Author Archives: Joe LaRocca, Senior Asset Protection Advisor

Joe LaRocca

Read more about Joe at the NRF.com website.

You may have already seen NRF’s announcement that the Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Network is now available, at no cost, to every law enforcement agency nationwide via the FBI’s Law Enforcement Online website. It’s an exciting development that has been in the works for months and should allow retailers and law enforcement to work even [...]

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All too often, retailers see harmless situations turn into safety concerns: shoplifting incidents escalating into robberies, sales events into mob scenes, and now unsatisfactory burgers into destruction of property.
According to a Kansas City Star article, police want to know the identity of a woman who trashed a McDonald’s restaurant after complaining about her hamburger and [...]

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Earlier this week, I was interviewed by a reporter from National Public Radio for a segment about “Friendly Fraud” and wardrobing. While the finished segment itself did a nice job providing the retailers’ perspective, the thought that fraud of any kind may be considered “harmless” makes me cringe.
You might be wondering, “What on earth is [...]

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In response to NRF’s safety warning to shoppers earlier this week, an online marketplace lobbyist told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that retailers are simply pursuing organized retail crime legislation “to demonize their online competition.” (This is a ridiculous point, but more on that later.) In addition, this lobbyist attempted to minimize the seriousness of organized [...]

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On Thursday morning the U.S. Congress, House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will hear from federal law enforcement officials regarding organized retail crime investigations. Witnesses from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are scheduled to testify.
Each of these agencies understand [...]

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Last week, a shoplifting suspect in New Mexico named Joe Cabral fled the courtroom after learning retailers and police officials were waiting to testify at his sentencing hearing. Cabral, who has been arrested on shoplifting and burglary-related charges more than twenty times, was scheduled to be sentenced last Monday. As his turn approached, [...]

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Earlier this week, a Wal-Mart employee was fired for chasing a shoplifter in a Florida parking lot. According to the Ocala Star-Banner, the shoplifter placed a pack of golf balls down his pants and ate a deli chicken (you cannot even make this stuff up). When confronted by three employees, the man pulled a knife [...]

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Last week, a woman who claimed she won $1.5 million in the lottery and offered to buy clothes for customers caused a riot inside an Ohio Burlington Coat Factory. According to police officials, when shoppers found out the whole thing was a hoax, angry customers threw merchandise around and looted, leaving the store looking [...]

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On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers to use extreme care when purchasing any products over the Internet that claim to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure the H1N1 influenza virus.  The warning comes after the FDA recently purchased and analyzed several products online, which may pose risks to patients.
This important alert says [...]

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The final results of the National Retail Security Survey were released to industry executives just a few days ago. The quick findings: retail shrinkage averaged 1.51 percent of retail sales in 2008, up from 1.44 percent in 2007. Total merchandise losses increased to $36.3 billion, up from $34.8 billion in 2007.
Instead of walking through all [...]

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