Security Article
John Tabor
Corporate Security Director
National Retail Systems, Inc.
In my former position as loss prevention executive for a major retailer, an important responsibility was designing security systems for store locations. My focus was always on the front of the store. I had a camera on each register, a camera on the entrance, several on the exit and one on the head cashiers station. I installed EAS systems and POS exception reporting equipment. Tens of thousands of dollars would be spent protecting my front end from thieves looking for any opportunity to pilfer the store.
Looking back, I believe I spent too much money and time in my attempt to thwart thieves that enter stores as legitimate shoppers. An attentive, well-staffed storefront can provide nearly all of the layers of protection needed. In contrast, my receiving area in those days had one camera on the receiving door. That's it. I now know that was a mistake. Let me share with you why.
As security director for one of the nation's largest providers of retail logistics services and a member of the Board of Directors for the International Cargo Security Council, I see the true scope of retail cargo crime. Industry estimates put the total loss from cargo theft over $30 billion annually. That's billion with a "b".
The truth is a lot of cargo theft is taking place in the rear of your stores. The thieves know the driver must get out of the tractor and knock on a receiving door. They force the driver to give up the load. Nine times out of 10 rear receiving areas are poorly lit and little camera coverage, making them ideal locations for hijacking.
Stockrooms are typically understaffed and poorly supervised. I remember my days as a door guard in my first job in the industry. When the delivery truck came I was to stand at the back door and make sure nothing was taken. I quickly found out there were several problems with this assignment. I got there after the seal was opened. The driver broke the seal, not management, thus eliminating our chance to make sure the load was intact upon delivery. I was not instructed to perform piece counts as the merchandise entered the building. If my LP boss was not there, I was under operations direct supervision. If they told me to go to the front end, that's where I went.
Every item you fear disappearing from your storefront is brought in through the back. I now have a team of investigators that do covert surveillance on my drivers as well as "ride alongs" to review retail receiving areas. I must report not much has changed from 17 years ago when I stood guarding a receiving door. It seems the more things change, the more they remain the same.
In most large value thefts occurring at stores, there are two key components - a store employee and a driver. The employee allows access to the goods, the driver has the means to transport the stolen freight unnoticed. One key tool in combating this problem is the strict rotation of drivers through various delivery routes. This will ensure that the driver and store employee never have time in advance to set up a potential heist.
You should try to implement a procedure that the driver calls into his dispatcher and then his dispatcher contacts the store to notify them of his/her arrival. This will allow for an extra set of eyes while the driver makes his way in with the paperwork. Do not allow drivers to break seals no matter what the weather or circumstance, or to remain unattended in the receiving area. An unattended driver can steal thousands of dollars in merchandise in less than 60 seconds. We routinely see managers checking off a manifest sheet while the driver yells off carton counts. Do you expect the driver to tell you about the 2 cartons of iPods he just stole?
Implementing these simple changes in your receiving area does not require huge resources. It's low hanging fruit that can make a big difference. Beyond the receiving area, security gets more complicated. Luckily, we have technology that can help us.
For years now, trucking companies have been able to tell you where the tractor that is pulling your merchandise is at any given time. That information proved useful in making sure that just in time shipments were in fact just in time. However this technology far to many times proved useless in the event of an in transit theft or hijacking for many reasons. The first thing a thief will do is attempt to disable the GPS unit, which he has learned how to do already in seconds. Furthermore, many thefts occur after the tractor is disconnected from the trailer and another power unit is attached to make sure that no other tracking devices can possibly be used.
When this happened your freight was lost - until we got tracking for our trailers. These systems, made by Terion, Qualcomm and other manufactures, give us the ability to track a trailers location without a tractor attached to it. Although far from commonplace in the industry as a whole, many carriers are outfitting their entire fleets with this technology. Ask your service provider about it. At NRS, we have recovered every trailer reported stolen that was equipped with this technology.
Even when you have everything in place, you still will encounter problems. There will always be thieves. Thieves always come up with new ways to thwart technology and technology always has some percentage of failure. When this occurs, your relationships with law enforcement around the country will be your last chance for a successful recovery.
The following are two narratives of cases that were forwarded to me by my good friend Lieutenant John Antillion of the California Highway Patrol. For several years John served as the Sergeant of the California Theft Interdiction Program. This group is compiled of officers from several agencies whose only task is investigating cargo crimes.
Dear John,
We have had several investigations where the use of GPS technology was a
tremendous benefit. Here are two examples:
1. Investigators located a stolen tractor and loaded trailer (designer
clothing) in the city of Los Angeles. Investigators determined it was
equipped with GPS technology. The system afforded investigators the
ability to track the vehicles via the Internet. The system utilized
mapping software that utilized satellite photos and traditional street
maps. After watching the stolen vehicles for several hours, the
suspects returned and drove them from the area. The suspect in the
truck was assisted by additional suspects in a chase vehicle. The sole
purpose of the chase vehicle was to detect the presence of law
enforcement. Investigators, not wanting to be detected, trailed the
stolen vehicles for several blocks. They eventually lost sight of the
vehicles. The GPS system led investigators to a commercial complex in
the East Los Angeles Area. Unsure where the suspects were in the
complex, the satellite photo feature of the system was used. The
satellite photo helped investigators determine where the vehicles were
parked. This afforded investigators the opportunity to formulate a plan
to take the suspects into custody. Investigators executed the plan and
it worked flawlessly. Again, several suspects were arrested and the
stolen vehicles were recovered. The stolen cargo was also recovered.
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