Using Real-World Intelligence Techniques to Counter Organized Retail Crime

Organized Retail Crime (ORC), can be stopped by the right tactical and strategic methodologies combined with other legislative factors to keep the RESELL of stolen goods from being so lucrative. However, for our purposes, we will briefly go through a few techniques, tactics, and procedures (TTPs), which if leveraged correctly can stop these thieves in their tracks. Full disclosure many of the TTP's discussed in this article are being actively utilized by Malwork LLC within their Counter Organized Retail Crime (CORC) solution.

PHASE I: Loss Prevention (LP) or Security Teams have to identify the potential members of the Organized Retail Crime Team (ORCT), this can be done by multiple means but the preferred method is utilizing the LP Team to identify known or active shoplifters; once they are identified, 100% surveillance will be maintained until they are able to put into a Facial Recognition Database. This is what Malwork calls "Targeted Facial Recognition". This will be an ongoing process, that should be done in several stores, and analytics should be pulled and audited with the client LP Team.

PHASE II: Collect Data on shoplifter activities over a 90-day period. This can be done from a starting point of 90 days of researching archived, records on arrests and who they were/are, but primarily video surveillance footage on ORCTs that have successfully hit a store would be of prime interest to intelligence analysts. The ability of analysts to review the event before and after the actual theft is helpful to spot PIOC's (prospective indicators of crime), and begin narrowing the timelines when the ORCTs seem to hit the store. This activity will require a dedicated intelligence analyst, but once the analysis and subsequent findings are completed, this will be incredible intelligence to feed to the LP Teams in order to have the best chance to set up "sting operations" when they have a better than average idea of when they will be coming.

PHASE III: LP Detainment (apprehension) Operations and Irrefutable Evidence; once the data has been collected and analyzed and then disseminated as intelligence to the LP Team(s); then detainment operations can begin taking place. During this Phase LP Teams should utilize Remote Video Monitors as an overwatch, so that target acquisition of the shoplifter can occur more quickly and thus surveillance can be put into motion faster. Loss Prevention teams will do their job as a skilled remote monitoring team will keep an eye out for indicators of modus operandi previously researched in phase II, and ensure that all activities are being properly recorded. Once detainment operations are completed, there should be a high likelihood that the members of the ORCT who were detained can be easily prosecuted due to the intelligence and evidence developed over months by the LP Team and its hired help.

When there is a will there is a way, and when there are highly skilled, and knowledgeable companies out there innovating on national security-based techniques and capabilities, we don't believe these thieves will stand a chance in the long run.