Survey Shows Retail Crime Increase

WASHINGTON — A majority of retail loss prevention experts said in a survey that crime has increased across the board in the past four months as consumers struggle with tough economic times, according to the Retail Industry Leaders Association.

In RILA’s “Crime Trends Survey,” released on Tuesday at the group’s Loss Prevention, Auditing & Safety Conference in Orlando, Fla., 72 percent of respondents said organized retail crime, estimated to cost the industry $30 billion annually, continues to grow, despite concerted efforts to prevent it.