“The weak economy has pushed consumers to look for better prices.  Organized retail crime groups capitalize on that desperation.”  This quote from Joe Larocca, a Senior Advisor to the National Retail Federation summarizes the fuel for organized retail theft operations.  Shoppers have been conditioned to look for a deal and the thieves steal highly desirable, easily resold items.   Consumers are not actively seeking stolen goods, but the appetite for low prices has spurred demand.  Items most targeted are jeans, batteries, baby formula, pain killers and electronics.

I met with a potential client this past week.  It was a referral from a current client that knows I can help this business with their many in house “issues”.  The manager of the business said that he suspected an employee of stealing and perhaps bringing drugs into the workplace.  When I asked, “What makes you say that?”  He then related that the employee in question changes addresses, moving from friend to friend.  One of those former roommates told him that his employee frequently brought home unpaid merchandise for them all to share.  There were also unexplained cash shortages on the community cash register during the shifts the employee was working. 

I first noticed the unmistakable sound of a mop bucket being pushed across a tile floor.  I glanced over at the shift manager as he rolled the bucket of hot sudsy water toward the doors.  It was mid morning and I was sitting in a regional bagel chain store.  The morning rush was over and the employees were cleaning up, restocking and taking a breath.   The industrious shift manager stopped in the hallway between the entrance doors, withdrew the mop from the sudsy bucket, held it out, and slopped the sudsy water over the tile floor.  He then repeated the procedure all the way down the corridor, the sudsy water splashing in every direction.  At one point he actually tipped the bucket to get even more water on the floor.