Professional shoplifting has quietly become a huge business and costs the retail industry nearly $30 billion annually, according to the National Retail Federation. Yet training to help store managers and employees protect against organized theft is "totally inadequate" at all but a few companies, says Chuck Miller, security consultant for the Retail Industry Network and author of industry handbook Organized Retail Theft.

Get Miller's take on increasingly sophisticated shoplifting tactics as well as advice on how retail managers can deter thieves.

How Professional Shoplifters Operate

Professional shoplifters, also called boosters, typically work in groups. "Boosters will conduct surveillance of a targeted store to check locations of closed-circuit television cameras, store exits, and to monitor how attentive employees are to customers in the sales aisles," Miller says. "They also look for security personnel. If they decide the store is low-risk, they will enter in teams of two to four people while an accomplice waits outside in a vehicle.

"The boosters often talk on cell phones while in the store," Miller adds. "One will act as an observer for the team members who are actually shoplifting. The observer may attempt to draw attention away from his accomplices to protect them. These are the tactics store managers and employees should be watching for."

What They Steal

The most common items professional shoplifters target include higher-priced, widely used products, such as over-the-counter drugs, razors, batteries, diabetic test strips, baby formula, diapers, CDs, DVDs and smoking-cessation products. Merchandise is typically sold for 10 percent to 20 percent of retail value to a criminal fence, who then resells the products at flea markets, online, or to bodegas and convenience stores.

Four Ways to Stop Them

Miller suggests these four key steps to deter shoplifters:

• Stay on Top of Inventory: Regularly conduct item-movement reports on commonly lifted products. Stores that wait on storewide inventory checks may not realize they've been hit for days or weeks.
  
  
• Keep an Electronic Eye Out: Use closed-circuit television systems, and locate public-view monitors near frequently targeted product displays.
  
  
• Look for the Signs: Train your employees to watch for groups of three or four people who appear to be looking around the store rather than shopping. Pay close attention if someone is using a cell phone with a headset.
  
  
• Make Shoplifting Deterrence a Priority: At every employee meeting, be sure to emphasize and discuss shoplifting prevention. All employees should know the company rules and procedures for observing and reporting shoplifters. Leave actual shoplifter apprehension to authorized and trained employees, preferably management personnel.

Balance Shoplifting Deterrence with Customer Convenience

Some retailers try to curb theft by putting expensive merchandise inside locked cabinets, behind Plexiglas panels or in unwieldy containers that dispense one item at a time. While these measures can be effective, Miller cautions against inconveniencing customers unnecessarily.

"I don't believe customers are offended by security cameras nearly as much as they are upset by company merchandising policies that place products behind counters that were once self-service," Miller says. "Store managers need to understand that the best deterrent against shoplifters is friendly attention from employees in store aisles, especially when customers are acting suspiciously. Improving store security practices is a better and less cumbersome alternative that still assures convenience for your honest customers."