Real world investigations!
Introducing …LP Case Studies
Loss Prevention case studies are a collection of “real-world” investigations, incidents, and “situations” that LP & AP professionals face on a daily basis. Case studies are really the “proof of work” that comes from a busy and productive LP department.
Case studies are also a great way to understand and learn more about the “day-to-day” responsibilities of a Loss Prevention professional. Anyone who’s worked in the industry for a few years has a handful of really unique and interesting stories they have experienced throughout their AP/LP career, and LP Interns can learn a ton of valuble insights from hearing about those stories.
Before we get to the actual cases studies, it’s important that we’re all on the same page…and that starts with getting organized.
Here’s what I mean…
The Loss Prevention work day is a fast-paced environment…and if you don’t keep everything organized and structured, it could cost you a successful outcome.
Every successful Loss prevention team uses a case management system to keep all of their data structured and organized. Even with a great case management tool, in my humble opinion,every worthy investigation needs a unique moniker (aka: code name) so that you can keep track of your investigations and reference a particular case with your team members.
For example, if you are investigating multiple cases of gift card tampering and all of your suspects are asian males, it may be difficult to track the different suspects and crews without assigning them a moniker. “Hey Kolby…how many gift cards did that crew tamper with last week?” “Which crew, boss…?…we had four different crews active last week!”
See what I mean?
Even the most notorious criminals have a moniker associated with their cases.
Like the scary dudes in the photo below (YIKES!) :
Zodiak Killer
The Night Stalker
The Cannibal
BTK Killer
We won’t be tracking serial killers any time soon, but…since I’m a big believer in assigning monikers to our different investigations, every case study that’s highlighted here will have a unique moniker asigned to it for easy reference.
Without further ado…let’s get started!
Operation “Felony Stupid”
Let’s be real…most crooks aren’t very smart…which is exactly why they get caught, right?
One day my co-worker and I were sitting in a hot, stuffy courtroom in Pomona, Ca. waiting to testify against a repeat offender we arrested a few weeks prior. As we were waiting, we were listening to the case in front of the judge, which involved two armed robbery suspects and a bank employee who testifying on the witness stand. As the District Attorney was setting up the identification of the two suspects, who were sitting next to the Public Defender wearing orange jumpsuits, the DA asked his witness, “So…can you identify the two suspects who entered the bank on the day in question?”
“Yes I can. They are seated at the defense table wearing orange overalls”, she stated.
Just then…one of the robbery suspects jumped up from his chair and shouted, “You couldn’t see us b*tch…we was wearing masks!”
I’ll leave this right here.
Priceless!