Retail theft prevention is a booming business

Retail theft crimes in Kings County remain well below peak highs recorded a decade ago, but the threat of destruction to property, loss of revenue and increasing insurance rates is leading to a booming business in theft-prevention devices.

According to data compiled by the Public Policy Institute of California, retail theft, which includes shoplifting and smash-and-grab robberies, has declined by an average of 47% since 2014 in California counties with a population between 100,000 and 200,000 residents. While these types of property crimes have made headlines, the majority of increases in retail theft in the state are in highly-populated areas including the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Sacramento, all three of which rank in the top-10 nationally and have seen rising numbers of crimes reported.

A report by Yahoo Finance shows that the smart personal safety and security market is anticipated to grow by more than 8% over the next four years. The industry currently has a nationwide value of $41 billion. The segment includes everything from wearable technology to security cameras and similar smart technology. The reports states that the western U.S. is the dominant player in sales of smart security technology.

Locally, petty theft is surging according to Hanford Chief of Police Stephanie Huddleston. She said that a recent state law change that increased the dollar amount of stolen goods to warrant felony charges has led to an increase in petty theft.

“Shoplifting is everywhere, but smash-and-grabs have been fairly rare here,” Huddleston said. “We usually see a rise during the holidays especially in retail theft. When that [law] first took effect, we really started seeing people that really just don’t care, ‘I’m going to take my chances and if I get caught I get a citation and it’s not that big of a deal’ because it doesn’t have the teeth that it had previously when we would arrest someone for shoplifting for smaller amounts.”

Huddleston added that in some cases, business owners are not reporting petty theft if the amount isn’t substantially over the $950 threshold.

“They are just cutting their losses and letting people walk out the door with stolen merchandise,” Huddleston said. “It has put a substantial strain on businesses and tied our hands as far as what we can take action on.”

Heightened attention to theft has led some business owners to invest in better security. This can include things like better cameras, alarm systems, and reinforced glass windows. In some cases it can lead to drastic measures, including products that produce smoke, fog, or even emit tear gas. One such company is DensityUSA which was founded three years ago to produce what President and COO Mike Egel described as the “last line of defense” in an interview with The Hanford Sentinel. His company’s product has been in use for around 30 years internationally but has only recently come to the U.S. He said the system is popular with pharmacies, cannabis dispensaries, warehouses and gun stores.

“We are not in competition on the asset protection side, we are all in the same boat,” Egel said. “Our customers are just getting brutalized, really. [Consumer protection] organizations are trying to bring really smart people together to figure out how we can take technology whether it be cameras that are developing AI applications to different types of sounders that are creating next to ear splitting decibel sounds to cause uncomfortableness for the criminals, to glass protection to access door protection, until you get to the final line, which is us.”

The system DensityUSA has created emits a glycol-based fog that can completely fill a space with a thick fog in a matter of seconds, making it impossible for criminals to see. The fog lingers for several hours, but does not leave any smell or residue when it dissipates. Egel said his company philosophy is “if you can’t see it, you can’t steal it.”

Huddleston recommended that businesses installing security cameras should find a high-quality system that produces clear images. Higher-resolution systems make it easier for law enforcement to identify suspects. Inexpensive, low-resolution cameras often result in images that are unusable for identifying suspects because key details such as facial features are unreadable.

Egel said he is seeing businesses layering security to include external cameras, internal cameras, reinforced access points, and also using the fogging system. His company produces a range of systems that can be tailored for anything from a small business to a large warehouse. He said one reason many businesses are interested in using systems such as his and layering security is to reduce insurance premiums. He added that one reason some businesses don’t report petty theft is because the business owners are avoiding rate increases or losing coverage after too many reports of theft.