StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions
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StateWays Q www.stateways.com Q March/April 2014 42 vulnerability assessments for any of the state's 77 stores. Three other NHLC law- enforcement offi cers han- dle the investigations of crimes against the stores. Still, said Scott Dunn, NHLC's deputy director, the enforcement division receives re- ports of shoplifting from its stores on a daily basis. "We have even found that some shoplifters will take orders, from a restaurant or bar in New Hampshire or from another state, for what liquor to steal," he said. ALL HANDS ON DECK S hoplifting is very common. According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (shopliftingprevention.org), a nonprofi t organiza- tion, one out of every 11 people has shoplifted. And these shoplifters report being caught an average of only once every 48 times. As with other crimes, said New Hampshire's Dunn, shoplifting can't just be eliminated once and for all. It is more a matter of constantly "deterring, delaying and detecting." "People think that if they put a fence around a piece of property, for instance, they are preventing crime, but what they are really doing is delaying someone if they do try to steal," he explained. The constant deterrence efforts are important, how- ever. "Studies have shown that 60% of all shoplifters re- turn to the stores they've stolen from," said Bill Bregar, president of Loss Prevention Systems (lossprevention- store.com), a consulting fi rm based in Atlanta, GA. He added, "And they bring friends." Shoplifters come in all shapes and sizes, according to Bregar. (His fi rm once caught a shoplifting nun.) Diane Wurdeman, retail operations manager at the Department of Liquor Control (DLC) in Montgomery County, MD, agreed. "We have seen all manner of shoplifters: all ages, all ethnicities, both genders," she said. "And shoplifters try to blend in with the other cus- tomers by how they dress and act," Bregar pointed out. "It could be the rich kid who has money in his pocket, it could be the bored housewife. There really is no profi le. It's not just the scruffy-looking guy." There are, however, different types of shoplifters. Most shoplifters, Bregar said, are "impulse shoplifters." "A lot of the time, they are normal people who give in to temptation. If they are given an opportunity – dim store lighting, high shelving that gives them a feeling of security – they will steal. But studies have shown that most of these shoplifters will not steal if they have been greeted during that visit," Bregar explained. The "amateur shop- lifter" is a little more serious about it. "When they walk in, their intent is probably to steal from you," said Bregar. "They steal for themselves and for family and friends and are not as easily dissuaded as the impulse shoplifter." The third type of shoplifter has gotten a lot more press recently: "the professional shoplifter." "This type is stealing to resell. He views shoplifting as his job," said Bregar. "For this type, getting caught or arrested is an inconvenience." Because of this, interestingly, this type of shoplifter can be dissuaded. "The professional is working on volume," explained Bregar. "He or she might only be getting 10 cents on the dollar for the merchandise. If they see a camera system or an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system, such as from Checkpoint, they may pass on that store because they don't want to be slowed down." Organized retail crime (ORC) is a form of professional shoplifting. Often, said Bregar, while adults run the ORC ring, the people doing the stealing are juveniles. A group may enter a store all at once, overwhelming or distract- ing the staff, and even strip a store of merchandise. Brian Davis, director of national accounts for 3xLogic, a sur- veillance-equipment company, reported that ORC rings have targeted beverage-alcohol retailers in some regions. "In Arizona, California and New Mexico, there have been 'beer runs,' when groups just run in and grab all the beer they can," he said, "while, on the East Coast, the cases have involved snatching cigarettes." The 2013 Organized Retail Crime survey done by the National Retail Federa- tion found that 93.5 percent of all retailers have experi- enced professional or organized retail crime. But for all retailers, including state-run liquor stores, a balance must be struck. "You can't just lock all your products up," pointed out Rich Mellor, senior advisor for asset production for the National Retail Federation (NRF) (nrf.com). "Customers need to touch and feel the products." Experts say that, when customers can't do this, sales plummet. "You lose the whole art of retailing," said Bregar. "Presentation, of a product with a gorgeous bottle is lost when everything is locked up behind the counter." Luckily, however, one of the best ways to deter shop- lifting is also one of the best ways to provide good cus- tomer service. "Making eye contact with people as they walk into the store and greeting them is the classic deter- rence measure," said NRF's Mellor. "Now [the potential The model VSX-2MP-MVD4 camera made by 3xLogic.