Insight, Action & Technology

I just wrapped up a week filled with meetings in California and I’m amazed at how many great people work within retail loss prevention. Whether it’s attending the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigator’s meeting in Los Angeles or the NRF Joint Organized Retail Crime Task Force in Northern California, the theme remains consistent: Loss prevention is known for planning, preparing and being ready for What’s Next.

Which leads me to the theme for the 2009 NRF Loss Prevention Conference: “What’s Next? Insight, Action & Technology in Loss Prevention.” We had an incredibly successful conference in Orlando earlier this summer, and we’re already accepting session proposals and nominations for the awards program for next year’s conference in Los Angeles.

Insight
We are officially still in hurricane season and, with the earthquake that shook Southern California just a few months ago (not to mention the fires that struck California last October), it’s a good idea to make sure your team is aware of your crisis management policy.

Next month, 100 LP executives will be meeting in Dallas for the 4th Annual NRF Loss Prevention Senior Executive Summit. The theme for this year’s summit is “Loss Prevention in Today’s Economy.” A Homeland Security Critical Issues and Intelligence Update will kick the day off, followed by roundtable discussions and retail sector breakout sessions. The major issues discussed will be how to handle active shooters, organized retail crime and legislative initiatives under the current economic climate.

Action
To invoke a hockey analogy, NRF and the Coalition Against Retail Crime have achieved a legislative “hat trick” — three bills being introduced in the House and Senate to combat organized retail crime and e-fencing.

H.R. 6491, the Organized Retail Crime Act of 2008, was introduced by Reps. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). That bill would define ORC, make it a federal crime and establish that operation of auction sites could be considered “facilitation” of ORC unless the operator could show specific steps had been taken to ensure goods being sold were not obtained by theft or fraud. It would also require site operators to cooperate with retailers and police, and allow retailers to sue over the sale of stolen merchandise.

H.R. 6713, the E-Fencing Enforcement Act of 2008, was introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. Subcommittee member Artur Davis (D-Ala.) is the lead co-sponsor of the bill, which would require online auction operators to retain information about high-volume sellers and provide that information to “a person with standing” — a retailer that has filed a signed police report or a law enforcement officer in receipt of a valid report.

Last month, Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced S. 3434, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2008. That bill would require enhanced sentencing guidelines for those engaged in ORC activities and require online marketplaces to retain certain information about high-volume sellers.

It would also require physical and online marketplace operators to review the accounts of sellers engaged in possible criminal activity and file suspicious activity reports with the attorney general, as well as require physical and online marketplace operators to suspend the activities of sellers when there is clear and convincing evidence that they are selling illegally-obtained goods.

We are hoping to get another hearing scheduled this month. It may be hard to generate legislative action this late in the year, but we will keep you apprised of any developments.

Technology
Utilizing systems can make your job easier and expand the grasp of a team with limited resources. LERPnet just released an upload tool that will make it much easier for subscribers to enter and share information. If you would like training on the system or more information on how to access the information in the database, contact NRF LERPnet consultant Jim Burger (burgerj@nrf.com) or senior director of loss prevention Angelica Rodriguez (rodrigueza@nrf.com.)