A wide range of Canadian media outlets have reported an uptick in retail theft over the past year. What’s even more concerning is that there have been recent reports suggesting organized crime could be at play.

So, what are retailers doing to combat rising retail crime? Some have gone the route of ramping up loss prevention measures in a big way , placing more merchandise under lock and key, requiring customers to scan receipts when exiting, AI/technology to call staff attention to potential issues, and more. Some of these retailers have reported seeing a reduction in retail theft losses.

While a harder-line approach to loss prevention may see theft numbers decline, a retailer must also balance those measures against customer experience and how degraded customer experiences can impact profit and brand loyalty.

Another key consideration is the role employee theft (internal theft) contributes to a retailer’s losses. Where organized crime is concerned, a retailer’s employees can be involved in these crime rings. The Retail Industry Council states employee theft is costing Canadian retailers more than 3-billion dollars annually. WorldMetrics.org estimates that employee theft is responsible for approximately 34.5% of retail theft in Canada .

These are heavy numbers and especially impactful for smaller retailers.

This does present an opportunity for retailers, because a sizeable portion of losses may be mitigated through strengthening their hiring practices.

You can add three background checks to your hiring process that will make a considerable difference in the quality of the people you trust with your merchandise.

1.  Criminal record checks will tell you if there have been past convictions of crimes.
2.  References and Verification can uncover past issues in previous employment roles, including theft.
3.  Social media background checks can reveal indicators of theft, violence, drug use, etc., that could indicate that the individual may not be the right fit for your organization. Social media can also provide good insights on young candidates who don’t have an adult criminal record.

The above three background checks greatly mitigate the probability of hiring someone with a history that may make them a higher risk for retail theft.

On this front, registering for access to a background check platform like Triton gives you online 24-7 access to criminal record checks, credit checks, social media checks and another 12+ background checks that will help you evaluate candidates.

Retail theft will never disappear. Criminals will always be stepping up their game and look for cracks in your infrastructure to creep in. Keeping current with technology, trends and having the right tools in place will result in reduced theft overall.

For more information on this topic please visit www.tritoncanada.ca.