Introduction

Hey everyone. My name is Josh and I work in a profession that has many names. Some of these names include loss prevention, asset protection, or simply retail security. When someone hears one of these terms, the initial assumption is that someone who works in this field is a "wannabe cop" who has cowboy-like tendencies and wants nothing more than to chase and tackle petty thieves. They assume that this line of work is centered around catching shoplifters. Before I continue any further, let me clear a few things up:

This industry has many different facets and subcategories, but can be broken down into three main categories: external dishonesty, internal dishonesty, and physical security/safety. Dishonesty, whether internal or external, includes theft, fraud, deception, etc. For each of these three categories, there is an incredibly large amount of methods and techniques to minimize the damage they can cause and ultimately... "prevent loss." Loss refers to the money or merchandise a company loses due to theft, fraud, or lawsuits created by liability issues such as safety hazards.

The second myth, that all of us are cowboy adrenaline-junky cop wannabes, is just that: a myth. I will be honest, however. This myth does ring true for a small percentage of those in the field. These people have no business in this line of work, and pose more of a threat and potential liability to the retailer than the dishonest people they are employed to investigate. The truth is that the majority of us are college educated, responsible, and professional. We act with integrity in everything that we do without bias or prejudice. Those of us that chose this career did so because we recognized one simple fact about loss prevention: there is simply more money to be made in the private sector than in public service. The average salary for a regional-level loss prevention manager or investigator is at or near 6 figures. Of course, it depends on the company and the size of the region. The average profile for a regional-level LP manager is a male or female in their early to mid 30's, college educated, with approximately 6-10 years of experience. So let me put this in perspective to clear up the wannabe cop myth: at 30 years old, with a college degree, and 10 years experience, an LP professional can make up to 6 figures. In law enforcement, most departments now require a college degree. At 30 years old, you'd be hard pressed to find someone with 10 years experience. 10 years of experience with a police department in a midsized city will most likely make you a sergeant with a salary of roughly 50 to 60,000 a year. I'd be lying if I said that a lot of us did not, at one point, desire to go into law enforcement. The point I'm trying to make is that the vast majority of the colleagues and peers I've had over the years would be more than qualified and capable not only in mental and physical status, but in moral and ethical character to perform the duties of a police officer. They simply chose a different path.

I have 7 years of experience in this line of work. I've worked for 4 different retailers. I've worked in Cleveland and most of the surrounding suburbs. I've worked in Akron and most of the surrounding suburbs. Over the years, I've accumulated a lot of stories. Some have been funny, others have been terrifying. Some would make you laugh, and yet others might make you sad. Whenever I get into discussions with some of my peers about our various experiences, I'm reminded of more stories and tales that I had forgotten. That's why I'm doing this. Probably more for me than for anyone who might stumble across this and read it.

The purpose of this blog is simply to tell some of my tales and share some of the discussions I've had with people throughout my career. The first few "installments" of this blog might seem kind of random and that's simply because I can't remember the exact chronological order of when certain things occurred. Once I'm caught up and told my stories, it will continue from there as the new stories happen. Please enjoy...

Disclaimer: every name, except my own, has been changed in the telling of the stories to protect the anonymity of those involved. They may be criminals (or "alleged" criminals) but they still deserve some amount of respect.