With Enhanced Technology, Retailers, FBI Renew Efforts to Combat Retail Crime

For Immediate Release
Kathy Grannis (202)783-7971
grannisk@nrf.com

With Enhanced Technology, Retailers, FBI Renew Efforts to Combat Retail Crime
-LERPnet 2.0 will leverage technology to fight retail crime-
 
Washington, April 12, 2011 -  America’s leading retail industry associations announced today a plan to launch an enhanced version of the Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Network (LERPnet), a secure national database that allows retailers to share information to combat organized retail crime. The ISO Crime Analytics unit of Verisk Analytics is developing and will manage the new system, LERPnet 2.0.  More information about LERPnet can be found at www.lerpnet2.com.

In response to an alarming rise in organized retail crime, the Food Marketing Institute, National Retail Federation and Retail Industry Leaders Association collaborated with the FBI to create LERPnet in 2007. Since then, retailers have used the system to share information on retail theft and other critical incidents among themselves and in collaboration with law enforcement.

“Organized theft rings steal billions of dollars of merchandise every year, victimizing retailers, endangering the safety of retail employees, and raising the price of consumer goods,” said Joe LaRocca, Senior Asset Protection Advisor, NRF. “We’ve built a strong alliance with retailers, applying the lessons we’ve all learned in the last five years to strengthen the message to criminals: we will not tolerate your behavior, and we will stop you.”

Lisa LaBruno, Vice President of Loss Prevention and Legal Affairs for RILA, added, “By strengthening LERPnet and enhancing its functionality, retailers and law enforcement can leverage recent technological advances  to further protect our stores, our brands, our employees, and — most important — our customers. We’re excited to work with Verisk Analytics given its exceptional track record in developing and managing world-class crime data management and analysis systems.” 

“LERPnet has demonstrated the potential for retailers and law enforcement to identify and respond to a variety of theft patterns while making connections between events not easily identified by a single retailer,” said Rhett Asher, Vice President of Industry Relations for FMI. “LERPnet 2.0 will allow retailers and law enforcement to fully realize this potential.”

“Verisk Analytics has a long history of supporting retailers with a number of initiatives specifically focused to support the retail asset protection industry,” explained Kevin McMenimen, Vice President, ISO Crime Analytics unit of Verisk Analytics. “We’re excited to further assist the retail industry in taking their crime fighting efforts to the next level by combining the retail industry experience and significant data management capabilities of Verisk Analytics.”

Retailers lose more than $30 billion dollars annually to theft and loss, resulting in decreased profits, higher prices, and safety concerns for retail employees and customers. According to the 2010 NRF ORC Survey, 89 percent of retailers said they have been victimized by organized retail crime and 59 percent say the problem has increased.

RILA is the trade association of the world’s largest and most innovative retail companies. RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs and operate more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers domestically and abroad. www.rila.org.

Food Marketing Institute conducts programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education and industry relations on behalf of its 1,500 member companies - food retailers and wholesalers - in the United States and around the world. FMI's U.S. members operate approximately 26,000 retail food stores and 14,000 pharmacies. Their combined annual sales volume of $680 billion represents three-quarters of all retail food store sales in the United States. FMI's retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, regional firms and independent supermarkets. Its international membership includes 200 companies from more than 50 countries. FMI's associate members include the supplier partners of its retail and wholesale members.

ISO Crime Analytics, a unit of Verisk Analytics, encompasses divisions that help retailers, manufacturers, logistics companies, equipment owners, and their insurers combat crime through data management, analytics, and theft-prevention services. ISO Crime Analytics follows a crime-fighting strategy that includes prediction, mitigation, response, and recovery. For more information on Verisk Analytics, visit www.verisk.com.

As the world's largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, the National Retail Federation's global membership includes retailers of all sizes, formats and channels of distribution as well as chain restaurants and industry partners from the U.S. and more than 45 countries abroad. In the U.S., NRF represents the breadth and diversity of an industry with more than 1.6 million American companies that employ nearly 25 million workers and generated 2010 sales of $2.4 trillion. www.nrf.comwww.nrf.com.

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