Retail theft and organized retail crime are escalating across the nation’s largest cities, but law enforcement, prosecutors and the retail community are struggling to develop cohesive protocols for ensuring consequences and deterring repeat offenders.
Part of the issue stems from under-reporting, experts have said, noting that many retailers have come to expect and accept some level of shoplifting activity in their stores and even regard it as a cost of doing business. In many cases, the expense associated with pursuing punitive action against an offender is greater than the initial loss. And with minimal consequences for minor offenses, the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze.
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New technology aims to streamline the process for pursuing justice, though. Alto is a software-based service that compiles data from retail and shares it with stakeholders to create a “case in a box,” the company’s CEO, Christian Lopez, told Sourcing Journal.
The software aggregates insights from retailers’ in-store security systems, like video cameras and alarms, sharing the data with law enforcement and prosecutors to help them compile a case and pursue a conviction. The technology also tracks regional crime trends and allows retailers to identify and report repeat offenders, building a case over time.
“There’s a systemic inefficiency—the cost of generating the consequence sometimes is higher than the actual cost of the stolen good,” Lopez said. “But when the perception of the consequence doesn’t exist, what actually happens is that people think that they can continue to [steal], and there’s no consequences at all.”
Alto provides an end-to-end system for reporting crimes and tracing a case through the court system. Retailers have their own asset protection infrastructure including technology and on-the-ground teams, which can provide invaluable insights, Lopez said. Users like sales associates or store managers can report an incident within two minutes without leaving the sales floor, with all data displayed on a centralized dashboard. The system’s proprietary analytics determine the course of action and which stakeholders to engage.
Alto has developed a comprehensive network of legal professionals across the markets it works in. “We will act as the victim advocates,” he added. “Our attorneys will go to court with all the information that we gather from our software.”
Retail crimes have been historically under-reported because they are de-prioritized in favor of more serious crimes. “It takes a lot of effort to gather evidence, and the [justice] system has limited resources,” Lopez said. “With this technology, we’re adding a resource and helping the system to become more efficient in this area.”
The company refers to its growing network of stakeholders—including over 1,200 law enforcement branches across the U.S., attorneys and loss prevention strategists as the “Alto Alliance.” The service is available in 31 metropolitan areas across the country, as well as in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Spain.
To date, more than 300 retail customers across those markets have signed up for the service, including Walgreens, Target, Whole Foods, Kroger, some Walmart stores in Latin America and Best Buy stores in Mexico. The group is actively working to broaden its reach across U.S. states and retailers and tap into local legal expertise to expand the Alto Alliance.
According to Lopez, Alto’s goal isn’t to put people in jail for minor infractions, but to curb aberrant behavior that has become almost normalized. Creating consequences for retail theft “generates in an immediate deterrence” and lets offenders know that a certain store or retail chain is off limits.
Going after shoplifters on a more consistent basis also helps signal that more extreme behaviors or crimes that could endanger store employees will not be tolerated. That’s important, given the escalation of violence in conjunction with retail crime.
“When we talk about retail crime, people think about the losses big retailers and that doesn’t speak to their conscience,” he said. “However, for 32 percent of the population in the U.S., their first job is in retail. Safety is the biggest issue today—to protect the people that are working, to protect the customers. I think that’s crucial.”
