Your 2021-22 Finalists for Industry Association or Initiative are: (In no particular order)
- RILA’s Support of the INFORM Act - First Runner-Up!
- The Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR) - WINNER!
- FMI Asset Protection Council - Finalist
RILA’s Support of the INFORM Act
Here is what people are saying about RILA and the INFORM Act: The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM) Act will make it much more difficult for fraudsters and criminals to create a business selling counterfeit and stolen goods. t will require online marketplaces to collect and verify third-party sellers’ government ID, tax ID, bank account information, and contact information, as well as require high-volume sellers to disclose contact information to consumers.
Basic transparency and verification requirements will not hurt legitimate businesses, but it will remove anonymity on these platforms and make it harder for bad actors to catfish consumers with fake and deceptive profiles. And importantly, it will provide retail asset protection teams and law enforcement agencies with greater visibility to track illicit sales and organized criminal activity.
The INFORM Act will make it more difficult for bad actors to build an illegal business by targeting local retailers and stealing mass quantities of merchandise for resale. Without the ability to hide behind fake accounts, the risks will be greater, and the odds will be even.
The Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR)
Here is what people are saying about CLEAR: Throughout a year of virtual networking, CLEAR highlights the powerful work being done by law enforcement agencies, national retail chains, and solution providers to overcome the significant challenges brought on by the events over the past several years while positioning investigative teams for the future. 2021 initiatives included national discussions on real-time crime centers, ORC & e-commerce investigations, newly-formed ORC federal and state task forces, new techniques in intelligence collection, violent crime prevention, their ongoing support of the ORCAs in Action programs and the Florida Law Enforcement Property Recovery Unit (FLEPRU), and invigorating efforts in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations in the ongoing battle against organized retail crime.
FMI Asset Protection Council
Here is what people are saying about the FMI AP Council: In 2021 FMI continued its mission to provide content and resources not just to the FMI membership but to the complete food retail industry. Offering collaboration opportunities for the food retailing industry professionals in the area of loss prevention to predict, confront and resolve common issues or concerns using an all hazards, all threats, all crime all the time approach. Drawing on the FMI Asset Protection Council as its guide FMI was able to identify issues in the industry that we could provide additional assistance.
When the council identified that the industry could benefit from additional workplace violence training FMI teamed up with The Power of Preparedness to offer the industry online training. FMI members can implement comprehensive online training for workplace violence prevention, verbal de-escalation, and active assailant preparedness. The Training which is custom-tailored for the grocery and food industry will give FMI members and their workers the knowledge and confidence to identify, prevent, and if necessary, minimize potentially violent conflict.
As manmade crises have been at the forefront of the news we must not forget about natural disasters and how we can be prepared and ready. With a mission to reduce risk and mitigation losses from all hazards that may threaten the business. FMI has teamed up with Early alert to help provide real-time operational consulting back by comprehensive preparedness planning and training.
What we are most proud about in 2021 would be the planning of our first conference in five years. The council brainstormed and came together as an industry to identify 14 topics that they felt would best serve the industry. Addressing not only long-standing AP/LP issues such as ORC and Crisis continuity but addressing issues that have recently presented themselves such as civil unrest, the great resignation, and the topic of mental health. With the intent of not just having a presentation but providing tangible takeaways that attendees can bring to their organizations to put into practice
2021 was another great step in the right direction and the council looks forward to 2022 as it hosts its first conference and continues to grow to service the industry.
