Day Two - Touring LERPnet
In between sessions today I spent some time with Angelica Rodriguez, Director, Loss Prevention at the National Retail Federation getting a tour of LERPnet.
The Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Network was launched in April of last year in response to working with LP members and seeing a need for a centralized database for reporting retail crime incidents. The online system is designed for retailers and law enforcement agencies to share information on incidents such as burglaries, robbery, car theft, credit card fraud, intellectual property law violations and or course organized retail crime (ORC).
Currently 57 retailers are using the system with over 25,000 incidents reported. Law enforcement agencies from around the U.S. including the NYPD and LAPD are also using the system. LERPnet has also received support from the FBI.
One of the primary goals of the system is to analyze the data received to identify trends and notify users of issues as needed. For example, is there a string of ORC thefts occurring along a major corridor? What direction are they moving? Is there a common thread in the incidents?
Login to the system is secured via VPN from participating retailers or remotely via RSA encryption. Once logged in, user may enter new incidents or browse/query the database. Incident entry can be completed via an automated upload tool, or for larger retailers using LP software, such as Wazagua, a direct connection is available. Users have full control over visibility of all information entered into the system (e.g. incidents, company name, etc.)
Data stored can be queried in a number of different ways such as, type of store, type of incident, location, and $ lost, to name a few.
One useful feature is an e-mail alert function. Users can receive e-mail notifications based upon select criteria. For example a user can be notified each time a theft occurs at a specialty store above a certain amount, i.e. $500.
One of LERPnet’s goals coming into Loss Prevention 2008 was to attract new users, have you signed up?
