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 The
Brick trains staff to fight crime
Retail theft has become increasingly brazen but The Brick has built a successful
crime-fighting program that starts with staff. When The Brick first started
holding outdoor tent sale events the biggest security concern was overnight
theft. "Now they worry about theft in broad daylight. Someone always has to be
out there, guarding it, because if you don't, people will drive up and steal a
bed," says Heather Murray, vice-president, internal audit and loss prevention
for The Brick Group. "I would say that it is more brazen than it ever was." Over
26 years in the business Murray has worked to bring losses due to theft at the
national furniture retailer down to 0.05 per cent of sales. The retail industry
average is closer to 1.26 per cent of sales, according to data from the Retail
Council of Canada. The most important component is customer service, says
Murray. Sales associates are told to never chase a suspect. Instead, they are
trained to greet customers personally, and in the event that something does go
wrong, to try to remember details that will make them a good witness. Reporting
every incident - internally or to police - is part of The Brick's crime-fighting
strategy. The Brick has had a Crime Busters program since 1984, launched by
Murray's predecessor in the job, Tom Dunlop, a former RCMP Sergeant in
commercial crime and a founding member of Edmonton Crime Stoppers. The retailer
has an internal anonymous hotline for employees to report suspicious activity
among co-workers. Merchandising is another important component when it comes to
reducing theft. In 2007, Murray launched an internal newspaper called Brick
Busters that reports on incidents of fraud and theft. It also describes
incidents in which staff stopped or prevented losses. It's an important coaching
device, Murray says. It helped staff in a Montreal store recognize a gift-card
fraud in progress. A fraudster was attempting to make a purchase using gift
cards that had been bought with a stolen credit card in Alberta.
thestar.com
Hundreds of Manitobans accounts drained last weekend - Debit card skimming
device found The debit card scam and spending blitz by fraudsters
happened in the late hours Saturday night, and early morning hours Sunday.
Winnipeg Police are investigating the card skimming incident. globalnews.ca
Canada lags 2 or 3 years behind omni-channel retailing
In Canada, big retailers like Target aren't being nearly as aggressive in their
collective shift to offer sales through multiple channels. The Canadian arm of
the U.S. department store didn't launch e-commerce sales here when it arrived in
early 2013 and Target Canada still doesn't sell online. There's a reason for
that of course: Target knows it will still be years before online shopping truly
becomes mass market in Canada, according to experts. "Canadian retailers will,
in our view, enjoy two or three years of 'lag time' to make the transformation
to omni-channel," analysts at Desjardins Securities said in a research note this
week. While Canadian retailers have largely eschewed online efforts (until
recently), U.S.-based rivals have rushed to fill the void. Amazon has leapt to
the head of the pack in online sales in Canada, according to BMO Capital
Markets. BMO estimates Amazon.ca took in about $1.5 billion in sales last year,
a "significantly higher" sum compared to chief rivals Walmart.ca, Costco.ca,
BestBuy.ca and HomeDepot.ca - all U.S. companies.
globalnews.ca
Ikea to open string of smaller stores across Canada
Two Calgary Police Service constables are in charge of a program to reduce
organized retail crime They manage an online network for retailers and police, called Retail C.O.P.
(Cameras on Patrol), a web-based interactive program where photographs and video
surveillance images of criminals, suspected criminals and criminal activity can
be posted to further police investigations. Now pictures of shoplifters can be
posted to Retail C.O.P., even after a single incident. That makes it easier to
identify people who aren't actually being caught for the first time, but are in
fact chronic shoplifters or people who might be working for an organized retail
crime group. "We are able to share information with the retail community within
minutes of obtaining it, preventing crimes occurring. When crimes do occur, we
assist in the identification process, as many of the offenders are known to us,"
says Critchley. Critchley and Sampson also initiate and implement offender
management strategies, working with probation authorities, crown attorneys and
internal and external specialty police units in an effort to prevent habitual
shoplifters from reoffending.
ourwindsor.ca
Toronto cops shoot man cutting his own throat and wrists at Scarborough mall
A
knife-wielding man who was cutting himself was shot during a confrontation with
police at a busy Scarborough mall Thursday. Police responded to Agincourt Mall,
in the north-east end of the city, around 4:45 p.m. after receiving a 911 call
about a man who was cutting himself with "a large knife," police said. "We
received a call for man wielding a large knife, cutting his own throat and
wrists at rear of the mall," Const. David Hopkinson said. "Officers responded
and began speaking to the man and then shots were fired. "We can't comment on
what prompted the gunfire." The shooting unfolded behind the WalMart near the
loading docks. Several area residents reportedly heard up to three gunshots. The
victim, believed to be a man in his 40s, was rushed to hospital with
life-threatening injuries.
canoe.ca
Montreal Man sentenced to Over Five Years in Jail on elaborate Credit Card
Fraud
A 24-year-old Montreal man with no prior record will spend over five
years in jail after pleading guilty in an elaborate credit card scam. Nour-El-Dean
Mouneimneh is already serving a 4.5 year sentence after pleading guilty to
several fraud charges in May. His 17-page record consists only of charges
related to this elaborate credit card scam, which was ongoing between November
2013 and March 2014. Mouneimneh and another man obtained stolen credit card
information, and then uploaded that information to blank cards. They used the
blank cards to buy prepaid credit cards, gift cards, and merchandise from
businesses all over Newfoundland, as well as in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
On Thursday, Mouneimneh pleaded guilty to more related charges in the credit
scam, as well as to participating in a June riot at HMP which resulted in
thousands of dollars of damage to one of the units. He also admitted to uttering
threats towards a Correctional Officer. For those offenses, he was sentenced to
an additional 13 months in jail. Mouneimneh has been ordered to pay over $2,000
restitution to Sobey's in Corner Brook, and over $4,000 to FIA credit card
services, on top of the $17,000 in fines he was ordered to pay back in May.
torontotelegraph.com
Attempted robbery at south Calgary jewellery store thwarted by attentive staff,
off-duty Alberta Sheriff
Windsor Police arrest shoplifter with assistance from alert citizen
Winnipeg Police seek suspect after armed convenience store robbery
Ontario duo charged with theft after tweeting selfies with stolen liquor |
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