The principles of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) can be applied to shoplifting prevention. Remember that a shoplifter's job is made much easier with privacy and hidden spots in your store. You can take away both these things by making sure there are good "sight lines" in your store. Click here to see how CPTED applies to robbery prevention.
When it comes to preventing shoplifting, the ideas are pretty much the same.
- Keep the shelves low enough that your employees can see over them
- Eliminate hidden corners of your store, either through redesign, lights, or mirrors
- Elevate the sales counter area to increase employees' ability to see the store
|
You can also influence people's opportunities to steal by making it harder for them to get their hands on attractive and valuable things without you seeing them.
- Keep the expensive goods in the back of the store
- Set up barriers to keep people out of certain areas. (Look at a picture of this.)
|
