Preventing Organized Retail Crime (ORC)

Organized retail crime (or ORC theft) is a major issue throughout the country, and due to the low-risk/high-reward nature of the activity, the popularity of ORC is gaining more traction each year.

According to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey, ORC costs retailers an average of $719,548 for every billion dollars in sales. This isn’t just a few shoplifters putting an undetectable dent in your revenue; this is an organized crime against your business.

Below, LotGuard explores the different methods of ORC theft and top tips for ORC loss prevention tactics.

What are the different methods of Organized Retail Crime Theft

Boosting

This is essential to walking into a store and stealing item(s) without being caught. This can be done in many ways, from pocketing items to walking out the door with a cart full of merchandise with enough confidence in their step so that nobody questions them.

Cargo Theft

Cargo theft is the act of stealing merchandise during all stages of the movement of goods in the supply chain including during transit and out of hours at a warehouse. 

Flash Robbery

Several criminals will enter a store, grab whatever they can carry, and quickly escape to waiting cars just outside the doors.

Top Tips To Prevent ORC Loss Prevention

Background Checks

95% of businesses have suffered from employee theft, and 29% of reported cases lasted more than five years. ORC rings may have a person inside posing as an employee.

Doing background checks before hiring a staff member can be a crucial step in avoiding hiring somebody with a risky background.

Effective Customer Service

Here are a few ways you can improve your customer service while also protecting your business:

• Have your employees approach and engage customers to offer assistance
• Station an employee at the doors to act as a greeter as this will discourage criminals from attempting to walk out with stolen merchandise
• Train your employees on how to spot red flags

The more your employees are aware and can pinpoint unattractive behavior, the more likely you are to catch criminals in the act or deter them altogether.

Restricted Return Policy

A restricted return policy can limit the amount of successful fraudulent returns at your store – this will label your store as less-desirable to ORC crimes.

Surveillance Cameras

An effective pro-active surveillance system can deter would-be criminals from your businesses.

Not only can surveillance cameras deter criminal activity, but they will also detect any organized retail crime happening in your store or parking lots and stop it.

Prevent ORC with LotGuard

Improving the security of retail parking lots plays a vital role in boosting the overall safety of the premises and is the first line of defense for your business.

LotGuard mobile surveillance cameras are designed to detect, mitigate, and report any criminal activity and enhance the security profile of any parking lot.

LotGuard's IR (infrared) cameras capture crystal clear images even in total darkness, allowing a remote operator to highlight any hazards and capture evidential footage of any accidents.

The PTZ cameras deliver full site coverage, and LotGuards can operate regardless of power availability.

We can customize the camera profile of a LotGuard unit to meet your retail parking lot's exact requirements.

This includes IR PTZ cameras, thermal cameras, license plate recognition cameras (LPR), and four-way multisensor cameras, all capable of delivering live and recorded footage through 4G LTE technology.