the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) are taking shape. The willingness to have tough discussions about active shooters and crimes in hard times benefits everyone involved in LP activities.

Last month, NRF and ICSC rolled out Organized Retail Crime Training for Mall Security Officers. Kevin McAlister (Limited Brands) and I presented on ORC and Steve Crumrine of General Growth Properties screened the new ORC mall security training video for attendees. Many thanks to Kevin, Nelson Harrah of Gap and the other team members for the content expertise and video clips that made this initiative possible.

The following day NRF, ICSC and retailers met with three law enforcement partners regarding Active Shooters. Lt. John McMahon of the Los Angeles Police Department showcased his work leading officers during a shootout and four-hour standoff with an armed gunman, all the while working closely with private-sector mall security.

Alan Alkire of the Shreveport (La.) Police Department put attendees in the role of first responders and facilitated discussions about victim-witness response behaviors, and Det. Richard Milburn of the Mesa (Ariz.) Police Department helped presenters and attendees alike with the industry jargon so that everyone could benefit from the various experts in the room.

Coming to Washington, D.C.
Later this month, the Loss Prevention Legislative Com¬mittee will join state associations and government relations professionals at the NRF Washington Leadership Conference for the third consecutive year. This year’s team, led by Michael Liberatore of Macy’s Florida and Frank Muscato of Walgreens, will review the successes and challenges the industry experienced in 2007 and 2008 – and the balance of 2008 is full of opportunities to get involved.

Pro-actively meet with the legislators in your area, find out what pro-LP legislative initiatives are being addressed in your state capital and, most important, don’t forget to vote!

The LP conference (June 23-25 in Orlando) will feature sessions for every discipline of loss prevention, with emphasis on workplace violence, organized retail crime and leadership. With the recent shooting incidents, major organized retail crime arrests in Florida and California and leadership moves throughout various sectors of the country, these topics are relevant and top-of-mind for conference attendees.

Something new
We also will be trying a few new things this year. We’ve broken the NRF Investigator’s Network meeting into regional roundtables, allowing for attendees to meet their local colleagues and law enforcement partners. The Fusion Center will facilitate networking with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, and, the Secure Store will showcase interactive and integrated elements of existing technologies used by retail LP teams.

Senior LP executives should plan on joining us for the NRF LP Senior Executive Summit, October 15 in Dallas. The summit will be filled with thought-provoking discussion topics, interactive educational sessions and great networking opportunities.