"We need to educate folks on what organized retail crime actually is, and these are groups going into stores, stealing massive amounts of quantities of merchandise in various stores, day in and day out," Andrews says, defining the difference between simple shoplifting and organized retail theft. "That thought process of 'these are big organizations and they're insured and it's not a big deal,' we need to change that narrative."
Andrews pushes the need for law enforcement's involvement, citing viral incidents of retail crime sprees that have seen upwards of $100,000 in losses in a single day, targeting not just retail locations but distribution warehouses as well.
"We want to keep people safe, first and foremost," Andrews states. "And we have to continually coach on de-escalation and making sure that we're not putting our people in harm's way."
