Loss Prevention Guide for Retail Businesses (Wiley Small Business Edition)

It's no secret that most small retail businesses don't have the budgets to take elaborate and expensive security measures against break-ins, robberies, shoplifting, employee theft, and civil unrest. Criminals know it as well as you do—and they know how to take advantage of weaknesses you may not even notice until it's too late. But there are many inexpensive steps you can take to tighten in-store security; reduce the risk of harm to yourself, your customers, and your employees; improve your store's physical security; detect fraud and theft, and generally make it tougher for criminals to take advantage of you. In this invaluable guide, retail security expert Rudolph Kimiecik examines a broad range of external and internal security problems and prescribes affordable, sustainable solutions that will make a real difference in the safety, security, and profitability of your business. From procedures for opening and closing your store, making bank deposits, and dealing with emergencies, to selecting alarm and lock systems, key control, and deterrent lighting, Kimiecik helps you pinpoint the areas in which you are most vulnerable and shore them up with a judicious mixture of common sense, procedural control, and reasonable expenditure. Copious illustrations and figures help you familiarize yourself with security hardware, and unbiased evaluations make it easier to select the products that are right for your business. End-of-chapter checklists and sample forms enable you to organize your approach to each security issue. Kimiecik also provides helpful guidelines on how to spot, detain, interview, and arrest suspected shoplifters; evaluate checks and credit cards; identify counterfeit currency; thwart con artists; and detect fraud of every stripe. An important section on armed robbery shows you steps you can take to minimize your risk of robbery, how to behave while a robbery is in progress, and what to do once the robber has fled. A similar section covers burglaries. An entire chapter on internal loss prevention provides valuable tips on hiring trustworthy employees, preventing and detecting employee theft, and training staff members to be part of your security effort. Written in a clear, jargon-free style and organized for easy reference, Loss Prevention Guide for Retail Businesses speaks directly to you, the small business owner or manager, in language you understand. It shows you how to identify and take direct control of your store's security problems and keep your business safe, secure, and profitable. "I can't afford a corporate security staff! What can I do to protect my business?" If you've ever heard yourself saying these words . . . if you just can't afford all the full-blown protective services that alarm companies, locksmiths, and security guard agencies have to offer . . . if you're worried that shoplifters, con artists, burglars, and dishonest employees know more about in-store security than you do, you need this book. Retail security expert Rudolph C. Kimiecik gives you clear, unbiased, extremely practical advice on the entire spectrum of retail security issues: personal safety, physical security, and internal and external loss. He shows you how to identify your vulnerabilities, implement procedures to reduce risk, detect theft and fraud, and make your business a less attractive target for criminals. Unbiased evaluations of security hardware help you select the products that are right for your business End-of-chapter checklists and sample forms enable you to organize your approach to each security issue Helpful guidelines show you how to spot, detain, interview, and arrest suspected shoplifters; evaluate checks and credit cards; identify counterfeit currency; thwart con artists; detect fraud of every stripe; and minimize your risk of armed robbery An entire chapter on internal loss prevention provides valuable tips on hiring trustworthy employees, preventing and detecting employee theft, and training staff members to be part of your security effort