaining information, one suggested (and presumed) an answer while the other invited unknown information. Our questions may contaminate a response, influence memory, or falsely presume guilt. The quality of the information obtained from the interviewee is often determined before the first answer is ever given as it may actually begin with the quality of questions we ask.

Questions Are Never Neutral

Every question carries the risk of hidden assumptions. We even see this outside the interview room. For example, after making a purchase, you may receive an email asking, “How likely are you to recommend this to a friend?” That question frames the experience very differently than, “How likely are you to dislike this product and never use it again?”

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Obviously, the intent of the first question is to gain positive feedback on an experience and leverage that for marketing purposes and social proof. A persuasive or leading question may have its place in these contexts, but when it comes to an investigation and supporting our goal of obtaining unreliable information, we need to take the opposite approach. One of the many ways to mitigate confirmation bias is to be aware of the framing of questions we’re proposing to the interviewee.

We need to evaluate our questions to determine whether they are suggesting facts, implying motives, narrowing responses, influencing memory, or shaping the direction of the investigation.

We need to evaluate our questions to determine whether they are suggesting facts, implying motives, narrowing responses, influencing memory, or shaping the direction of the investigation. In most cases, the purpose of asking a question is to fill in gaps of incomplete information—not to assume it.

5 Common Question Mistakes 1. Leading Questions Leading questions introduce information the interviewee may simply adopt or agree with.

Instead of: You knew the cameras weren’t working, didn’t you?

Try: What, if anything, did you notice about the cameras?

A leading question tells people what the investigator believes, whereas an open question allows the interviewee to independently reveal what they know.

These types of questions can produce several errors,

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including contaminating the resulting statement or influencing the memory of the interviewee.

allow the interviewee to avoid responding to specific requests and may also cause the interviewer to wrongly assume a complete answer.

2. Confirmation Questions Investigators naturally seek evidence that confirms their initial theory.

Instead of: So, you sold the merchandise to friends?

Try: What happened after you picked up the merchandise?

Confirmation questions close the conversation and, similar to leading questions, they may contaminate a response and influence memory. These types of questions also limit the amount of information the investigator may obtain. In the above example, what if the interviewee sold the merchandise online, kept some for themselves, or exchanged some with an employee they were in collusion with? The confirmatory question reduces the likelihood of ever obtaining this information. Exploratory questions expand the scope of the potential answer.

3. Forced-Choice Questions

These questions communicate blame or criticism, causing people to become defensive rather than informative.

Instead of: Why would you violate company policy like that?

Try: Help me understand what led to that decision.

When people feel judged, they often become focused on defending themselves instead of providing accurate information. Neutral questions encourage explanation, whereas judgmental questions encourage justification. These are highly present in employee relations investigations, where investigators are often inquiring about employee behavior. Even if the investigator has their own beliefs about what the interviewee is thinking, these descriptive terms should be left out of the question.

The Impact of Improper Questions

People are often forced to choose between two options, even when neither is correct.

Instead of: Did you take the money for rent or was it for something fun?

Try: Could you tell me what happened with the money?

Don’t assume the range of possible answers; it’s limiting and presumptive. Allow the person to define their own experience. The forced-choice question presents several problems, including (in this example) a presumption of guilt. Depending on the timing and context of this question in the interview, it may not be appropriate to make such an assumption. Even if it is known that the interviewee took money, the forced-choice question limits the scope of potential responses. It also presents one option that seems more morally acceptable than the other, which may imply leniency in the outcome of the investigation.

Open-ended, exploratory questions minimize this risk and maximize the potential of gaining additional information.

4. Compound Questions Multiple questions asked all at once usually produce incomplete or confusing answers.

Instead of: Did you have access to the safe that morning and did anyone else know the combination?

Try: Asking each question separately or leveraging open-ended questioning.

Compound questions can be confusing to the interviewee, and the answers may be misleading (even if unintentionally). In this example, they can reply with a simple “yes,” but that doesn’t fully satisfy the two variables in the question. These types of questions

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5. Judgmental Questions

Memory is reconstructive and not as easy to recall as a video recording. The way in which we present a question may influence the recall and response of the interviewee. Even a cooperative interviewee can provide misleading information because of improper questioning. A witness’s desire to help or support the investigator may be the reason they are overly agreeable to suggestive questioning. It’s also less disruptive and confrontational for an interviewee to simply answer the question that’s being asked rather than correcting any assumptions.

If the goal of an interview is to obtain reliable and actionable information, then we need to ensure our questioning strategies are aligned. Leveraging the “TED” principles of Tell, Explain, and Describe is one way of immediately applying a more open-minded approach to questioning. Instead of initiating questions with “Why did you…”, “Isn’t it true…”, or “Did you mean to…” we can begin with “Tell me…”, “Explain the…”, or “Describe what…”. An open-ended and funnel framework encourages narrative responses, reveals unexpected details, and reduces the risk of unintentionally steering the conversation.

Curiosity Is a Competitive Advantage

An investigative mindset is the appropriate catalyst for asking better questions. Entering the interview with curiosity instead of presumption should guide the framework for what we ask and how we ask it.

The objective of an interview is to obtain additional information, corroborate or disprove existing evidence, and further the investigation. Our questions should allow for the interviewee to most effectively recall the event in question and provide an untainted response. As most investigators know, asking the right question (at the right time) often yields information that may never have been uncovered otherwise. l

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If the goal of an interview is to obtain reliable and actionable information, then we need to ensure our questioning strategies are aligned.

RETAIL TRENDS

Thx4Stock team / Shutterstock.com

Tom Meehan, CFI

Meehan is retail technology editor for LP Magazine as well as CEO of CONTROLTEK. Previously, Meehan was director of technology and investigations for Bloomingdale’s, where he was responsible for physical security, internal investigations, and systems and data analytics. He currently serves as chair of the Loss Prevention Research Council’s (LPRC) Innovations Working Group. Meehan recently published his first book titled Evolution of Retail Asset Protection: Protecting Your Profit in a Digital Age. He can be reached at TomM@LossPreventionMedia.com.

Is There an AI Bubble?

What Does That Even Mean?

A

rtificial intelligence is the story of our age. From stock prices to headlines, we are constantly hearing about it. AI is taking over the world, whether we like it or not. Even as we accept that it is here to stay, one concern is being voiced with increased frequency: Is there an AI bubble?

The word bubble may sound scary for those who have no background in computer science or finance.

They may remember the infamous dot-com bubble crash, which caused major losses for the stock market, and other bubbles that have caused financial losses over the centuries.

However, what exactly does bubble mean? What does it mean in the context of AI? And most importantly, what happens if the AI bubble bursts?

The current level of investment in AI is staggering. It was said recently that AI capex (companies’ investments in artificial intelligence) was the biggest driver in the economy this year. These companies have spent billions of dollars on the physical hardware (AI chips, massive data centers) that AI runs on. These AI chips are mostly manufactured by Nvidia and are very expensive.

How Bubbles Happen

In short, it is possible that too many companies are investing too much money in artificial intelligence, hoping for future earnings. However, if the investments in AI do not meet the lofty promises made (such as transforming every industry), then it is possible that these stocks will drop and these companies could face huge losses. That would constitute an AI bubble. Here are some areas that could be especially vulnerable:

A financial bubble occurs when an asset’s price is artificially higher than its inherent value.

A bubble starts when there is some innovation or a change in the economy that causes an asset—be it a stock, housing, or a 17th-century tulip bulb—to become attractive for investing. As the returns on the assets start to increase, more investors get interested in them. Soon the motivation for investing stops being, how much is this asset worth in terms of future earnings or utility? and shifts to how much higher can the price go before I offload this asset to someone else?

Once the price of the asset increases far beyond its real value, eventually the market realizes that this cannot be a long-term price. People start to sell the asset, causing the price to drop until a new level of equilibrium is reached. This is when the bubble has “burst.” It usually happens when a negative change occurs in the market that makes the buyers rethink the investment value of the asset—and stop investing.

In the context of AI, the bubble would refer to how much value is being invested in artificial intelligence companies and their respective stock prices, which may or may not give a financial return in the future.

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The data centers that AI researchers are pouring money into today could provide the basis for the next technological breakthrough—even if today’s investors lost money.

The Microsoft-OpenAI Relationship: OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has risen sharply in value. Training and deploying a powerful AI, though, is costly; reportedly, the company loses billions a year. To keep itself afloat, OpenAI depends on funding from companies like Microsoft, which provides the cloud computing needed to train the model.

The Nvidia Factor: Nvidia is the leader in the AI hardware race. The company makes the chips used to power AI. That means Nvidia chips are being bought up by tech companies like Microsoft, Meta, and Google at a fast pace. So far, Nvidia has become one of the most valuable companies in the world, with a market

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capitalization that has, at times, exceeded the value of entire national stock exchanges.

The Cycle of AI Spending: The potential of a bubble in the AI market becomes clear if you look at the circle these deals make. Nvidia has invested in some cloud computing firms, which are then spending that money on Nvidia chips. Microsoft has invested in OpenAI, which is then spending that money on Microsoft cloud services.

It’s this tight connection of deals that creates the potential for financial contagion if things go south. If demand for AI tools and services doesn’t grow fast enough for companies like Nvidia and Microsoft, they will see their revenue drop, which means they would likely cut back on investment spending; if that spending slows, companies like OpenAI won’t find enough funding to keep paying for their services.

Experts at Yale University have warned that if AI does not deliver on its ambitious promises, the risk of financial contagion could grow.

How The AI Trend Compares to the Dot-com Era

When discussing a possible AI bubble, the first historical comparison is the dot-com bubble that burst around the start of the 2000s. Investors had

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spent billions of dollars on internet startups. Many of these new companies didn’t have viable business models and failed. In the end, trillions of dollars in value were wiped out. Companies went bust by the dozens.

Today’s AI boom mirrors that era in many ways. As it was then, there’s a new “big thing” capturing everyone’s attention—the internet in the ‘90s, AI today. Investors are betting the wheelhouse on startups in the trend, even if they have little proof that they will generate a return on that capital. In that earlier era, many investors ignored the lack of profitability in the companies they backed— as if the basic laws of economics no longer applied. Some industry observers are seeing the same mindset today: “This time is different,” and companies don’t really need to be profitable.

But there are also major differences, which means that even if the AI boom is a bubble, it might not play out the way the internet bubble did.

Infrastructure Is King

In the dot-com days, a large portion of investors' money went toward marketing and paying for users who were visiting websites, even when those websites didn’t offer any clear way to make money.

By contrast, in today’s AI market, investors are pouring their money into building infrastructure.

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When discussing a possible AI bubble, the first historical comparison is the dot-com bubble that burst around the start of the 2000s.

Dot-Com Bubble (Late 1990s) vs. AI Boom (2020s) Dot-Com Bubble Primary Drivers

AI Boom

Unproven startups (e.g., Pets.com, Webvan)

Established tech giants (e.g., Microsoft, Google, Nvidia)

Focus of Investment

Marketing, user acquisition, website development

Physical infrastructure, data centers, semiconductor chips

Financial Health

Many companies had no revenue or path to profitability

Major players have massive cash reserves and existing profits

Left Behind After Crash

Fiber-optic networks, basic internet adoption

Advanced data centers, high- performance computing infrastructure

Companies today are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in physical resources (data centers, power lines, hardware, etc.)

If the AI companies of today do go bust, those physical resources will remain and still hold value. “The overbuilding of fiber-optic cables that led to the dot-com crash in 2000 ended up being the basis of the internet we use today,” one expert noted. The data centers that AI researchers are pouring money into today could provide the basis for the next technological breakthrough—even if today’s investors lost money.

Big Companies, Not Startups

The dot-com bubble was driven in large part by a new, unproven crop of startups going public. This AI boom, on the other hand, has been driven, at least so far, by some of the biggest, most profitable, and most established companies in the world: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta. They’ve got plenty of cash to burn if their bets on AI don’t pay off quite as quickly as they’d hoped.

What Happens if the Bubble Bursts?

If the AI bubble bursts, the immediate fallout would likely play out in the stock market. Companies most associated with AI—particularly those that manufacture hardware or provide the computing power on the internet to build and run the technology—are already trading at massive prices in the stock market. If the bubble bursts, their share prices would likely plummet.

A lot of people have money in stock funds and ETFs that include many of these companies. The value of many stock portfolios is dependent on the value of a few very popular large technology companies (sometimes called the “Magnificent Seven”). If the value of those companies’ stock drops, so will the value of those retirement funds and individual portfolios. Even investors that don’t buy individual technology stocks but stick to broad index funds may find their retirement savings taking a dip.

In addition, the rapid growth of AI has been fueled by complex financial arrangements, including private credit.

If the market turns, these less regulated lending systems could experience stress, potentially spilling over into the broader economy.

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The problem with bursting bubbles is that if there’s too much exposure on the less regulated parts of the banking system, they can have an effect on the economy as a whole, as experts have warned.

Still, a burst bubble would not signal the end of artificial intelligence. The dot-com crash didn’t kill the internet, and a bubble burst would probably be a necessary, albeit painful, reset point that would remove the excesses. As is true after every bubble burst, the weakest of the weak would fade into history while the rest would continue to build sustainable businesses on the new technology.

The value of many stock portfolios is dependent on the value of a few very popular large technology companies (sometimes called the “Magnificent Seven”).

A Boom Underpinned by Fundamentals?

So, is AI a bubble? The answer depends on who you ask.

At the most basic level, the term implies stocks soaring in price, exuberant investments, and the potential for a crash.

On those terms, AI certainly is a bubble. We already have companies trading at absurd valuations and a small number of large companies investing with each other as they race to build the infrastructure that can run the next generation of AI models.

But the AI trend doesn’t fit all the criteria for what one might expect in a bubble. Unlike the Dutch tulip mania of the 17th century, it’s clear that artificial intelligence has real-world utility. It’s already being used to advance medical research and to write some computer code. If the AI bubble pops, the technology isn’t going anywhere.

People have spent hundreds of billions of dollars to build data centers and other infrastructure to support the industry, and all that equipment would likely sit there, useful in the future for other purposes. The most appropriate description of the current phenomenon might be a boom—underpinned by fundamentals. The technology is still in its early stages. It’s an era that will probably include a fair number of losers as it evolves. But artificial intelligence has already fundamentally changed the world—regardless of what the stock market does. l

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The Hidden Cost of Disconnected Retail Systems When Data Lives in Silos R etailers are sitting on more data than ever.

Stores generate a constant stream of information through cameras, inventory platforms, and access control systems, along with countless other operational technologies. These organizations are also investing heavily in analytics to turn data into better decisions.

Despite those investments, many retailers are struggling to see meaningful results.

According to the IDC White Paper, sponsored by Axis Communications, Smarter Retail: Multiplying ROI with Connected Intelligence* by Margot Juros, research director at IDC Retail Insights, 66% of retailers said they plan to increase spending on AI in 2026. At the same time, 70% of retailers struggle with gaining the value from AI investments, saying business objectives were only partially met or completely unmet.

If retailers are collecting more data than ever, why are so many struggling to extract value? The answer has less to do with the individual technologies themselves and more to do with how those technologies work together in harmony.

For years, retailers tackled technology deployment one challenge at a time. Video surveillance was installed to improve security. Inventory systems tracked product movement. Access control systems managed restricted areas.

Each system was built to solve one specific problem. Few systems (if any) were designed to share information with one another, which wasn’t an issue when retailers weren’t trying to juggle so many responsibilities. Today, retailers are being asked to optimize operational efficiency, reduce shrink, strengthen customer loyalty, and navigate ongoing labor and margin pressures, all while delivering a seamless experience across channels.

In IDC’s research, improving operational efficiency and improving customer experience were retailers’ top digital transformation priorities, each cited by 47% of respondents. However, many organizations continue to struggle with data integration and real-time access to insights.

A camera may capture an event or an inventory system may flag a shortage. But when those insights remain siloed, their value drops.

Rethinking Traditional Security Infrastructure One of the most notable shifts occurring across retail is the evolution of technology from a security and safety function into an operational resource.

Surveillance systems were once viewed through the lens of loss prevention. Their purpose was documenting incidents and supporting investigations after an event had already happened.

Today, retailers are approaching those systems differently. When video, audio, sensors, and analytics operate within a connected ecosystem, they support a much broader range of business objectives.

The same camera that helps identify suspicious activity may provide insights into customer traffic patterns. Or audio systems that deter unwanted behavior can enhance staff communication. Even sensors used for security monitoring can identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency.

This shift is helping organizations extract untapped value from existing investments while creating a more complete picture of what is happening across facilities. Perhaps most importantly, this shift breaks down information silos, allowing teams to make informed decisions using the same data.

Real-Time Visibility Creates Real-World Results The real value becomes clearer when you look at how retailers are applying these technologies.

Out-of-stock products are a common challenge for virtually every retail operator.

Even brief periods of product unavailability can lead to lost sales and customer frustration. Associates were traditionally tasked with manually identifying gaps, a pain-staking approach that requires manual labor and often leads to delayed response times.

One retailer addressed this challenge by combining network cameras, analytics, and cloud-based software to monitor real-time shelf conditions. When products needed to be replenished, the system sent immediate alerts to associates. Beyond keeping products on the shelf, the retailer could now spend less time on manual inventory

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checks while making more informed decisions about forecasting, merchandising, and replenishment.

The camera proves to only be one piece of the puzzle. By combining data from different sources, employees could make better decisions and respond quicker.

This same principle applies to loss prevention. A US-based home furnishings retailer was experiencing theft and vandalism at distribution centers that contained millions of dollars in inventory.

To address the problem, the company set up an intelligent perimeter security solution that combined video, audio, heat sensing technology, and analytics. When the system detected potential threats like loitering or unauthorized vehicles, automated audio messages were immediately triggered.

The retailer reduced theft and vandalism costs to near zero while eliminating the need for private security at certain locations.

The retailer also saw fewer disruptions to inventory availability and customer deliveries. What started as a basic security initiative led to operational gains that extended far beyond loss prevention.

Customer Experience Is Part of the Equation Connected intelligence is often mentioned in the context of security and operations. But it’s worth remembering that customer experience remains a central part of the conversation.

Today’s consumers have little patience for friction. Long wait times, empty shelves, confusing store layouts, and inconsistent service can quickly drive shoppers elsewhere. In many cases, retailers have the data needed to address these issues, but they haven’t made the necessary connections to put these learnings into action.

For instance, traffic analytics can reveal how customers move throughout a store, or occupancy insights can help managers make staffing adjustments during peak periods. These are useful on their own, but when combined, these technologies create opportunities to be proactive vs. reactive.

A grocery retailer in Canada offers an interesting example. Seeking to maintain a frictionless shopping experience while preserving overall security, the company combined cameras, intercoms, speakers, and cloud-based management software into a unified system. The result was a shopping experience that remained convenient for customers while also providing owners with operational insights related to shrink, merchandising, and product mix decisions.

Building a Stronger Foundation for AI The retail industry has spent a considerable amount of time discussing artificial intelligence over the past several years. Unsurprisingly, these retailers have quickly learned that AI is only as valuable as the information feeding it.

Analytics engines cannot generate meaningful insights from fragmented data. Before retailers can fully capitalize on their AI investments, they must establish a stronger foundation of connected information.

That may explain why data integration and real-time visibility continue to rank among the most significant challenges facing retailers today. Organizations that connect operational systems across stores, warehouses, and business functions nurture an environment where analytics produce more relevant insights and employees can make faster decisions.

In other words, the path to better AI outcomes seemingly begins with better data connectivity.

Looking Ahead Retailers face no shortage of challenges.

Economic uncertainty, labor constraints, organized retail crime, and rising customer expectations continue to place pressure on businesses.

Addressing those challenges requires more than adding new technology. It requires that the technologies already in place are working together.

As highlighted in the IDC White Paper, sponsored by Axis Communications, Smarter Retail: Multiplying ROI with Connected Intelligence*, retailers are increasingly recognizing that connected intelligence creates value across an enterprise. By bringing together data from multiple sources, organizations gain a clearer understanding of what’s happening in their environments.

For retailers looking to maximize the return on technology investments, the opportunity may not be found in collecting more data. It may be found in finally connecting the data they already have.

To explore additional research and real-world examples, download the full IDC White Paper, Smarter Retail: Multiplying ROI with Connected Intelligence*: axis.com/en-us/explore/roi.

*IDC White Paper, Sponsored by Axis Communications, Smarter Retail: Multiplying ROI with Connected Intelligence, Doc. #EUR154585426, June 2026

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CIS Security Solutions

How Custom Retail Solutions Are Redefining Shoplifting Prevention R

etail theft continues to evolve, and so must the industry’s response. While many traditional anti-theft solutions focus on protecting individual products, today’s most successful loss prevention strategies are shifting attention to a different challenge: the fixture itself.

As organized retail crime (ORC) groups become more sophisticated, retailers are seeking solutions that protect merchandise without creating barriers between customers and the shopping experience. Increasingly, the answer lies in fixture-based security systems designed specifically around how merchandise is displayed, shopped, and sold.

For nearly 40 years, CIS Security Solutions has built its reputation on developing innovative loss prevention technologies that address real-world retail challenges. Founded in 1989

by Peter Morello, the company has consistently focused on creating practical solutions that help retailers combat theft, fraud, and shrink while maintaining operational efficiency.

Moving Beyond OneSize-Fits-All Security One of the biggest challenges facing retailers is that thefts rarely originate from merchandise alone. Store fixtures, floor layouts, display configurations, and customer interaction patterns all influence vulnerability.

CIS Security Solutions has increasingly focused on developing security products tailored to specific fixture types rather than forcing retailers to adapt their

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merchandising strategies around security hardware. This approach recognizes that effective loss prevention should complement retail operations rather than interfere with them.

The result is a new generation of solutions designed around how products are displayed in the real world.

Designing Security Around Customer Experience For years, retailers faced a difficult choice: protect merchandise aggressively or allow customers to interact freely with products. Too often, security measures negatively impacted sales by restricting access to merchandise, requiring an associate to assist so the customer could look, feel, and try on the product. This also impacted time and labor.

CIS Security Solutions has focused on eliminating that tradeoff.

CIS's Gen6 SP Slide with Smart Padlock system was developed to create a multi- alarm protection platform while still allowing customers to touch, examine, and try products before purchase. The system combines an alarming tether with a smart padlock tag, creating multiple

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layers of protection against theft, sweeps, and tampering while supporting a clean, shopper-friendly presentation.

The technology includes protection against cable cutting, unauthorized detachers, fixture removal, and tag tampering by emitting an alarm if these situations occur. Yet store associates can quickly release or transfer merchandise using a handheld All- In- One Decoder, reducing operational friction while maintaining security and customer experience.

This philosophy aligns with CIS's stated mission of protecting high- value merchandise while preserving the customer’s ability to touch, try, and experience products naturally.

The Rise of Fixture-Based Solutions As ORC activity increased, retailers identified a growing vulnerability involving entire merchandise displays rather than individual products.

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Luxury handbags, apparel, and other high-value items are often displayed on shared fixtures such as H-racks, fourway racks, tables, and specialty displays.

Traditional security methods often fail to address these fixture-level risks.

Perhaps more importantly, retailers don’t have to compromise the shopping experience. Customers still enjoy the freedom to touch, examine, and try products, while asset protection teams gain added layers of protection working directly with the fixture.

The Sleeve, Boot, and H-Run Flex systems were engineered to integrate directly with common retail fixtures, allowing multiple Gen6 SP Slide alarming tethers to be mounted securely and neatly from a single location, while keeping a neat appearance and making recovery time shorter.

The Sleeve and Boot were engineered to secure multiple Gen 6 recoiling tethers directly to apparel fixtures. The Sleeve protected hangbar arms with J-Hooks, and the Boot allowed for 4-way racks to be loaded but not swept of merchandise by ORC gangs. Early field deployments proved rapid ROI, leading to adoption across thousands of retail stores throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. Engineers continually refined the design to improve simplicity, installation speed, durability, and appearance while preserving effectiveness.

Similarly, the H-Run Flex was developed specifically to address security challenges that traditional merchandise protection devices could not adequately solve for H-racks, and unique fixtures.

CIS has partnered with fixture manufacturers to make all this happen.

Besides the Sleeve, Boot, and H-Run Flex brackets for fixtures, CIS has also developed brackets to hold up to sixteen tethers for slat walls, slot walls, grid walls, and more.

Meet the Sloth Lock CIS Security Solutions’ newest innovation is the Sloth Lock. Designed to work with both Gen5 and Gen6 recoiling tethers, the Sloth Lock adds another layer of resistance without creating unnecessary obstacles for legitimate shoppers. It is a single hanging alarming unit that can lock on to most fixtures discreetly, including the square frame-style racks and shelving units, and can integrate with the Gen6 SP Slide padlock tag.

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Innovation Driven by Retailer Needs Innovation doesn’t happen in a laboratory.

One of the reasons CIS remains relevant after nearly four decades is its development process. Many of its products begin not with engineering drawings, but with conversations. CIS learned a long time ago to ask the questions and then listen and take notes. Sometimes we are shown a sketch of an idea the retailer had, and we discuss it at length. All the pros and cons are mapped. It is this type of collaboration that produces results for our clients.

Retailers show vulnerabilities to us. Asset protection teams explain emerging theft methods. Store operations provide feedback on labor challenges and merchandising

challenges. Engineers then refine concepts through pilot testing under real store conditions. This collaborative approach has produced solutions that solve practical problems, not theoretical ones.

As ORC tactics change and evolve, the partnership between retailers and solution providers becomes increasingly valuable.

The best innovations aren’t simply invented.

They’re developed alongside the people facing today’s challenges every day. This has helped all sides to have open and honest conversations about real problems and real solutions that are sustainable.

creating solutions that seamlessly integrate protection into the shopping environment.

Retailers no longer want security devices that detract from merchandising, frustrate customers, or increase labor demands. They want systems that support sales, improve operational efficiency, and deter theft without compromising customer experience. Fixture-based solutions represent a significant step in that direction.

By designing protection around how products are displayed and how customers shop, companies like CIS Security Solutions are helping retailers create stores that are both secure and inviting. The result is a smarter balance between asset protection and customer

engagement—one that reduces shrink, supports sales growth, and keeps merchandise accessible.

In today’s retail environment, the most effective security solution may be the one built into the fixture, or added to the fixture, protecting merchandise, supporting sales, and giving retailers one more advantage in the ongoing fight against ORC. For more information contact info@cisssinc.com.

The Future of Shoplifting Prevention The next generation of loss prevention will not be defined solely by stronger locks, louder alarms, or additional layers of security. Instead, success will depend on

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Data-Driven Defense:

How Crime Intelligence Transforms Retail Security Pinkerton Crime Index Expansion into new markets brings tremendous opportunity—and equally significant risk. For loss prevention and asset protection leaders, the challenge isn’t just responding to crime after it happens; it’s anticipating where threats will emerge and deploying resources strategically before incidents escalate. The difference between reactive security spending and proactive protection often comes down to one critical factor: actionable intelligence.

Static crime reports and outdated risk assessments no longer suffice in an environment where retail crime patterns shift month to month, and where a single location can experience dramatically different risk levels than a store just a couple of miles away. Modern retailers need timely, localized crime intelligence that moves at

the speed of their business—intelligence that informs everything from new store site selection to targeted security investments at existing locations.

The Pinkerton Crime Index (PCI) represents this evolution in retail security intelligence, providing dynamic, hyperlocal crime risk data that empowers loss prevention teams to make confident, data-backed decisions. Unlike traditional crime reporting tools that offer broad area scores and infrequent updates, PCI delivers granular, regularly refreshed risk assessments that reflect the reality on the ground—neighborhood by neighborhood, month by month.

When Old Tools Can’t Keep Pace A leading US specialty retailer with hundreds of brick-and-mortar locations

recently confronted this challenge head-on.

Operating stores across suburban shopping centers, highway corridors, and urban areas, the company serves millions of customers annually while managing a diverse and expanding footprint.

As growth accelerated, the retailer’s loss prevention manager found their team increasingly stretched thin, responsible for security across locations with vastly different risk profiles. Some stores in higher-risk communities experienced climbing rates of theft, burglary, and other crime events, but the team lacked the tools to confidently differentiate between locations that truly needed enhanced security and those where shrinkage might stem from internal or operational issues.

Initially, the company relied on a well- known crime risk reporting provider.

Over time, critical limitations emerged. The reports were static and slow to update, making them less useful as conditions changed. The data lacked granularity, often providing broad area risk scores that didn’t reflect the reality of specific neighborhoods or trade areas. As expansion accelerated, the loss prevention team struggled to keep pace with new store evaluations using tools not designed for fast, repeatable analysis.

Frustrated by outdated reports and limited utility, the retailer canceled the previous service. But as shrink, incidents, and exposure continued to grow, it became clear the business needed a partner that could move at the pace of their operations and match the complexity of their footprint.

A Smarter Approach: The PCI Solution To meet this challenge, the retailer partnered with Pinkerton and integrated PCI into a holistic, people-first security strategy.

The implementation focused on two critical applications: triaging existing locations and evaluating prospective sites.

For existing locations, the loss prevention and security teams built a comprehensive

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framework around three key factors: High Shrink (inventory loss), High Incident (reported events in and around stores), and High Crime Risk (PCI scores at and around each location). Stores scoring high across this triad were prioritized for deeper review and targeted investment.

PCI made it possible to compare multiple locations side by side, differentiating between stores with truly elevated crime risk and those where shrinkage might be driven by internal factors. The tool revealed micropockets of risk around each location—for example, nearby neighborhoods with significantly higher property crime rates that didn’t show up in broader area assessments.

Most importantly, PCI’s monthly updates allowed the team to track how crime risk changed over time, enabling quick responses instead of relying on outdated annual snapshots.

For new and prospective locations, PCI became a standard component of the site evaluation process. Real estate and security teams used PCI reports side by side to compare crime risk across candidate sites in the same market, understand how a new store’s location fit within the wider neighborhood risk context, and build proactive security plans into new store designs before opening day.

Because PCI delivers insights through easy-to-understand reports, adoption was smooth across departments. Real estate, security, and loss prevention leaders could all speak the same language, grounded in the same data.

Targeted Investments, Measurable Results PCI insights translated directly into focused security measures deployed where they were most needed rather than applied as blanket upgrades. In higher-risk locations, the retailer invested in riot glass and hardened storefronts, panic buttons and enhanced incident response procedures, upgraded surveillance with smarter camera placement, and increased staffing focused on customer engagement and visible presence.

In locations where PCI revealed moderate or declining crime risk, the retailer chose to maintain traditional security measures— standard CCTV, alarm systems, and training—while avoiding unnecessary spending on high-end physical upgrades that data didn’t justify.

By relying on PCI’s localized and monthly updated risk scores, the retailer could balance security spending with actual

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The Pinkerton Crime Index is a strategic asset that transforms how retailers think about crime risk. Instead of reactive, anecdotal responses, PCI enables proactive, data-driven strategies that protect people, preserve assets, and support growth even in challenging markets. exposure, investing more where data supported it and less where it didn’t.

The business impact was both measurable and immediate. Within just two to three months of systematically integrating PCI-driven insights and adjusting security measures based on their triage strategy, stores in higher-risk markets reported meaningful reductions in crime incidents.

Encouraged by early results, the retailer plans to formally embed PCI into annual security reviews and program updates.

Pinkerton Crime Index: Intelligence That Moves with Your Business The Pinkerton Crime Index is a strategic asset that transforms how retailers think about crime risk. Instead of reactive, anecdotal responses, PCI enables proactive, data-driven strategies that protect people, preserve assets, and support growth even in challenging markets.

PCI reports provide comprehensive crime intelligence, including: ● Crime Risk Scores: Total, violent, and property crime ratings for each location ● Neighborhood Scale Maps: Visual representations of total, violent, and property crime patterns ● Neighborhood Spillover Analysis: Understanding how crime in adjacent areas impacts your location ● Distribution of Crime and Score Weighting: Detailed breakdowns of crime

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types and their relative impact ● County Crime Dynamics: Local trends and

patterns within the broader county context ● Peer Comparison and Rankings: How

your location compares to similar areas ● Seasonality Data: County and national

crime patterns throughout the year ● Hourly Crime Risk: Time-of-day

violent and property crime risk analysis (US locations) ● Trend Analysis: One-year and five-year trends for county and state levels For retailers, the stakes are too high for guesswork. Protecting customers, employees, inventory, and brand reputation requires intelligence that’s timely, granular, and actionable. The Pinkerton Crime Index delivers exactly that—empowering loss prevention leaders to make smarter decisions, faster, and turn crime risk from a liability into a manageable element of strategic growth.

Ready to see how PCI can transform your retail security strategy? Schedule a demo today: pinkerton.com/products/pinkertoncrime-index/.

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SOLUTIONS SHOWCASE

Vector Security Systems

Arrive Informed, Arrive Safe:

Rethinking ‘Quiet Hours’ Risk with Visual Intelligence Opening, closing, and overnight periods are some of the most vulnerable moments for multi-site businesses, especially in retail. Visual Intelligence from Vector Security Networks helps LP teams improve awareness, reduce false alarms, and make better decisions.

The Quiet-Hours Challenge: When Uncertainty Creates Risk The most difficult security decisions are often made when a business is supposed to be at its quietest. Closing routines, overnight hours, and early-morning arrivals create windows where fewer people are on-site, visibility is limited, and small uncertainties can quickly become bigger problems. Employees may be cashing out, locking gates, setting alarms, and walking to their cars. Later in the night, an intrusion system may trigger with little indication of whether the event is harmless, accidental, or something that requires immediate attention.

In these moments, the challenge is not simply detecting activity—it’s knowing what’s actually happening, and knowing it fast enough to respond appropriately.

Retailers have lived with this problem for years. Traditional alarm systems remain an important layer of protection, but they were not designed to answer the most critical afterhours question: Is this a real event, or another false alarm?

In many environments, the majority of quiethours alarm activity turns out to be something other than a true incident—environmental conditions, site-level exceptions, or routine anomalies that can create the same operational burden as a real break-in.

The result is familiar: late-night calls, unnecessary dispatches, and too much reliance on guesswork when people are being asked to make safety-related decisions with limited context.

This is one reason multi-site enterprises are moving beyond passive video surveillance

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to Visual Intelligence, a suite of video-first solutions from Vector Security Networks that combines AI-driven monitoring, real-time verification, and remote oversight to help teams detect, verify, and respond faster with fewer false alarms.

“Something happens, but no one knows what it means—that’s the challenge businesses face. Visual Intelligence changes that by giving teams clarity before they have to make a decision,” said Marc Turner, Vector Security Networks Sales Director.

Instead of relying on an alarm notification alone, businesses gain visual confirmation of what is happening as it happens, whether there is a person at the front door, unauthorized activity near a loading area, or no threat at all. This shift moves the conversation from “something tripped” to “here is what is actually happening, and here is how to respond.”

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How Visual Intelligence Works in the Quiet Hours Visual Intelligence pairs video with analytics and defined response workflows, operating through a simple three-step process: 1. Detect: AI-powered analytics identify unusual activity in real time 2. Verify: Monitoring center operators review live video to assess the situation 3. Respond: Appropriate action is taken, whether dismissing harmless events or dispatching responders with full context Rather than recording footage for later review, events are assessed in real-time with clear, scene-level awareness. Trained operators determine the appropriate response—issuing a talk-down, notifying the customer, dispatching law enforcement, or classifying the event as non-actionable.

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Visual Intelligence is supported by Vector Security’s Central Station using AI detection to quickly filter out irrelevant activity and highlight critical events within seconds, enabling faster, more accurate decision-making. This approach is enhanced by industry-leading certifications, including AVS-01 for alarm prioritization. Unlike most monitoring centers, Vector Security has over a decade of experience in video monitoring—a key differentiator is the depth of expertise, skill, and knowledge within the team.

This transforms security from reactive to proactive.

But detecting, verifying, and responding to incidents is not the full picture. Leading organizations are expanding their approach to include a fourth critical layer: operational consistency. It’s not enough to detect and respond, security must perform reliably across every location without adding burden to internal teams. This is where Visual Intelligence helps organizations not only detect and respond to risk, but operate consistently at scale.

For LP leaders, this means fewer false dispatches, fewer late-night calls, fewer unnecessary visits to sites, and better alignment between what the monitoring center sees and how the business responds.

For employees, it means a safer and more informed approach to close, open, and after-hours incidents.

With the right cameras, analytics, and workflows in place, LP teams gain more than footage. They gain context to separate routine exceptions from urgent incidents, reduce unnecessary dispatches, and better protect the people responsible for those sites.

During quiet hours, that can mean knowing whether an employee should stay away from a

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location, whether police should be dispatched immediately, or whether no action is needed at all.

Real-World Results: From Reactive Response to Measurable Outcomes The value of real-time awareness is already showing up in customer use cases. At a food service distribution center, after-hours dumpster diving escalated into truck break-ins, property damage, and product loss. Legacy cameras captured the incidents, but only after the fact.

After implementing Visual Intelligence, the customer saw: ● 8 arrests made within the first few weeks ● Recurring trespassing dropped from 10–15 incidents per week to near zero.

“What the legacy cameras captured was purely after the fact,” the customer said. “We could see what was happening, but it was only after it already happened—it wasn’t anything proactive. Before Visual Intelligence, the only way we could watch the cameras was being up in the middle of the night.”

In another customer example, a dumpster fire was identified and addressed in real time, preventing spread to nearby pallets, vehicles, and the building itself.

Quiet-hours risk isn’t limited to burglary. It also includes vandalism, safety hazards, and operational threats that require early detection to prevent larger loss.

Reducing False Alarms, Disruption, and Cost—Delivering Measurable ROI One of the clearest advantages of Visual Intelligence is its ability to reduce unnecessary after-hours response activity.

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A consolidated internal report of Visual Intelligence customers over a 6-month period shows: ● 7,697 alarm events received ● 3,079 dispatches avoided ⁰ 3% dispatch rate ● $1.5 million in avoided costs The impact is both operational and financial: Operational Benefits ● Fewer disruptions to store teams ● Reduced after-hours workload for LP leaders ● Greater alignment between detection and response Business Outcomes ● Lower response and dispatch costs ● Reduced loss exposure from incidents ● Improved safety for employees and assets ● Measurable, proven ROI For on-call teams, this also means real peace of mind—the ability to go to bed without unnecessary wake-up calls and confidence that when the phone rings the alarm has been verified as real.

A Practical Next Step To implement Visual Intelligence, a practical path is to start where quiet-hours pain is already visible: the highest-risk stores, the locations with the greatest false-alarm burden, or the sites where after-hours employee safety is a top concern. A simple rollout strategy: start small, prove value, and scale what works.

Quiet-hours risk is not new; the technology available to manage it with more confidence is. Visual Intelligence gives LP teams a smarter way to handle after-hours protection—one built around better awareness, more informed escalation, and stronger operational outcomes.

In business environments where some of the most important incidents happen in the moments when no one is supposed to be there, arriving informed may be one of the most valuable protections a business can have.

Learn how Visual Intelligence can help your retail enterprise during the quiet hours.

Visit: vectorsecurity.com/business-security/ solutions/visual-intelligence.

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Motorola Solutions

Don’t Just Record the Incident. Prevent It.

How the next generation of retail wearables is moving security from reactive observation to proactive protection.

T

he modern retail landscape is facing an unprecedented convergence of threats.

Organized Retail Crime (ORC) is evolving into a sophisticated, coordinated force, while frontline employees report rising levels of aggression and violence. For loss prevention (LP) leaders and store operations teams, the challenge has surpassed traditional shrink reduction; it is now a daily mandate to ensure total employee safety and build a resilient, intelligent security ecosystem.

For too long, the retail industry has relied on reactive tools. These devices excel at recording what happens after the damage is done, but offer little to stop a threat in its tracks. As we enter the back half of 2026, the mandate for retail safety is clear: we must stop simply recording incidents and start preventing them.

The Evolution of the Frontline

The industry requires a tool that does more than observe. It needs a device that communicates, deters, and empowers.

Enter the SafetyCam—the first all-inone wearable designed to bridge the gap between the retail sales floor and remote security experts. It is not just another recording device; it is a converged operational tool that integrates evidencegrade video, team communications, and efficiency-driving Artificial Intelligence (AI) into a single, ergonomically optimized device. By consolidating these functions, the SafetyCam eliminates the cognitive load of managing multiple systems, allowing associates to focus on what they do best: serving customers in a safe environment. It serves as a digital companion that ensures the associate is never truly alone, regardless of where they are in the store.

To move from a defensive posture to a proactive one, the SafetyCam relies on three

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core capabilities that redefine the role of the frontline associate:

1. Immediate Deterrence: The Mirror Effect The first line of defense is the associate on the sales floor. The SafetyCam features a front-facing display designed to act as an instant deterrent. By allowing subjects to see themselves being recorded, the device creates a mirror effect, which has been shown to de-escalate tension and force more controlled interactions before violence or theft can occur. It turns the camera from a passive observer into an active peacemaker.

2. Real-Time Intervention A static camera is a witness; a SafetyCam is a lifeline. When a situation crosses

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the threshold into a crisis, every second determines the outcome. The SafetyCam includes a dedicated, silent panic button that bypasses traditional, multi-step communication delays. With one press, the device instantly alerts the Security Operations Center (SOC) or store management, providing them with a live video and audio feed of the event. This eliminates the need for an associate to fumble with a radio or leave the scene to find help, ensuring they remain focused on their personal safety while help is dispatched.

Through integration with intelligent video management software, the SOC transforms from a room of passive observers into proactive partners. Security experts gain the ability to provide remote talk-down, speaking directly through the wearable’s high-fidelity

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Solutions Safer and Smarter Retail Ecosystem.

When paired with Alta Video, retailers can centralize evidence-grade video, audio, and AI-generated transcripts from the sales floor alongside their fixed camera systems. This unification removes the silos that typically exist between mobile and fixed security assets. It creates a comprehensive narrative of any incident, providing a full view that is invaluable for both immediate response and long-term investigation.

This creates defensible documentation that is automatically synthesized and packaged for legal teams and law enforcement. Whether it is protecting the company against fraudulent slip-and-fall claims—where body-worn audio can provide crucial context—or building stronger cases for prosecution against repeat ORC offenders, this unified approach ensures that facts are clear, accessible, and tamper-proof. The transition from an incident occurring to an investigation being completed is made seamless, significantly reducing the administrative burden on LP managers and increasing the likelihood of successful legal outcomes.

Furthermore, by utilizing existing Wi-Fi infrastructure, the SafetyCam provides indoor location tracking.

This gives supervisors and LP managers room-level visibility across massive store footprints. speakers. This capability fundamentally shifts the power dynamic during a crisis.

An aggressor is no longer just facing a lone associate; they are facing the documented authority of a professional security team.

Remote experts can guide the staff through de-escalation protocols in real-time, providing a guide that can often settle a situation that felt unmanageable moments before. This connectivity ensures that professional support is present at the exact moment the frontline needs it most.

3. Intelligent Operational Ecosystem Modern retail operations are increasingly complex, often requiring associates to be multilingual and technically proficient. The SafetyCam streamlines this workflow by acting as an AI-powered operational hub.

With built-in AI language translation, an associate can resolve customer conflicts or assist shoppers in multiple languages without needing to find a translator. AI voice assistance allows them to check store policies or coordinate inventory tasks

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A New Standard for Retail Protection

hands-free. This consolidation of tools reduces device clutter and ensures that the associate’s attention remains where it belongs: on their surroundings and their customers. By integrating these features, the device becomes a productivity tool that associates actually want to wear, rather than a security burden they feel forced to carry.

Furthermore, by utilizing existing Wi-Fi infrastructure, the SafetyCam provides indoor location tracking. This gives supervisors and LP managers room-level visibility across massive store footprints. In the event of a panic alert, the system doesn’t just say “there is an incident”; it can specify “the incident is in the electronics department, aisle 4.” It allows management to make data-driven decisions about staffing levels and security patrols, identifying hot zones in the store based on real-time activity rather than historical guesswork.

The retail security mandate has expanded.

It is no longer just about protecting margins; it is about protecting the lives and dignity of every individual who walks through the door.

By delivering communication, deterrence, and intelligent insight in one device, Motorola Solutions is helping retailers move beyond a defensive, reactive posture. The SafetyCam represents a new standard for retail protection—one where technology serves the human element, providing the confidence and tools necessary to maintain a safe, productive shopping environment.

Don’t wait for the incident to review the tape and tally the loss. Empower your frontline, protect your profit, and proactively manage the safety of your team with the SafetyCam. The future of retail security is not just about what you record—it’s about how you act in the moments that matter most. Take the step toward a smarter, safer retail floor today.

Want to see the future of your retail floor?

Head here: go.motorolasolutions.com/ introducing-safetycam.

Connecting the Ecosystem

The true power of the SafetyCam is realized when it is integrated into the broader Motorola

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SOLUTIONS SHOWCASE

Checkpoint Systems

Checkpoint’s Alpha® High-Theft Solutions—

Protecting Products, Empowering Retailers with US Manufacturing F

or more than 50 years, Alpha High-Theft Solutions has been helping retailers protect high-value merchandise without impeding the customer shopping experience. Alpha has built its reputation on delivering innovative, technologically advanced solutions designed to deter theft, reduce shrink, and complement the merchandise it protects. As one of the pioneers of the “Open Display” security philosophy, Alpha enables retailers to securely display merchandise while still allowing customers to interact with products before making a purchase.

Today, Alpha continues to partner with retailers around the world to protect their high-theft product categories. By combining decades of expertise and advanced manufacturing capabilities, Alpha continues to help retailers balance security and accessibility in an increasingly complex retail landscape.

A Legacy Built on Innovation

From the beginning, Alpha has focused on developing solutions that address real-world retail challenges. As organized retail crime and product theft trends have continued to evolve, retailers have been forced to rethink how they protect merchandise without creating barriers to the customer experience.

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Alpha’s solutions allow consumers to see, touch, and evaluate merchandise while maintaining effective theft protection, rather than restricting product access through locked cabinets or behind-counter storage. This approach not only improves the shopping experience but can also help drive sales by encouraging customer engagement with products—without intervention from a store associate.

Innovation remains at the center of everything Alpha does. From product development and engineering to manufacturing and customer support, Alpha continually invests in improving its solutions and adapting to changing retail environments. This commitment to innovation has helped retailers find effective, scalable loss prevention programs.

Manufacturing Excellence in Canton, Ohio

Alpha’s manufacturing facility is strategically located in Canton, Ohio. The facility provides end-to-end control over production, quality, inventory, and fulfillment, ensuring customers receive the products on time and with the high standard of quality they expect. Alpha maintains direct control over its

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production processes, giving the organization greater flexibility and responsiveness to customers’ needs.

The Canton facility encompasses more than 210,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space that features technologically advanced injection molding equipment, integrated robotics, and downstream assembly capabilities. Significant investments have been made to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance product quality, while supporting continuous improvement initiatives throughout the manufacturing process.

This integrated approach offers significant advantages for customers. By controlling manufacturing from start to finish, Alpha is able to respond quickly to changing customer demands. The facility’s centralized location also supports efficient distribution and fast delivery throughout North America. In addition, Alpha maintains safety stock inventory that allows the company to respond to urgent customer requirements when time-sensitive needs arise.

Alpha’s commitment to operational excellence extends beyond manufacturing.

Integrated robotics help improve productivity, allowing Alpha to deliver high-quality solutions with consistency and precision. This focus on

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speed, reliability, and quality has become a defining characteristic of the Alpha brand.

Keepers® Security Devices: Protecting Products Without Compromising the Customer Experience

Among Alpha’s most recognized and successful solutions is its Keepers security device portfolio. Designed specifically for high-theft merchandise, Keepers continue to be a trusted security solution across a wide range of retail categories. Our Keepers security devices are able to incorporate RFID, AM, or RF technology, as well as dual technologies, to match retailers’ current and future security needs. Their popularity stems from a simple but powerful concept: protect products without limiting customer access.

Rather than moving products behind locked doors or requiring associate assistance for every interaction, retailers can use Keepers security devices to maintain a more accessible shopping experience.

Customers can easily view products, compare features, and make informed purchase decisions while retailers benefit from protection against theft.

The versatility of Keepers security devices makes them ideal for a variety of merchandise categories. They are commonly used to protect over-the-counter medications, health and beauty products, consumer electronics, razor cartridges, batteries, and other items that are frequently targeted by thieves. Because product dimensions and security requirements vary across categories, Alpha offers Keepers security devices in over 75 sizes to meet specific retail needs.

Beyond security, Keepers security devices support operational efficiency. Store associates can quickly secure products, manage inventory, and maintain attractive displays with minimal disruption to daily operations. By reducing shrink and preserving merchandising flexibility, Keepers security devices continue to play a critical role in modern retail security strategies.

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Customization That Supports Brand Identity

While security is the foundation of Alpha’s business, we recognize that retailers care about more than loss prevention alone.

Store environments are carefully designed to communicate brand values, create memorable customer experiences, and reinforce brand identity. For this reason, Alpha has developed customization capabilities that allow security solutions to align with customer branding initiatives.

One standout example is the availability of custom-colored Keeper lids. Traditionally, security devices have been viewed as functional components that often stand apart from a retailer’s merchandising strategy.

Alpha takes a different approach by offering customers the ability to incorporate brand colors directly into their security solutions.

Retailers can customize Keeper lids to better align with store aesthetics, promotional campaigns, or corporate branding standards, creating a more cohesive appearance across the sales floor.

This seemingly simple customization can have a meaningful impact. When security solutions blend naturally into the retail environment, stores can maintain a clean, professional look while still benefiting from robust merchandise protection. Instead of security devices feeling like an interruption to the shopping experience, they become integrated components of the overall store design.

Alpha also offers customization opportunities for S3® Hand Keys. Customcolored S3 Hand Keys can be tailored to support customer branding initiatives in addition to providing practical operational benefits. Retailers may use different colors to designate departments, store formats, geographic regions, or specific user groups, helping improve organization and ease of use across their operations.

These capabilities reflect Alpha’s broader commitment to collaboration and adaptability.

Every retailer has unique challenges, branding

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standards, and operational requirements.

By working closely with customers, Alpha develops tailored solutions that address security needs without compromising aesthetics or brand consistency.

Innovation and Sustainability for the Future

Innovation at Alpha extends beyond product design. Alpha continually evaluates its manufacturing processes and technologies to identify opportunities for improvement.

Investments in state-of-the-art production equipment, robotics, and process optimization ensure Alpha remains well-positioned to meet evolving customer needs while maintaining exceptional quality standards.

Alpha also views sustainability as an important driver of innovation. Rather than treating sustainability as a separate initiative, the company integrates environmental considerations into product development and operational decision-making. Products and processes are regularly reviewed to minimize environmental impact, improve efficiency, and support responsible manufacturing practices.

As retail environments continue to evolve, Alpha remains focused on helping customers address emerging challenges through innovative solutions, manufacturing excellence, and customer-centric design. From its industry-leading Keepers to customized security solutions that align with retailer branding, Alpha continues to demonstrate that effective loss prevention can coexist with exceptional customer experiences. Backed by decades of expertise and a commitment to continuous improvement, Alpha is helping retailers protect what matters most—while preparing for the future of retail security.

Learn more at checkpointsystems.com /alpha-high-theft-solutions/.

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CAREER CENTER

AnnaStillst / Shutterstock.com

J. Patrick Burns, CPP

Burns has over 30 years of experience in AP, beginning his career as a store detective and rising to VP of LP at Bob's Discount Furniture, where he built the LP function from the ground up.

Patrick co-founded the Loss Prevention Furniture Alliance (LPFA). He is an active member of ASIS International, currently supporting the revitalization of the Southern Connecticut Chapter, a member of IAFCI, a former member of the National Retail Federation's LP Council, and a Licensed Private Investigator in Connecticut.

When Your Position Is Eliminated, Your Reputation Isn’t T

One of the things I’ve always admired about the LP community is our willingness to help one another.

he week before NRF PROTECT 2025, my position was eliminated. Unlike many people, I wasn’t caught completely off guard. Over the previous couple of years, I watched several executive-level reorganizations and leadership changes unfold.

While my company continued to grow, I recognized that growth doesn’t always mean every role remains unchanged. Like many organizations across today’s business landscape, priorities evolve, structures change, and sometimes good people find themselves on the outside looking in.

After more than three decades in asset protection, loss prevention, and corporate security, where I built teams, mentored future leaders, hired hundreds of people, and helped organizations navigate change, I suddenly found myself on the other side of the hiring table.

Fortunately, I had already planned to attend NRF PROTECT the following week. For a brief moment, I considered staying home. Instead, I went.

Looking back, it was one of the best career decisions I’ve made. I reconnected with longtime colleagues, met professionals I had admired but never had the opportunity to speak with, learned more about emerging technologies, and most importantly, experienced an overwhelming outpouring of encouragement and support. Several conversations even turned into potential opportunities.

That week reminded me of something I’ve believed throughout my career. In real estate, they say the three most important things are location, location, location.

In your career, I’d argue it’s connections, connections, connections—not just having a large network but investing in relationships.

I learned that lesson very early in my career. As a store detective in a department store, I made a point of getting to know the store detectives and managers from the other department stores in the mall. We shared information, compared investigative

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notes, and simply helped one another become better professionals.

I carried that philosophy with me throughout my career, from field leadership to executive leadership, building relationships not only with peers in my own retail vertical, but also with professionals across the broader asset protection, loss prevention, corporate security, law enforcement, human resources, operations, and solution provider communities.

It remains one of the things I love most about our profession.

One of the things I’ve always admired about the LP community is our willingness to help one another.

Certainly, it’s easy when we’re working the same organized retail crime investigation or comparing notes on common suspects. But I’ve found our profession is equally generous when it comes to discussing operational improvements, emerging technologies, leadership challenges, or simply helping someone think through a difficult business decision. That culture of collaboration became even more meaningful after my position was eliminated.

A Different Kind of Investigation

This isn’t my first career transition. Years ago, I worked for a retailer that experienced tremendous growth through both organic expansion and acquisitions up to 1,100 stores from 380 in ten years. Eventually, market conditions shifted, and annual store closures became the new reality. As opportunities became more limited where I lived, I knew I needed to broaden my professional network and prepare for whatever came next. That preparation paid off.

After more than a year, an opportunity came through an operations executive and someone I had previously worked with. I accepted the position, which required more than a two-hour commute each way. Rather than uprooting my family immediately, I rented an apartment near my new employer and commuted

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weekly. About a year later, when the timing was right, the move was the right thing to do.

This chapter has been different. Like many professionals later in their careers, my priorities have evolved. I’m no longer chasing titles. I’m looking for the right organization, the right culture, and the opportunity to contribute in meaningful ways. At this stage of life, relocating isn’t the right decision for my family, but hybrid work has opened possibilities that simply didn’t exist years ago.

Ironically, the pandemic also changed how many of us define “being in the office.” Many of us returned only to spend much of the day behind closed doors, participating in virtual meetings with colleagues who were working somewhere else. It reminded me that productivity isn’t measured by where we’re sitting, but by the value we’re creating.

At this stage of life, relocating isn’t the right decision for my family, but hybrid work has opened possibilities that simply didn’t exist years ago.

Early in my search, I realized something important: this wasn’t just happening in retail. Every week seemed to bring another announcement of reorganizations, restructuring, mergers, or workforce reductions. Scroll through LinkedIn and you’ll quickly find talented professionals from technology, finance, manufacturing, hospitality, and countless other industries sharing remarkably similar stories.

The challenges aren’t unique to our profession; they’re widespread.

After speaking with colleagues throughout our industry—and many professionals outside of it—and experiencing the process firsthand, several themes consistently emerge.

Technology Should Assist, Not Replace, Judgment

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) have become an important part of modern recruiting. Together, they help organizations efficiently manage hundreds, sometimes thousands, of applications, with ATS platforms handling the pipeline and increasingly relying on AI to screen, rank, and match candidates.

However, many candidates question whether qualified people are sometimes being filtered out before a hiring manager ever reviews their résumé.

When someone submits an application at 9 p.m. and receives a rejection at 3 a.m., it’s reasonable to wonder whether anyone reviewed their qualifications.

As investigators, we’ve always understood that technology identifies exceptions; it doesn’t make conclusions. Years ago, point-of-sale exception reporting highlighted transactions deserving further review. It never determined someone was dishonest.

That still required human judgment, context,

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investigation, and experience. Hiring deserves that same discipline.

These concerns have become significant enough that they’ve moved beyond industry discussion and into the courts. Mobley v. Workday, Inc. is an ongoing federal class-action lawsuit examining how AI-assisted hiring tools are evaluated and monitored, and whether they unintentionally disadvantage qualified applicants. As of this writing, the case remains in active litigation, with a federal judge recently allowing the core discrimination claims to move forward. Regardless of how it’s ultimately resolved, it’s already prompting a broader conversation about balancing technology with human judgment.

Communication Matters

One of the biggest frustrations candidates describe isn’t rejection—it’s silence. Most applicants receive an automated confirmation after submitting an application.

After that, many never hear another word, even after following up with recruiters or hiring managers.

Ghosting has become normalized; it shouldn’t be. Every applicant invested time researching the organization, tailoring a résumé, writing a cover letter, and preparing for the possibility of joining the team. Even when the answer is “no,” people deserve the courtesy of knowing where they stand.

Organizations work tirelessly to create exceptional customer experiences. Candidates deserve an exceptional hiring experience, too.

What Has Helped Me

If there’s one lesson this journey has reinforced, it’s this: stay engaged. Professional associations became even more valuable during my transition.

Although many people know me through the retail LP community, I intentionally invested years in organizations outside my immediate discipline.

ASIS International exposed me to professionals in manufacturing, critical infrastructure, higher education, hospitality, government, financial services, and technology. Those relationships broadened my understanding of how our skills transfer well beyond retail.

This past year alone I’ve attended LPRC IMPACT, ASIS International Northern New Jersey Security Day, the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI) Spotlight on Fraud Conference, a local Chamber of Commerce AI program, and I even retook the Wicklander-Zulawski Investigative Interviewing course after many years.

Every one of those experiences accomplished three things: I met someone new, I learned something new, and I confirmed my approach was already the right one.

That’s a powerful combination.

Build a Bigger Network

One of the biggest misconceptions in any job search is believing your next opportunity will only come through someone in your own profession. Don’t limit yourself. Your neighbor may know a security director, your barber may know an operations executive,

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If there’s one lesson this journey has reinforced, it’s this: stay engaged.

Professional associations became even more valuable during my transition.

your dental hygienist may know a company that’s expanding, your auto mechanic may have a customer who’s hiring.

Attend your local Chamber of Commerce, volunteer, join civic organizations—you never know where your next meaningful conversation will begin.

The same applies to solution providers. Don’t just know the salesperson; build relationships with project managers, technicians, installers, consultants, and customer success teams. They often work with dozens of organizations and hear about leadership changes long before positions are posted. Every conversation is an opportunity.

Keep a Routine

Treat your job search like a job. Keep a tracking spreadsheet of every company, position, application date, recruiter, hiring manager, follow-up message, interview, thank you note, and next step. After dozens, or even hundreds, of applications, it’s nearly impossible to remember every interaction without a system. Staying organized reduces stress and ensures opportunities don’t slip through the cracks.

I naturally wake up early. Rather than immediately opening my laptop, I start with coffee, enjoy the quiet of the morning, watch the sunrise whenever I can, and spend a little time reading something positive before planning my day.

I keep a list of priorities. There may be nine things I’d like to accomplish; if I complete three meaningful ones, that’s progress. Momentum matters more than perfection.

Take Care of Yourself

Attend your local Chamber of Commerce, volunteer, join civic organizations—you never know where your next meaningful conversation will begin.

The job search isn’t just mentally demanding; it can be emotionally exhausting. For me, walking a couple miles almost every day has become just as important as submitting resumes. I did it while I was working the last few years, and now I simply have more flexibility to decide when.

Exercise clears my head, reduces stress, and often gives me my best ideas. Whether it’s walking, fishing, golfing, boating, spending time with family, or simply disconnecting for a while, find something that helps maintain perspective.

Be Intentional with LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an outstanding networking tool, but it’s also an outstanding distraction. Use it with purpose— build relationships, congratulate others, share knowledge, learn something new.

But don’t leave it open all day reacting to every notification. Remember, social media often highlights everyone else’s successes while quietly hiding their struggles.

Invest in Your Résumé

Résumé expectations have changed significantly.

I eventually worked with a professional resume writer after seeing several colleagues receive substantially better responses than myself.

Loss Prevention Magazine

Summer 2026

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Initially, I wasn’t convinced. As a hiring manager, I preferred résumés with more white space and less text. Today’s reality is different—modern résumés often need to satisfy both technology and human readers.

Professional help doesn’t need to cost hundreds of dollars, but another experienced set of eyes can make a meaningful difference.

Help Others

One of the most rewarding parts of this journey has been supporting other people going through it.

Several friends in our profession are also searching for their next opportunity; we exchange ideas, share openings, celebrate interviews, and encourage one another after disappointments.

I’ve never viewed that as competition; I’ve viewed it as community. When one of us succeeds, we all benefit. That’s one of the many reasons I’m proud to have spent my career in this profession.

Keep Showing Up

If there’s one message I’d leave with anyone navigating today’s employment market, it’s this: Don’t let the process define your value. Keep learning, keep networking, keep helping others, keep showing up.

The right opportunity may take longer than expected, but your experience, integrity, reputation, and relationships still matter.

In the meantime, I’ve stayed active through consulting projects and utilizing my Connecticut private investigator’s license while continuing to invest in my own professional development. It’s kept my skills current, introduced me to new perspectives, and reminded me that careers are rarely linear.

If there’s one message I’d leave with anyone navigating today’s employment market, it’s this: Don’t let the process define your value.

Keep learning, keep networking, keep helping others, keep showing up.

If sharing my experience helps even one person stay encouraged during their own search, then this article will have been worthwhile.

Our profession has given me lifelong friendships, trusted mentors, incredible opportunities, and a career I’m deeply grateful for. It all began with a young store detective who simply introduced himself to the investigators at the other department stores in the mall.

I remain optimistic that my next chapter is still ahead. And if you’re currently navigating your own transition, remember this: Your position may be eliminated. Your title may change. Your employer may change. But your reputation, your relationships, and your willingness to keep learning are assets no restructuring can ever take away. l

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These LPF Partners are Passionate about Supporting the Loss Prevention Community through Education.

DOCTORATE LEVEL PARTNERS

MASTER LEVEL PARTNERS

BACHELOR LEVEL PARTNERS

ASSOCIATE LEVEL PARTNERS

Educating an industry, one leader at a time. www.LossPreventionFoundation.org

CERTIFICATION

The Loss Prevention Foundation (LPF) is a leader in educating and certifying retail loss prevention and asset protection professionals by providing relevant, convenient, and challenging educational resources. The LPF is dedicated to elevating the industry through its accredited LPQualified and LPCertified courses. For more information, visit losspreventionfoundation.org.

Spotlighting Loss Prevention Certified Professionals Melinda Quintanilla, LPQ Safeway

Adam Hansen, LPC Lowe’s

“The LPQ course has fueled my confidence to continue to make a difference in my community and organization. It gave me a different perspective on handling losses and growing as a professional.

I am motivated to continue my journey and apply this knowledge to my everyday tasks, creating value for my team.”

“The LPC program was insightful, impactful, and helped broaden my experience as a loss prevention professional by improving my knowledge base across all retail sectors.

Christopher Pack, LPC Lowe’s

Daniel Viera, LPC Lovesac

“The LPC course is challenging in a great way. It expanded and validated my knowledge as a loss prevention professional. I would highly recommend the course and can’t wait to implement what I learned.”

“Preparation/training for the LPC exam gave me the “full picture” cradle to grave of what loss prevention activities can entail and how it’s all connected.

It helped me learn the language of the profession and also helped me focus on prioritizing and making decisions that matter most to my organization.”

Loss Prevention Magazine

Summer 2026

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LossPreventionMedia.com

Jeffrey Jacobsen, LPC Empyreal Logistics

Diana Enamorado, LPQ TJX

“Earning my LPC certification represents a major professional milestone and personal accomplishment. The process challenged me to strengthen my knowledge, decision-making, and understanding of the loss prevention industry at a deeper level.

This certification was not earned overnight. It required discipline, commitment, and the ability to balance studying with the daily responsibilities of being a director of security for a major cash logistics organization. Through the process, I gained a greater appreciation for operational standards, risk management, compliance, and the importance of professional development within our industry.

Receiving this certification reinforces my commitment to continuous improvement, leadership, and maintaining the highest standards of security and operational excellence. I am proud to have completed the program and look forward to applying the knowledge gained to further support my team, our operations, and the industries we work in.”

Rahim Bacchus, LPQ Rexall “Completing the LPQ certification has been a truly rewarding experience. It allowed me to refresh the knowledge I’ve gained throughout my career while expanding my understanding of key operational functions across the business. One of the most valuable parts of the course was learning how to think like an operations leader, not just through the lens of asset protection, but through the broader perspective of how stores and companies operate as a whole. The LPQ program strengthened my ability to identify shrink risks, understand operational drivers, and apply strategic thinking that supports both loss prevention and overall business success. It challenged me to think deeper, lead smarter, and approach problem solving with a more holistic mindset.”

Loss Prevention Magazine

Summer 2026

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“This course has opened my point of view on loss prevention.

I’ve become a better leader and a better LP professional because of this course.”

Seyong No, LPC Coupang Corp.

“As a physical security and loss prevention professional from South Korea, earning the LPC certification has been a meaningful milestone in my career. I currently serve as a senior logistics security & loss prevention manager at Coupang Corp., leading security and loss prevention initiatives across logistics operations. I first learned about the LPC certification through colleagues with Amazon backgrounds, and I quickly recognized its value for professionals in logistics security and asset protection. The program strengthened my understanding of risk management, investigations, leadership, and the business impact of loss prevention. Although some U.S.-specific legal and regulatory topics were challenging as an international candidate, the course materials and online resources helped me gain a solid understanding. I am proud to join the global LPC community and look forward to applying these principles throughout my career as a security leader.”

LossPreventionMedia.com

Newly Certified The following are individuals who recently earned their certifications.

Recent LPC Recipients

Blake Jackson, LPC DICK’s Sporting Goods “Completing the LPC certification was a great investment in my professional development. The program expanded my knowledge of loss prevention and gave me practical tools that I can use every day. I especially appreciated how the material connected real-world scenarios with industry best practices.

I would encourage anyone pursuing a career in loss prevention or asset protection to earn this certification. Whether you’re new to the field or looking to advance your career, the LPC program provides valuable knowledge and credibility that will benefit you throughout your career.”

Justin Fowler, LPC Lowe’s “This was an amazing course to broaden my knowledge within the loss prevention arena. I felt it pushed me out of my comfort zone that I’ve been in for 15 years as an LP professional to focus on other tactics of LP that will help me broaden my scope! Awesome course!”

Loss Prevention Magazine

Cristine Alayon, LPC, Lowe’s Paul Borosavage, LPC, Collaborative Solutions Aurora Boxwell, LPC, Ulta Beauty Rachel Bratsch, LPC, Lowe’s Stephen Brooks, LPC, Lowe’s Laura Browet, LPC, Lowe’s James Brown III, LPC, PRADA USA Chris Brown, LPC, Kroger Patrick Burns, LPC, Lowe’s Bob Casar, LPC, Heinen’s Jon Chapman, LPC, Walmart Mitchel Cousino, LPC, Lowe’s Rebecca Cox, LPC, Dollar General Rachel Curtis, LPC, Lowe’s Stacey DeMuse, LPC, REI Co-op Erik Di Nonno, LPC, Harbor Freight Tools USA Jamie Dotson, LPC, LPQ, Lowe’s Ashley Douglas, LPC, Lowe’s Thomas Durand, LPC, Amazon Justin Fowler, LPC, Lowe’s Brittany Gallagher, LPC, Lowe’s Jose Garza, LPC, LPQ, Lowe’s Teresa Goldsmith, LPC, BP Isaac Gonzalez, LPC Lorren Gonzalez, LPC, Lowe’s Rob Goodwin, LPC, Lowe’s Timothy Govin, LPC, Lowe’s Brian Griffith, LPC, Walmart Chelsea Hackett, LPC, Lowe’s Bryan Hall, LPC, LPQ, Ulta Beauty Adam Hansen, LPC, Lowe’s Josh Hildebran, LPC, Lowe’s Michael Interlandi, LPC, Lowe’s Simon Isham, LPC, ALTO William Jackson, LPC, DICK’S Sporting Goods Jeffrey Jacobsen, LPC, Empyreal Logistics Matthew Jaspan, LPC, Lowe’s Israel Jimoh, LPC, The Home Depot Shaun Kantor, LPC, Lowe’s Wesley Kellum, LPC, Lowe’s Nicole Kochel, LPC, Lowe’s Keven Lucas, LPC, Walmart Michael Maglisco, LPC, Lowe’s Christy McCandless, LPC, Lowe’s Phillipp Miller, LPC, Lowe’s Alex Mszanecky III, LPC, Lowe’s Chris Nelson, LPC, Lowe’s Seyong No, LPC, Coupang Christopher Pack II, LPC, Lowe’s Agatha Roma Pantaleon, LPC, Foster’s Jessica Pettry, LPC, Lowe’s Kayli Picciolo, LPC, Lowe’s Eric Plueger, LPC, Lowe’s Todd Roberts, LPC, LPQ, Cabela’s Christina Rodriguez, LPC, 7-Eleven Corey Runt, LPC, Sam’s Club Adam Ryan, LPC, Lowe’s Michael Salagovich, LPC, Lowe’s Matt Schoen, LPC, Meijer Richard Singh, LPC, Lowe’s Haylee Steinsiek, LPC, Lowe’s Scott Sunderman, LPC, Lowe’s Jason Thomas, LPC

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Nytasha Wade Portis, LPC, Lowe’s John Wandell, LPC, Pilot Company Glen Weber, LPC, LPQ, Pilot Company

Recent LPQ Recipients Donald Abrahams Jr., LPQ, TJX Rahim Bacchus, LPQ, Rexall Amanda Beller, LPQ, Bloomingdale’s Ethan Bogetti, LPQ, Food Lion Meegan Botnick, LPQ, DICK’S Sporting Goods April Brown, LPQ, Auror Kiersten Calkins, LPQ Priscila Cano Arciniega, LPQ, Bloomingdale’s Charlotte Chambers, LPQ, Goodwill NNE Diana Victoria Enamorado, LPQ, TJX Alexandra Erby, LPQ, TJX Jose Escobar Jr., LPQ, Bloomingdale’s Michael Fehr, LPQ, Riverside Co-operative Nicholas Fillon, LPQ, TJX Chad Foster, LPQ, Eastern Kentucky University Lindsay Friedman, LPQ Sasha Glickstein, LPQ Kora Green, LPQ Heather Hardie, LPQ, NEXCOM Courtney Hassebrock, LPQ, Meijer David Headley, LPQ, Von Maur Jenna Heltzel, LPQ, 7-Eleven Patrick Holleran, LPQ, Auror Jalen Jackson, LPQ, The Home Depot Aiden Kyllo, LPQ, The Home Depot Dominic Mayoral, LPQ, TJX Dana McCusker, LPQ, Ahold Delhaize USA Taylor McKinney, LPQ Shane McMahon, LPQ, Walmart Jennifer Miller, LPQ, Envysion, Inc. a Motorola Solutions Company James Newton, LPQ, Rouses Markets Thomas Orr, LPQ Christian Paul, LPQ, Peloton Interactive Isaac Pavone, LPQ, TJX Teia Perez, LPQ Michael Pugh, LPQ Melinda Quintanilla, LPQ, Safeway Veronica Ramirez, LPQ, Heritage Grocers Group Brandon Rodriguez-Harris, LPQ, Walmart Hannah Ruegsegger, LPQ, Meijer Steven Saturday, LPQ Grant Schatz, LPQ Travis Scott, LPQ, The Giant Company Deaundre Simmons, LPQ, Ralph Lauren Cade Smith, LPQ, TJX Jeff Snelgrove, LPQ, Lululemon Joseph Sterrett, LPQ, TJX Isabella Thompson, LPQ, The Home Depot Jonathan Todd, LPQ Alex Valerio, LPQ, Bloomingdale’s Luis Vargas, LPQ, T-Mobile Brianna Vasquez, LPQ, TJX Paula Veytia, LPQ, TJX Josh Ward-Hall, LPQ, American Eagle Outfitters Jeff Wetli, LPQ, Amazon Michele Whiteman, LPQ, The Home Depot l

LossPreventionMedia.com

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

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To stay up-to-date on the latest career moves as they happen, visit the Professional Development page on the LPM website LossPreventionMedia.com.

To inform us of a promotion or new hire, email us at PeopleOnTheMove@LossPreventionMedia.com.

This edition of People On the Move is powered by the Loss Prevention Fondation

Professionals Advancing Their Careers Rohit Gupta is now a global protection and security manager at Accenture (India).

Vanessa Rodriguez is now multi-site manager, field safe and secure at Carvana.

Brittany Burch is now a corporate AP analyst at 7-Eleven.

Andreas Seidel, CPP (Germany), was promoted to director, worldwide security and LP, field teams at Amazon.

Chandler Matthews was promoted to VP of global LP, health, and safety at Abercrombie & Fitch.

Frank Sorgie Jr. was promoted to director of LP at Academy Sports + Outdoors.

Jordan Gove was promoted to group general manager, risk, compliance, and sustainability at Adairs Retail Group (Australia).

Daniel Rodriguez was promoted to senior AP and safety manager at Advance Auto Parts.

Justin Kestle was promoted to director of AP, Portland Division at Albertsons.

Mehmet Teoman Tanriverdi is now senior AP and fraud prevention manager at Alshaya Group (Turkey).

Adrian Bretado and Angel Butler are now district LP managers at Beall’s.

Brian Franzyshen was promoted to director of corporate security at Capri Holdings.

Loss Prevention Magazine

Josh Crippen was promoted to senior regional asset protection director; David Rozhon, LPC, was promoted to senior manager, data center security, strategic initiatives; Mollie Rebecca Stasi was promoted to senior investigations program manager, WWOS investigations; Vinay Singh Chauhan, PMP, (India) was promoted to senior program manager, worldwide physical security; Dane Waugh was promoted to senior investigations manager, serious and complex investigations; Aaron Leger, LPC, PMP, CPTED, was promoted to worldwide physical security implementation leader; Rovi David was promoted to global physical security solutions senior program manager; Dusko Tadic was promoted to senior PM, physical security innovation and solutions; Kirby Sabey, PMP, was promoted to security program manager; Erica Buchholz was promoted to data center security manager; Joe Bingeman, LPC, Joshua Esparza, Jeremy Moore, and Paul Phelan are now SLP cluster managers; and Filip Visnjic Visnjic (Spain), James Bianchi MSIT, SSLP, CSPO, and Kathleen Kennedy-Turner, LPC, LPQ, PhD, (Canada) are now SLP experts at Amazon.

Kathleen Garner is now principal customer success manager and senior advisor at Appriss Retail.

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Rob Thomson, CFE, PCI, CFI, is now director of AP, North America; and Lee Bovington, MSyl, (UK) is now director of AP, EMEA at Arc’teryx Equipment.

Adalberto Malato was promoted to senior national manager of LP at americanas s.a.

(Brazil).

Scott Wilson is now an area LP manager at Applegreen.

Neil O’Neill, LPC, CFI, was promoted to project manager II, LP process improvement; and Josh Boone, LPC, is now a regional LP manager at AutoZone.

Heather Valencia was promoted to market AP manager at Bass Pro Shops.

Nathan Bandaries was promoted to director of AP operations at Dollar Tree Stores.

Denise Paden, CFI, was promoted to senior manager, field AP; and Adam Obornick is now a regional AP manager at Bath & Body Works.

Chandan Kumar Patel is now an area LP officer at bigbasket (India).

John Austin, LPQ, is now senior safety and AP business partner at Bob’s Discount Furniture.

Eric Trehern is now director of investigations, and Anthony Quintero was promoted to manager of field investigations at Burlington Stores.

J. Rakes is now manager of enterprise investigations, and Dameron Johnston was promoted to senior AP market investigator at Gabes.

Jennifer Signorelli was promoted to senior analyst, AP investigations and major crimes at Dollar Tree Stores.

John O. Nicholson, CFI, is now director of AP at Bvlgari.

Ryan Leslie was promoted to area AP manager at Catalyst Brands.

Bhardwaj Upadhyay is now an area LP manager at Chemist Box (India).

Vern Bales is now field investigations manager, internal audit at The Children’s Place.

Joseph Bowers is now an LP specialist at Claire’s.

Kevin Stone, LPC, CFI,

Dan Parker, CPP, is now national manager, security and LP at DSV - Global Transport and Logistics (Canada).

Joel Elliott is now a district AP manager at Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona.

Steven Scholz, LPC, is now a regional security manager at H&M. Brandon Schultz, CFI, LPQ, was promoted to senior area LP manager at Harbor Freight Tools.

Kathlene Basile is now AP manager and Kulwinder Bath is now an LP supervisor at Holt Renfrew (Canada).

Doug Billiot, CFI, and Jason Jackson, CFI, are now managers of ORC investigations at JD Group.

Steve Gaughan, CFI, is now field LP manager at JEM Restaurant Group.

Monica Lundgren is now an investigator, FIU at eBay.

was promoted to director of LP at Columbia Sportswear.

Bart Fuller, CFE, is now senior manager of security at Comcast.

William Connors was promoted to senior manager, ORC, pharmacy, and security at Giant Eagle.

Eva Alvarez was promoted to director of fraud and operations at Gucci.

Millie Kresevich, MS, LPC, was promoted to VP of AP North America at EssilorLuxottica.

Steven Bova, CPP, is now director of AP and safety at The Guitar Center.

Keith McClane, LPC, Sean Logan, CII, LPQ, and Rebecca Davis are now regional AP managers at Family Dollar.

John Mitchell is now a regional AP manager at Five Below.

Daniel Leal was promoted to senior manager of AP at HelloFresh.

Scott Snider, CFI, LPC, Stephen Knoedler, Elias Zavala, LPC, and Greg Lundell, LPC, are now regional AP managers at The Home Depot.

Joseph Rapacz, LPC, was promoted to director of LP at J. Crew.

Joe Laufenberg, LPC, is now VP of AP at Fleet Farm.

Kim Scott was

promoted to chief marketing officer and executive VP at CONTROLTEK.

Michael Nowalski was promoted to principal senior AP manager at Crate & Barrel.

John Jacocks was promoted to LP district manager at Fleet Farm.

Lucas Luther was promoted to corporate LP crime and claims specialist at Jacksons Food Stores.

Rob LaCommare, CFI, is now executive director of AP strategy and operations at CVS Health.

Ben Mills, CPP, was promoted to senior director of global security and intelligence; Brady Sowell was promoted to senior director of stores protection; Tito Nieves was promoted to director of data and analytics, digital protection; and Gabriel De Jesus is now an area AP manager at Gap Inc.

Bryan Treat, CFI, LPC, is now senior manager of AP; Laura Morris was promoted to senior regional AP manager; and Michael Milner is now a regional AP leader at KnitWell Group.

Jarrell Wilson is now a district AP leader at CVS Health.

Brendon Cutler was promoted to complex crimes investigator at DICK’S Sporting Goods.

Nicole Toyloy, MBA, was promoted to divisional AP director at Dollar General.

Matt Howard is now VP, head of product at Gatekeeper Systems.

Lloyd Shaffer, Tyree McNeal, David Cobarrubias, CFI, and Robert Stone are now regional AP managers at Dollar Tree Stores.

Anderson Assis is now LP and inventory coordinator at Dom Atacadista (Brazil).

Joe Osterby and Cristina Perez-Colin were promoted to assistant managers of ORC; and Scott Engle was promoted to LP market investigator at Kohl’s.

Justin Holt was promoted to AP division assistant manager at Fred Meyer.

Loss Prevention Magazine

Jordan Chacon was promoted to VP of LP operations at Kohl’s.

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LossPreventionMedia.com

Adam Ruiz, LPC, was promoted to senior AP solutions manager, and Luke Devine is now a district AP manager at Kroger.

Dion Davis, CFI, is now head of AP and risk at Lori’s Gifts.

Stephen Brooks, LPC, was promoted to district AP manager at Lowe’s.

Victoria O’Kane was promoted to senior division AP investigations and training; Stephanie Montanari was promoted to division AP director; and Kevin Palacios is now senior manager of supply chain investigations at Macy’s.

Chaz Iddirisu, LPQ, is now a regional LP manager at MadRag. Andrew Halderthay is now head of AP, security, and safety at Marks and Spencer (UK).

Iona Blake is now head of security and fraud at Marks and Spencer (UK).

Greg Stebbins and Jaarael Bell are now regional LP managers at NAPA Auto Parts.

Yovan Galico is now head of security and facility management at Nestlé (Mexico).

Glauber Romeiro was promoted to head of LP at Nordestão Supermarkets (Brazil).

network head, and Jignesh Bhavsar is now an area LP manager at Reliance Retail (India).

Bryan Hall, LPQ, was promoted to lead global security operations analyst at Ulta Beauty.

Earnest Stewart, CFI, is now a regional LP and safety specialist at Sprouts Farmers Market.

Kirk Carter is now a regional AP manager at URBN.

Alexander Sanchez, Marc Holtman, and Tyler Downs were promoted to AP business partners at Target.

Jonathan Santana, CFI, is now director of LP at True Religion.

Keith Bright is now head of shrink, security, and business resilience at Tesco (UK).

Thiago Henrique Aguiar is now an LP coordinator at Serra Azul Supermarkets (Brazil).

Mike Brown is now a regional LP manager at VF Corporation.

Edgar Grimaldo is now a regional AP manager at Soriana (Mexico).

Brandon Major is now senior manager of AP and food safety at The Winn-Dixie Company.

Marcos Lozano, Vanessa Ruffo, and Alba Montiel are now senior area LP managers; and Andrea Gomez and Maria Rodriguez, LPQ, are now area LP managers at Ross Stores.

Sam Rodriguez was promoted to AP director of field investigations at Target.

Cathy Fiorenza was promoted to senior manager of global security, risk, and resilience at Ralph Lauren (Australia).

Justin DeLaMare, LPQ, is now an area AP manager at REI. Gerardo Villanueva is now an ORC manager at Safeway.

Magdalena Laura Malanowicz was promoted to corporate security manager at Sainsbury’s (UK).

Sam Lewis is now director of AP, supply chain; Jon Tabler, PSP, LPQ, LPC, CECI, was promoted to AP operations center manager; Matthew Schaefer is now a regional internal investigator, supply chain; and Carrie De Casas is now a market investigator at Nordstrom.

Brad King is now director of AP physical security, technology, and finance at Saks Global.

Brian Mouchet is now store investigations supervisor (Canada); Jen Connolly, LPC, was promoted to manager of LP, operational and technical training; Oliver Niworowski, CFI, is now a regional LP manager, distribution centers; Craig Chiaccheri, CFI, and Matthew Wright (Canada) are now market managers of LP; and Nick Hanlon, LPQ, Jack Plant (UK), Richard Plata, Aaron Foote, MS, TLO, Jennifer Westfall, Bhavesh Patel, Jessica Barrett, and Marie-Claude Robitaille (Canada) are now district LP managers at TJX. Tim LePelley, CFI, is now a regional AP manager at Victra - Verizon.

Ken O’Connor is now senior director, executive protection and corporate safety at Walgreens.

Chris Pomerleau is now an area AP manager at Nordstrom Rack.

Richard Reid, LPC, is now senior manager of LP operations; James P. Lapcevic, LPC, is now a regional LP manager; and Kevin Kelso, LPC, is now a district LP manager at Ollie’s Bargain Outlet.

Grant Connelly was promoted to LP supervisor at Pet Valu (Canada).

Solangel Slappy is now manager of supply chain LP at Petco.

Matt Allen and Jennifer Haines, CFI, are now lead AP and safety business partners at PetSmart.

Simone Tonini da Silva is now executive manager of compliance, internal controls, and LP at Popular Pet (Brazil).

Aaron Walker was promoted to senior profit protection and inventory manager at Poundland & Dealz (Ireland).

Jeremy Wetherell was promoted to senior LP and inventory control manager at The Save Mart Companies.

Mike McCracken was promoted to district AP manager at SEPHORA. Marcus Nichols was promoted to manager of physical security and system design, and Chris Marzo, LPC, was promoted to senior manager, fraud prevention and analytics at Staples.

Chad McManus, CFI, CFE, LPC, is now senior manager of corporate security, and John Engle was promoted to field AP manager at T-Mobile.

Shane Bennett is now director, cybersecurity, threat actor investigations at Target.

Brian Grabowski is now senior manager of global security operations and investigations at QVC Group.

Brian Rhue is now a regional LP manager at Savers | Value Village.

Celeste Arredondo was promoted to global security investigation analytics manager at The Walt Disney Company.

Gregory Jimenez is now a field LP manager at World Market.

Mathias Tarnowski is now risk prevention supervisor at Zaffari (Brazil).

Richard Aviles is now asset protection manager, North America/PR at ZARA. l

Vikas Sharma was promoted to state security

Loss Prevention Magazine

Corey Jones was promoted to senior manager, asset protection, DC/FC; Shane Hunter was promoted to enterprise fraud investigations senior manager; Cheryl Harbeston, CFI, OSC, was promoted to manager, fraud prevention and investigations; Adam Alhajiri and Eric Cormier (Canada) were promoted to regional AP director; and Trisha Huggins and Zack Mongosa, LPC, are now AP area managers at Walmart.

Summer 2026

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LossPreventionMedia.com

Insights IT'S ABOUT SHOWTI ME GATHERING

Stopping the Snowball of Refund Fraud Getting Back to the Basics PLUS: Interviewing in Collusion Cases

AND LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER

Asset Protection | Profit Enhancem ent | Retail Performa Asset Protection nce | Profit Enhancem ent |

| Profit Enhancem ent | Retail Perfo rmance

Insights

Insights

NMEDIA .COM

The Art of Vendor Vetting Plastic Piracy

INTERNAL THEF SPECIAL ISSUET

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CIS Security Solutions..........................41, 60 cissecurity.com

Internal Theft Spec

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2025 | v24.6 losspreventionm edia.com Profit Enhancem ent | Retail Perfo Are You Making rmance Enough?

Access Task For PLUS: Buildingce an Inte rvie wwing Too Inte rvie lkit Outcomes and Mental Health Don't Forget Abo ut Internal Theft Calculating ROI

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LOSSPREVENTIO NMEDIA .COM LOSSPREVENTIO NMEDIA .COM

360 Can RetaTilHE STATEDegreeThe Problem of Organized Retail Crim e ProObFlemOVERSTA Surviv e L in O S S T E P D R R America’s Cities?EVEN TIO So N:M lvin ISUNDERSTOO g O D? 2 02 5 Asset Protection | Profit Enhancem ent

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With Rapidly Threat of Retai Rising Rates of Crime, the lers Fleeing Big Cities Looms Spring 2023 Winte | V22.3 r 2025 | v24.1

Insights

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LOSSPREVENTIO

THE STATE OF LOSS 360 DEGREE PROBLE PREVENTION: 2025 M SOLVING WHOLE FOODS MARKET IMPLEMENTS AN INNOVATIVE COMMU NITY APPROACH TO ASSET PROTEC TION

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Winter 2023 | V22.1 losspreventionme dia.com

V24.1 V22.3

Insights NRF PROTECT RILA Bringing AP Leaders Together Getting to Know ASIS and GSX Research on the Researchers

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Whole Food Implements an s Market Innov Community Approative ac to Asset Protectio h n

Cannabis Loss Prevention Homelessness and Retail Pre-Employment Interviewing Tip s Trauma-Informed Leadership Plus: Swimming with Sharks

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Fall 2023 | V22.6 losspreventionm edia.com

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INNOVAT SPECIAL EDION ITION

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THAT'S A WRAP

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Jacque Brittain, LPC Editorial Director

Brittain is the editorial director for LP Magazine. Prior to joining the magazine, he was director of learning design and certification for Learn It Solutions, where he helped coordinate and write the online coursework for the Loss Prevention Foundation’s LPC and LPQ certifications. Earlier in his career, Brittain was vice president of operations for one of the largest executive recruiting firms in the LP industry. He can be reached at JacB@LossPreventionMedia.com.

Artificial Intelligence: Beware of the Tail I

nnovation and flexibility have always been among our greatest allies in LP. Overcoming the fear of change and embracing the power of innovation is a common battle cry among industry leadership. This is as true today as it ever was, with the tools of technology at the touch of our fingertips. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be careful—in fact, it is our professional responsibility to exercise caution as we explore new tech.

With most of what we do focused on theft and deception, there is an imperative to remain cautious. In LP, we live in a world where character can be questioned and rules bent by those looking for an advantage. We must be careful with the way we approach what we do and where we focus our attention: staring into the teeth of the dragon while always remaining cautious of the damage that can be done by the tail of the beast. And while not every decision is that dramatic, there is a need for balance, weighing every decision with sound judgment and common sense.

While AI holds great promise for enhancing efficiency and innovation, every tool is still only as good as the person using it.

The Rise of AI

Some innovations are transformative, changing the very nature of the way we live, work, and even interact with one another. AI is clearly on that path, shaping a new world that feeds on the power of information.

Enhancing productivity, AI is designed to improve human capabilities—automating complex tasks, driving innovation, and supporting smarter decision-making.

A sensational tool, it can perform repetitive, timeconsuming, or complex tasks in the blink of an eye. It can analyze vast data sets far faster than humans, identifying patterns and insights that improve operational efficiency.

It can write a report or a term paper, or simulate an image or video. It can “learn” based on the information made available, even modeling reasoning and perception. With seemingly endless possibilities, AI is truly changing the world we live in—and we are only scratching the surface of what’s yet to come.

Loss Prevention Magazine

Summer 2026

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Risks and Rewards

AI is truly a game changer—but not one without risks.

We’ve all heard the horror stories of machines rising and leaving humanity in the dust—which may be the plot of an entertaining weekend movie, but not one likely rooted in reality. We can point to more realistic concerns like job replacement, security risks, and privacy issues. These arguments may be legitimate, but AI can also open doors to new jobs, new opportunities, and better controls.

Perhaps the greater concern lies in more common usages, and it’s claiming more victims every day.

While AI holds great promise for enhancing efficiency and innovation, every tool is still only as good as the person using it. Unfortunately, we regularly see those who attempt to use AI to do the work for them. From high school term papers to articles authored under false pretenses, we have frequently seen AI used as a crutch rather than as a tool to support critical thinking and creativity. Whether through laziness, complacency, or simple distraction, we risk painting a false perception that misrepresents who we are and what we stand for. Of course, ethical lines can be crossed. False or fabricated narratives can replace true perspectives. Perhaps more importantly, however, the human side of creative thought can be lost in the process, removing the originality and imagination that inspires something more.

Artificial intelligence is a tremendous innovation with endless opportunities. But history and experience have often taught us to temper the many advantages of new technology and innovation with the potential downfalls to get the most benefit out of the ongoing development of the tool—while keeping in mind that not every shortcoming will be obvious. Awareness is the first step, but we can’t stop there. We can’t be so focused on the head of the dragon that we lose sight of the power of its tail. Don’t be blindsided. Don’t be fooled by bad habits and false narratives. Sometimes it can hit you when and where you’re not looking. l

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