Loss Prevention in Spain

[Crime Doctor]

Well, I just returned from a well-deserved vacation in Spain. As usual, while traveling abroad I always make an attempt to contact local businesses and law enforcement to learn about their crime problems.

It seems that Spain has a serious theft problem in its larger cities. Larger stores are using sporadic attempts at EAS and some video surveillance as deterrents but focus on highly visible uniformed security officers. The good news is that Spain has a positive attitude toward uniformed security officers. It is a more respected career and therefore attracts better-qualified applicants with a longer retention periods. The uniformed officers look good and appear very alert while patrolling the store. I wasn’t able to pin down a knowledgeable security director for an in depth review (I was on vacation).

On the surface I could see a general reliance on guard service vs. physical inventory controls. The practice was to catch and release shoplifters at the store level and ban them from the store rather than call the police. I left some business cards behind with my e-mail address and will report later on what I found out about Spanish loss prevention efforts.

[LPL]

Originally posted by Crime Doctor
Well, I just returned from a well-deserved vacation in Spain. As usual, while traveling abroad I always make an attempt to contact local businesses and law enforcement to learn about their crime problems.

It seems that Spain has a serious theft problem in its larger cities. Larger stores are using sporadic attempts at EAS and some video surveillance as deterrents but focus on highly visible uniformed security officers. The good news is that Spain has a positive attitude toward uniformed security officers. It is a more respected career and therefore attracts better-qualified applicants with a longer retention periods. The uniformed officers look good and appear very alert while patrolling the store. I wasn?t able to pin down a knowledgeable security director for an in depth review (I was on vacation).

On the surface I could see a general reliance on guard service vs. physical inventory controls. The practice was to catch and release shoplifters at the store level and ban them from the store rather than call the police. I left some business cards behind with my e-mail address and will report later on what I found out about Spanish loss prevention efforts.

It is always great to talk with and learn about how other countries focus their loss prevention efforts. Chris, hopefully you will be contacted and can provide some more insight here.