Canadian Retailer - Store 2017 - 25

police, who will use the evidence in the case file Monsters are growing
to charge offenders. The stronger the case file, the
For the rest of the day, Raam looks to see how
better the chances of a successful prosecution.
the case of the 20 pairs of blue jeans connects to
A strong case file has hard evidence, and so previous thefts. For now it's an open case. Soon,
Raam gathers hard evidence that prosecutors can Raam hopes, they'll have a lead, put names to the
use to prove criminal activity. This can take hours faces on the CCTV, and pull together a solid case
or days, depending on the case. He pulls the ana- to pass to police.
lytics from the data stream and reviews closed
One thing Raam knows for certain: the work
circuit television footage from the store. He visits will continue. Over the eight years he has been
kijiji, Craigslist and other online flea markets to investigating ORC, financial crimes and theft of
see if anybody is selling jeans, and he travels to the hard merchandise have increased as the crimindark web-a hard to access layer of the Internet-to al's methods have become more sophisticated.
see who might be buying and selling jeans.
"Fraud and theft-both monsters are growing,"
O'Keefe says the general public are unaware of he says. "These criminals have an objective and
the lengths retail investigators go to obtain pros- a plan, and they have buyers for the goods they
ecutions. Often, retailers know the identities of steal." Some criminals, he says, have even been
the people targeting their stores
carrying shopping lists when
and use surveillance to collect in- "THEIR [INVESTIGATORS]
they've been caught.
formation about the movements ROLES ARE CRITICAL. IF
The range of criminal activity
of these people and their associ- WE DIDN'T HAVE THEM WE
and the rate at which it evolves
ates. Investigators share informa- WOULDN'T HAVE A CLUE
means no two days are the same
HOW TO STOP IT [LOSS]."
tion about investigations-like lifor Raam. Some days he's testify- STEPHEN O'KEEFE
cence plate numbers, names and
ing in court, and on other days
Retail Council of Canada
known associates-with retail inhe's analyzing data, conducting
vestigators at other stores. Together, they figure surveillance, and writing case files. The job deout how the gang is organized and what crimes it mands constant adaptation.
has committed.
O'Keefe says retail investigators like Raam are
The evidence in the case file becomes import- the unspoken heroes of the retail trade.
ant when the retailers hand the case files over to
"Their role is critical. If we didn't have them
police-and when police investigations overlap we wouldn't have a clue how to stop it and would
with retail investigations. Let's say police catch likely see a rise in retail loss committed externalwind of a private, invite-only party being held in ly," he says.
a Vancouver condo rented through an apartment
The trend towards more crime demands that
sharing app. Word on the street is that the host retailers fortify their defences and fight back
will sell $4,000 bottles of cognac at a steep dis- against organized networks. This means undercount. Investigators know it's probably the same standing the problem and its causes.
cognac that was stolen from stores along the
"There needs to be more alertness and awarehighway route into Vancouver. The retail investi- ness," O'Keefe says. "We need more law enforcegators who have been working on the case have a ment involved in fighting this problem."
trove of information police can use to build a case
Raam leaves for the day, knowing he'll have to
against the overnight cognac salesman and the open a new case file tomorrow. It's work he says he
gang that stole the bottles from the store.
loves. When he does his job well, he protects the
When the case goes to trial, the prosecution store's customers and employees. He also underwill rely heavily on the evidence the retailer has mines the criminal element blighting communities.
collected. Without that evidence, the crime might
"There is an opportunity to help others by stopnever reach prosecution.
ping these types of losses," he says.
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