With retailers losing 28.3 billion dollars’ worth of merchandise to theft annually, it is little wonder that an estimated 10 million security cameras are deployed in retail stores in the U.S. today. MySecuritySign has launched an investigation about the business of being watched.

Surprising facts:

1. Employees steal the most. 57 percent of retail theft is attributable to employees. Internal theft is more effectively combatted with surveillance than shoplifting, since merchants are often limited in how easily they can catch and prosecute shoplifters.
2. Washington is the state with the most interest in purchasing Video Surveillance Signs. Mississippi has the least interest in purchasing signs.
3. Signs are for customers, not thieves. Surveillance signs are posted to make customers aware that security measures are in place. Renowned Loss Prevention Specialist King Rogers says, “What [a signs system is] really intended to be is a legal defense for the retailer. Thieves don’t believe in signs.”
4. Retailers are fighting back with data sharing software. The digital platform known as LERPnet (Law Enforcement Retail Practitioner Network) pools data, photos, and incident reports to allow employers to catch and prosecute thieves, particularly organized crime rings.

Camera surveillance is one part of the battle against retail theft prevention. However, Rogers maintains that signs are effective when leveraged with public view monitoring, where a flat screen monitor is displayed publicly in the store. “What deters the professional thieves from stealing those items in that location is the fact that they know that somebody else could very well see them steal it, even if it’s just another customer, and they don’t want to be identified.”

To learn more, visit http://www.mysecuritysign.com/retail-video-surveillance.

Notes to editors:

1. King Rogers’ interview was conducted with MySecuritySign.
2. The following are references for statistics, with more information available on the Retail Video Surveillance page:
http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1389
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/1f21cd5d/global_cctv_market
http://www.lpportal.com/feature-articles/item/837-the-evolution-of-data-sharing-in-retails-battle-against-orc.html

About MySecuritySign

MySecuritySign provides over 5,000 different security signs to protect any home or property. Whether for surveillance, trespassing, or any other security need, these stock or customizable signs will last for decades through weather and abrasion. Find direct-from-factory items 50 percent cheaper than any competitor.

About SmartSign

SmartSign is one of America's fastest growing e-commerce companies and parent of MySecuritySign, MyParkingSign, and more than 50 other sites. The company manufactures and distributes a wide range of signs, tags, mats, and labels. By positioning “signs as solutions,” SmartSign has taken a novel approach to designing signs. Through highly targeted, content-rich, and authoritative retail sites, the company provides specific solutions to specific problems, such as stopping theft.