Shoplifting. Organized Retail Crime. Snatch and grab. Angry customers. Disgruntled employees. Loitering and trespassing. There is a long list of various reasons why altercations and dangerous incidents occur in shops, stores and malls.

Retail environments no longer guarantee a safe shopping or working experience, and retail violence is an unfortunate reality for retail employees and customers alike. 

Many retail incidents result in loss of merchandise. However, others leave retail workers injured – or in many tragic cases it results in a loss of life.

Based on a recent survey released by the D&D Daily, 342 retail violence fatalities have been reported thus far in 2023. Of those lives lost, 82% are victims and 18% are suspects. 

The majority of these events occur in-store (57%), while parking lot incidents are the second most common location (39%). 

The ongoing problem of retail violence has led nine states to impose harsher laws and penalties for ORC. While the stats for retail fatalities have trended slightly downward (2%) year over year, retail fatalities have risen 74% since 2016.

Based on the most recent survey, convenience stores are the most targeted type of business, while Houston is the top targeted city for this type of violence. 

So, what can you do to help protect your employees and customers from these tragic incidents and impacts to your business? 

‍Taking a layered approach to your retail security is the first step to helping deter criminal and violent behavior in the first place. By pairing LPR and live and recorded video, you are able to be both proactive and quickly reactive to incidents that may arise.

In May 2023, a security guard in Scottsdale, Arizona was stabbed multiple times as an incident at a retail property quickly turned violent.

While the security guard tussled with a suspect who produced a knife, the Scottsdale PD’s Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) was able to see the interaction in real-time, dispatch help quickly, and be confident that their officers were headed to the exact location – saving precious minutes during a violent altercation. This swift response was possible due to a commercial business sharing their pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera with Scottsdale PD via Flock Safety Wing®.

These types of community partnerships ensured better safety for the security guard, customers potentially in harm's way, and the responding officers.

As this example indicates, Flock Safety’s holistic suite of tools provides a level of security and visibility that ensure a safer environment for your employees and customers. 

Also, businesses that choose to share their cameras with local law enforcement have the added benefit of quick response and full situational awareness for responding officers – providing critical support when you need it most.

To learn how to customize a solution to your unique business needs, book a demo.