Retail Loss Prevention Specialists

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Collaborate with law enforcement agencies to report or investigate crimes.
• Coordinate with risk management, human resources, or other departments to assist in company programs, investigations, or training.
• Identify and report merchandise or stock shortages.
• Maintain documentation or reports on security-related incidents or investigations.
• Inspect buildings, equipment, or access points to determine security risks.
• Monitor compliance with standard operating procedures for loss prevention, physical security, or risk management.
• Apprehend shoplifters in accordance with guidelines.
• Verify proper functioning of physical security systems, such as closed-circuit televisions, alarms, sensor tag systems, or locks.
• Recommend methods to reduce potential financial fraud losses.
• Identify and report safety concerns to maintain a safe shopping and working environment.
• Conduct store audits to identify problem areas or procedural deficiencies.
• Conduct employee background investigations and review reports with operational or human resources managers.
• Testify in civil or criminal court proceedings.
• Prepare written reports on investigations.
• Implement or monitor processes to reduce property or financial losses.
• Investigate known or suspected internal theft, external theft, or vendor fraud.
• Inspect buildings, equipment, or access points to determine security risks.
• Direct work of contract security officers or other loss prevention agents.
• Train establishment personnel in loss prevention activities.
• Recommend new or improved processes or equipment to reduce risk exposure.
• Respond to critical incidents, such as catastrophic events, violent weather, or civil disorders.
• Perform covert surveillance of areas susceptible to loss, such loading docks, distribution centers, or warehouses.

Skills

• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.

Abilities

• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

Knowledge

• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

42310/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

20.34/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

5,900

Yearly Projected Openings

1490

Personality

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

• Integrity
• Self Control
• Attention to Detail
• Stress Tolerance
• Cooperation
• Dependability

Tools

• Alarm systems
• Cash registers
• Closed circuit television CCTV system
• Digital camcorders or video cameras
• Digital video disk players or recorders
• Fire alarm systems
• Laser cutting machine
• Laser fax machine
• Mechanical lock system
• Motion detectors
• Notebook computers
• Personal computers
• Photocopiers
• Scanners
• Security cameras
• Security metal detector
• Security or access control systems
• Special purpose telephones
• Two way radios

Technology

• Analytical or scientific software
• Data base user interface and query software
• Electronic mail software
• Enterprise application integration software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Presentation software
• Spreadsheet software
• Transaction security and virus protection software
• Word processing software