Survey: Shoplifter apprehensions, recovered dollars increase in 2011

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla.—After retailers reported a drop in shoplifter apprehensions and recovered dollars in 2010, major retailers have reportedly bounced back, according to the 24th Annual Retail Theft Survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, a consulting firm specializing in retail security and loss prevention, which is based here.

The survey included 24 large retail companies with 18,518 stores and more than $589 billion in annual retail sales. Those surveyed reported apprehending 1,076,508 shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2011, an increase of 5.8% from 2010, and recovering more than $161 million, an increase of 11.4% from 2010.

The increases in apprehensions and recovered dollars in 2011 were due to "increased focus on apprehensions, enhanced detection strategies, increased theft activity, and better training of staff and LP personnel," Mark Doyle, president of Jack L. Hayes International, told Security Director News.

In the 2010 survey, major retailers reported that their apprehensions were down 3.8% from 2009, and that their more than $148 million in recovered dollars was a 7.3% decrease from 2009. At the time, Doyle told SDN that reductions in loss prevention staffing was the primary reason for the reductions.

Breaking down the 2011 numbers a bit further, shoplifter apprehensions rose 6.0% and dishonest employee apprehensions rose 3.3% from 2010, while the recovery dollars from these apprehensions was up 13.9% for shoplifters and 5.6% for dishonest employees, according to a news release from the company. An additional $37 million was recovered in 2011 from shoplifters where no apprehension was made, up a considerable 13.5% from 2010.

The survey results also revealed that on a per company basis, one in every 36 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2011 (based on more than 2.8 million employees) and that on a per case average, dishonest employees steal 5.9 times the amount stolen by shoplifters ($665.77 vs $113.30).

Shoplifter apprehensions and recovery dollars have increased 8 of the past 10 years, according to the company.