Best Retail Organizations Security in California

Our security guards improve the safety of your Shopping Center and safeguard the commercial value of the site. Providing a safe environment for your customers and employees is a necessity in these times.

Retail

• Years of experience working with the public at retail centers.
• Able to address the many variables that present themselves.
• Assisting in providing a clean and safe shopping experience for your tenants and their customers.
• Being visible with signage and foot patrols at your site.
• Addressing and deterring criminal activity.
• Designing and installation of camera systems (CCTV), intrusion systems and fire alarms.
• Emailing notification of any incidences or maintenance issues, allowing you the opportunity to remedy situations quickly.
• Ensure that customers use the facilities safely

Guard Procedures

The guards are assigned to the stores strictly as a deterrent. No guard may ever touch or handle a customer unless protecting themselves or employees of the store against bodily harm. Some items to discuss with the managers of the store before commencing the contract:

Responsibility

There needs to be one dedicated person who designs, implements and monitors Loss Prevention policy and procedures on behalf of the company. This person should be the contact point for both stores and law enforcement. This person should be a good networker and be able to liaise with other retailers in order to help identify new threats and trends. Whoever fills this role should be able to design and deliver Loss Prevention training to the company’s management and staff.

Awareness

Companies must never assume that all the people working for them fully understand what is required to protect the company from losses. Different people can have very different understandings of how they can deal with theft issues in retail. Many people do not understand the legal framework they must work within. Many legal cases result from staff members working off false assumptions. Educating work colleagues on best practice is vital, making sure they understand the threats to the business and how they should react. It must also be explained that internal factors can be just as important as external when taking losses into consideration. Bad processes, poor paperwork, lack of training and dishonest employees can cause major losses for retail businesses. Ongoing training highlighting actual cases the company has previously dealt with, a concise LP document outlining company policy and a method of communicating information within the business are all ways of improving awareness.

Compliance

Unannounced spot-checks and regular Loss Prevention Audits will ensure compliance. There has to be pre-agreed consequences if stores are not following through on company Loss Prevention policies. The importance of a robust internal audit system can never be over emphasised.

Detection

No matter how good your Loss Prevention system is there will always be some losses. Use tools such as CCTV, cycle counts and data mining so these losses can be spotted quickly and action taken. The head of loss Prevention should regularly liaise with the company Human Resources and Customer Services Departments to make sure any suspicious activity is flagged early on.

Investigation

All investigations should be carried out by a qualified and experienced person. Too many mistakes have been made by unskilled people carrying out investigations into matters they do not fully understand. During an investigation a skilled investigator can make good use of existing company resources such as the Human Resources department, the Audit Department and CCTV. An open mind must always be kept as many perceived thefts can result from simple mistakes, system errors or poor paperwork.

Resolution

After an investigation is completed there has to be a resolution process in place. How did the loss happen? Was it a simple error? Was it theft? Have any lessons been learned? Can procedures be tightened up? If it was a theft have you informed all your stores to watch for similar? Has law enforcement been involved? Has all your evidence been collated and preserved? Some theft will always happen but it’s the way a company reacts to such losses that separates the good companies from the great companies. Great companies learn from such losses they adapt, refocus and retrain.

Delivery Theft

If a business does not tightly control its delivery and shipping procedures it is leaving itself wide open to major losses. Have good CCTV in the delivery area. A messy warehouse is a warehouse where stock loss will happen. Sometimes a warehouse or stockroom area can be made look disorganized deliberately to hide theft by staff within the area. Do regular spot checks on both deliveries and shipments going out. Restrict entry to the warehouse area. Its best practices not to allow staff use the back door as an entry/ exit point. If possible, have a designated dispatch and goods inwards areas under cameras where goods going in and out can be spot checked later by CCTV. Have proper procedures in place for receiving and shipping goods.

Paint

Dealing with a Theft Situation

In this section we will give an overview of the basics involved in dealing with a shoplifter. Unfortunately, no two cases are ever the same but retailers must understand the constraints they are working within. Firstly, the business must decide whether shop staff members are allowed deal with shoplifting situations. I would advise that only members of management and security personnel are allowed deal with shoplifters. If staff members are allowed approach shoplifters there will be many mistakes which will cost the business dearly in court. There is also the issue of reputational damage to the company. Secondly allowing staff to approach shoplifters could result in injury to the staff member which could also prove costly apart from the fact that the business has a duty of care to their employees.

It is important that the retailer understands what they must see before they make the decision to approach a suspected shoplifter. The following is a guide to what must be observed.

• Selection of the goods must be seen
• Concealment of the goods
• Never lose sight of the goods. Be careful the goods are not dropped!
• The suspect must pass all points of payment
• The suspect must exit the store with the goods before being approached
• Never act on third party information!
IF IN DOUBT LET IT OUT!

A retailer must make the decision to approach a suspected shoplifter knowing the financial and reputational cost of a false arrest to the business. It is a good idea to have the GGS Crime Prevention do a training session on this with your retail team.

• A wide variety of uniforms to meet every client’s unique and specific needs
• A mobile command center backed up by a 24/7 dispatch center

The Use of Manned Security

Many retail operators use Got Guard security guards in stores. Businesses should review the role of security guards and see if they can be put to better use. The days of a security guard staring out a front door are long gone. The security guard is the first person a customer sees when entering a store and they are usually the last person the customer sees when leaving. The deportment of the security guard sets the tone for that store.

Firstly, the function of the security guard should be analyzed. Their primary role should be prevention. A retailer needs a well presented, alert, customer focused security guard. A good knowledge of the store and its stock is essential as the security person will be many customers first point of contact if they are looking to find something in the store. Retailers should insist on having a set team of security personnel who are familiar with the business and its requirements. The person should be familiar with the locality and the retailer’s business requirements. Speak to your security guard! Get feedback on issues that the security guard notices. There should be a log in the store where issues and incidents are recorded.

The security guard should be taken on a walk of the store on their first day with particular attention being given to showing them fire exits, assembly points, first aid kits, stock rooms and the CCTV system if the guard is allowed use it. The business should get the security guard to do a quick Risk Assessment checklist each morning. This can be a simple check of fire exits, walking the floor looking for trip hazards, checking the delivery area for discarded packaging etc... This checklist should be held on file. The security guard should be able to monitor the store for Health and Safety issues such as spills, hangers on the floor and other potential hazards.

The security guard should be taken on a walk of the store on their first day with particular attention being given to showing them fire exits, assembly points, first aid kits, stock rooms and the CCTV system if the guard is allowed use it. The business should get the security guard to do a quick Risk Assessment checklist each morning. This can be a simple check of fire exits, walking the floor looking for trip hazards, checking the delivery area for discarded packaging etc... This checklist should be held on file. The security guard should be able to monitor the store for Health and Safety issues such as spills, hangers on the floor and other potential hazards.

The retailer must clearly explain their requirements to the security company. If the security guard is given proper direction, they can be a major asset for the business.

Gotguard Security Business Ethics

Gotguard Security is committed to the highest standards of business ethics and corporate compliance. It is GGS policy to deal only with organizations whose ethical standards are similar to our own, as stated.

GOTGUARD SECURITY SERVICES

>24-Hour Security Guard / Patrol Service
>Armed Security Officers
>Unarmed Security Officers
>Uniformed Security Officers

Our safety services include fire prevention and medical, but our security officers perform a variety of additional safety services.