Study Reveals Retail Theft Is Underreported (2024)

Quantifying retail crime – and specifically external theft – is a challenge. Crime statistics generated from police incidents are often used to gain estimates of external theft activity, but they rarely tell the full and accurate story.

To gain additional insight about the extent of external theft as well as trends associated with retail theft activity, Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) worked with Prof. Julie Hibdon, Southern Illinois University Carbondale and commissioned a comprehensive survey of RILA Asset Protection Leaders Council member retailers across the United States. The survey was designed to gather information to understand the extent of underreporting of external theft incidents within retail establishments.

Findings reveal a notable disparity between external thefts documented internally and those reported to law enforcement, underscoring the prevalence of underreporting within the retail sector.

Better collaboration is needed between retailers & law enforcement for accurate theft data. The study examines challenges & barriers to reporting external retail theft cases.

Key Findings:

• External retail theft events are increasing, but retail reporting of events to law enforcement is down.
• Very few retail theft events are reported to law enforcement. The rate being reported to law enforcement has essentially declined to about half of what was reported in 2019.
• The amount of external theft that is recorded and reported could also vary based on whether retailers have AP/LP in most of their stores.
  • Stores with AP/LP likely have better investigative capabilities and exhibit lower reporting rates because dedicated teams work to aggregate cases on known, repeat offenders.
• Limited resources for retailers and shortages in law enforcement staffing have restricted the ability of law enforcement to engage in retail theft cases. This is ultimately viewed as a primary reason for a drop in retailer reporting.