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September 14, 2017 – DCU Center, Worcester, MA 11th Annual New England Loss Prevention Expo
The Expo was sponsored by the six New England State Associations as well as NRF, Staples, Wegmans, Rite Aid, BJ’s Wholesale Club and CIS as we welcomed hundreds of attendees to our 11th annual New England Expo. In addition to the awesome speakers, we had 25 solution providers in the Expo Hall showing the latest and greatest in technology helping loss prevention and law enforcement personnel in the fight against retail crime. This expo continues to be the largest and most successful one in New England!
The day started off with a kick off from the only speaker to have been part of all 11 of our shows. Loss Prevention icon Joe LaRocca gave the attendees a lot to think about when it comes to how things are changing for LP in the technology arena. Joe talked about ORC and increased violence during the commission of shoplifting or ORC and how all retailers have identified and admitted they have been victims. Joe also talked about preparedness, crisis response and dealing with data breaches…..plus turned the group on to a new mobile app called “Zello” that allows first responders to communicate via voice during an emergency event.
Next, Paul Fisher talked about technology that will scan a barcode of most every available ID and authenticate it. Think of how this can help retailers with things like liquor sales or those that issue instant credit! The system works on a mobile app, but is supported with one of the most robust databases known…..check out Intellicheck for more information!
We then had Bill Peters, Director of Safety and Regulatory Compliance for BJ’s Wholesale Club discuss some of the safety concerns that exist within the warehouse club environment. Bill showed us some the challenges BJ’s faced and how they implemented plans and actions to solve those challenges. Bill’s transparency when talking about safety of his clubs, his team members and the club members was summed up when he said “90% of all accidents are caused by poor decisions”. As members of the loss prevention and law enforcement families, we all related to that and know that we need to be the voice of reason and action when it comes to keeping our business safe.
Our keynote speaker of the day was Dr. Larry Barton. As an expert on workplace violence preparedness, avoidance and response, particularly as it pertains to the social and psychological aspects of this epidemic, the group of attendees were truly gifted with Dr. Barton’s words of experience and wisdom. Dr. Barton provided a whole host of real time stats, real life case studies and scenarios along with real solutions to those scenarios. Dr. Barton’s speech was engaging and many in the audience were overheard afterwards talking about how it was the “best presentation ever”.
Our closing speaker was Lt. Jim Ostojic from Polk County Florida. The Lieutenant made his way from Florida as damage from Irma was still being ascertained to talk to us about various skimming scams he is seeing in central Florida. Jim’s message to the group was all about training and awareness and that with law enforcement and citizens knowing the red flags and reacting to them, we all can live in a safer environment.
Ryan Kearney bestowed three awards at the end of the conference: Loss Prevention Person of the Year – Robert McFarlin, Big Y Foods Law Enforcement Partners of the Year – Officer William Adamson, Nashua, NH Police Department and Deputy Chief Christopher Chronopoulos, Tyngsborough, MA Police department. Loss Prevention Case of the Year – Sticky Fingers case – Elie Chemaly, Staples and Shanon LaCorte, Attorney General’s Office, City of New York, NY. Special thanks to out to the following people:
See you next year!
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