§01The three categories of shrink.
External theft (~35% of Canadian retail shrink), internal theft (~30%), process errors and vendor fraud (~35%). A retailer treating shrink as solely a shoplifting problem is missing the majority of the loss.
§02POS exception reporting.
Voided transactions, no-sale key strikes, refund frequency by cashier — these are the leading indicators of internal fraud. Reviewed weekly. Cross-referenced against video.
§03Organized retail crime (ORC).
Coordinated groups moving between stores and provinces. Case-building requires video evidence, licence-plate captures, and intelligence-sharing with RCMP integrated ORC units.
§04Interview and interrogation compliance.
Improper interviews get convictions overturned. Every apprehension must be filmed, witnessed by a second officer, and conducted with knowledge of the applicable provincial trespass law.
§05The metric that matters.
Total shrink as a percentage of net sales. Not apprehension count. An LP program producing 200 apprehensions but flat shrink is failing.