Loss Prevention Services

McCray provides loss prevention services for retailers that need more than a guard at the door. A program starts with where the losses actually come from, then sets out the officers, monitoring, documentation and review that address them. For uniformed store posts on their own, see retail security services. For boutiques and flagship stores, see luxury retail asset protection.

Where Retail Shrink Comes From

Shrink is the gap between the inventory a retailer has on record and the inventory actually on hand. In the National Retail Federation’s 2023 National Retail Security Survey, the average shrink rate for fiscal year 2022 was 1.6%, up from 1.4% in fiscal year 2021. Taken as a percentage of total 2022 retail sales, NRF put that shrink at $112.1 billion in losses.

The same survey divided fiscal year 2022 shrink by source, according to the full NRF report:

• External theft, including organized retail crime: 36%
• Internal (employee) theft: 29%
• Process and control failures and errors: 27%
• Unknown: 6%
• Other: 1%

The mix keeps changing. NRF’s The Impact of Retail Theft and Violence 2026, based on a survey of senior loss prevention and security executives conducted from February to April 2026, reported that responding retailers experienced a 12.4% decrease in shoplifting incidents and an 8.1% decline in retail merchandise theft in 2025 compared with 2024. According to NRF’s release on the study, retailers also reported higher rates of repeat offenders (50%), incidents related to organized retail crime (40%) and walkout or pushout theft (37%).

A single control rarely covers every source. A visible officer deters opportunistic theft at the entrance but does little about a receiving error, an unlocked stockroom or a repeat group that has learned a store’s routine. A loss prevention program assigns a control to each.

Program Components

McCray builds loss prevention programs from the following components, scaled to each store and its history.

Matching Controls to Each Source of Loss

External theft is where officers and monitoring do most of their work: deterrence at the door, attention to fitting rooms and high-value displays, and records that connect repeat activity. Internal theft and process failures call for different controls. Officers can support opening, closing, deliveries and back-of-house access, and an assessment can test whether locks, cameras, alarms and store procedures work as intended. Employee investigations and personnel decisions are generally best left to the retailer’s own asset protection team, human resources and counsel.

A McCray loss prevention assessment reviews:

• Shrink and incident history
• Local crime data
• Site layout and traffic patterns
• Trading hours and high-risk periods
• Entrances, fitting rooms and receiving
• Cameras, electronic article surveillance, locks and lighting
• Officer coverage, policies and incident reporting

Observe and Report or Intervention

Every loss prevention program needs a written answer to one question: what does an officer do when theft is in progress? Under an observe-and-report policy, the officer watches, documents, notifies the manager on duty and calls police, without physical contact. Under an intervention policy, trained staff may approach a person, ask for merchandise back or, where state law allows, detain the person until police arrive.

The risk of injury weighs heavily in that choice. In the 2023 survey, 67% of responding retailers said they were seeing more violence and aggression from organized retail crime perpetrators than a year earlier. NRF’s release on its 2026 study states that violence remains a significant concern for retailers. Other factors include the store’s insurance terms, lease and mall rules, the training and classification of the officers assigned, and the store’s own policy for employees. A retailer may adopt a policy narrower than the law allows.

McCray officers summon law enforcement rather than intervene physically unless both the law and the Post Orders allow otherwise. The retailer’s apprehension policy and escalation contacts are written into Post Orders for each store, which are reviewed with the client team before the program starts.

Legal Care With Detentions

Some states give merchants a limited legal protection, often called merchant’s or shopkeeper’s privilege, when a suspected shoplifter is detained. These laws set conditions, and the conditions differ from state to state. Two examples:

New York. General Business Law section 218 provides a defense to civil claims such as false arrest, false imprisonment and unlawful detention when a person was detained on or in the immediate vicinity of a retail store for questioning about the ownership of merchandise or possession of an anti-security item. The detention must be made in a reasonable manner and for not more than a reasonable time, and the person detaining must have had reasonable grounds to believe the detained person was committing or attempting to commit larceny of merchandise on the premises, or was in criminal possession of an anti-security item.

Florida. Under section 812.015(3), Florida Statutes, a merchant or merchant’s employee who has probable cause to believe a retail theft has been committed may take the person into custody and detain the person in a reasonable manner for a reasonable length of time. A law enforcement officer must be called to the scene immediately after the person is taken into custody.

A program that permits detentions should define who may make them, the grounds required, how long they may last, how minors are handled and when police are called. This section is general information, not legal advice. Retailers should review their apprehension policy with their own counsel. See organized retail crime laws by state for how states treat these offenses.

Documentation and Reporting to Police

Many incidents never reach a police report. In NRF’s 2026 study, 63% of retailers reported fewer than half of store-related theft incidents to law enforcement. The reasons given included low-dollar losses or not meeting felony thresholds (60%) and concerns about lack of law enforcement response and follow-through (54%).

Whether or not a single incident is reported, a consistent written record has value. It shows patterns by time, location and description and gives police a complete file when a retailer does report. Reports should state what was observed, list camera coverage and witnesses, and keep facts separate from conclusions.

How to Evaluate a Loss Prevention Company

Retailers comparing providers can ask the same questions of each:

Licensing. Is the company licensed where the stores operate, and are its officers registered as each state requires? See security guard license requirements by state.

Screening and training. How are officers screened, and does training cover de-escalation, organized retail crime and report writing before an officer takes a post?

Written policy. Will the provider write the retailer’s apprehension policy into site-specific Post Orders, and will officers follow a policy narrower than the law allows?

Supervision. Who checks on posts, how often, and is someone available at all hours when an incident occurs?

Reporting and review. Are reports time-stamped and consistent across stores, and does the provider meet with the retailer on a set schedule to review results and adjust coverage?

Scope. Does the provider state clearly what its officers will not do, and does it support the retailer’s own asset protection team rather than work around it?

Screening, Training and Supervision

Officers complete a five-stage screening process and tier-based training before assignment, including de-escalation and, for retail posts, organized retail crime recognition. Supervisors make unannounced site visits, and the McCray Operations Desk answers 24/7/365. Incidents are documented on scene, time-stamped and GPS-verified.

Sales floor and loss prevention support posts usually call for Tier II officers, who have three or more years of security experience and a prior comparable assignment. See the officer classification program. Multi-store programs include a Monthly Operational Review and a Quarterly Business Review.

Common Questions

What do loss prevention services include?

A McCray program can include uniformed loss prevention officers, organized retail crime recognition, incident documentation, remote video monitoring, security risk assessments and multi-site program management. The mix depends on the store’s shrink history, layout and hours.

What is the difference between loss prevention and retail security?

Retail security usually refers to the officers posted in a store. Loss prevention is the wider program aimed at reducing shrink from every source, including theft, employee loss and procedural errors. Officers are one part of it.

Do loss prevention officers stop shoplifters?

It depends on the retailer’s policy and state law. McCray officers summon law enforcement rather than intervene physically unless both the law and the Post Orders allow otherwise.

Can McCray work alongside an in-house asset protection team?

Yes. Officers work with the client’s loss prevention team and do not replace its policies. Post Orders for each store are reviewed with the client team and reflect the retailer’s apprehension policy and escalation contacts. When a program moves from another provider, the handover includes introductions to store, property and loss prevention teams.

How are loss prevention services priced?

Rates depend on the officer classification, hours, schedule and site requirements. McCray provides a written rate schedule after reviewing each client’s needs. See the pricing guide for the factors that affect cost.