Retail Loss Prevention Specialists

Job purpose

To implement and monitor the procedures and systems that prevent merchandise loss and to investigate internal theft, external theft and vendor fraud, so that stock, assets and the safety of customers and staff are protected.

Skills

• Knowledge of asset protection and security practice — closed-circuit television, alarms, sensor tags and locks, covert surveillance, audit and shortage identification, and apprehension within guidelines — with the legal codes and court procedure governing detention, evidence and testimony. Requires written English for investigation reports, arithmetic for loss figures, and training method to instruct store staff. A high school diploma is the usual qualification, with smaller groups holding an associate's or bachelor's degree, and on-the-job training from a few days to a year.
• Deals regularly with colleagues, managers and the public by telephone, e-mail and in person. Apprehends shoplifters to guidelines, and handles people who are unco-operative, angry or abusive. Trains store personnel in loss prevention, briefs security officers, coordinates with risk management, human resources and operations, works with police on reported crime, and gives evidence in court.
• Investigates suspected theft and fraud from incomplete and contested information, interpreting audit findings, shortages and surveillance data to establish what happened and who is involved, and judging when evidence supports apprehension, police referral or an internal process. Inspects buildings, equipment and access points for risk and recommends means of reducing it. Guidelines govern apprehension and reporting, but each case differs and decisions are frequent.
• Sequences surveillance, audits and compliance checks around investigations in progress, and schedules officers to cover the areas most exposed to loss. Responds to critical incidents such as catastrophic events, violent weather and civil disorder. Works to time pressure and largely sets own priorities within standard operating procedures for loss prevention and risk management.
• Operates and checks security equipment by hand, and works in close proximity to others, including when apprehending suspects.

Responsibilities

• No line management of employees. Directs contract security officers and other loss prevention agents, and carries real responsibility for the health and safety of others, reporting safety concerns and keeping the shop floor safe for customers and staff. Conducts employee background investigations with operational and human resources managers.
• No budget held. The purpose of the role is to reduce property and financial loss: monitors the processes that limit loss, reports stock shortages, and recommends methods of reducing fraud losses and equipment to cut exposure. Spend is decided above the role.
• Responsible for the physical security systems in use and for verifying that cameras, alarms, sensor tags and locks work properly, protecting merchandise and stock against internal and external loss.
• Maintains documentation on security incidents and prepares the written investigation reports on which internal action, police referral and court testimony may rest. Accuracy is essential, as findings concern named individuals and are relied on by managers, police and courts.

Effort required

• Sustained observational and analytical attention: covert surveillance of loading docks and warehouses, watching for procedural deficiency, and reconciling stock and audit data with what surveillance shows. Decisions are frequent and taken under time pressure, with consequences for colleagues, company results and those investigated.
• Handles unpleasant, angry or discourteous people and situations of open conflict, and at times people who are violent or aggressive, including when apprehending suspects. Investigating colleagues, testifying in court and responding to critical incidents demand composure and self-control.
• Time is divided between seated work at monitors and reports and hands-on use of security equipment. Sustained standing, walking or heavy exertion is not recorded.

Working conditions

• Indoor work in an environmentally controlled retail setting, extending to loading docks and warehouses for surveillance, in close proximity to customers and staff. No contaminants, noise or outdoor working are recorded. The significant exposure is psychosocial: conflict, hostility and occasional aggression, and responsibility for others' safety.
• Most incumbents work a regular established schedule, though a minority report an irregular pattern, with some working longer and a quarter fewer hours than a standard week; nothing recorded evidences night or on-call working. Exercises considerable freedom over how the work is done and own priorities, within company procedure and legal limits on detention.