Professor Susan Bourke (fourth from left) with some of her University of Cincinnati criminal justice students. (Loss Prevention Magazine).

By Karl F. Langhorst, CPP, CFI - January 30, 2020, Loss Prevention Magazine

Ask almost any asset protection executive what one of their challenges is, and they will tell you it is recruiting quality candidates to join their team. Ask that same executive if, when they started their career, they had considered asset protection or loss prevention as a possible career path, and the answer you most likely will receive is “no.”

Asset protection, for the most part, continues to be the great unknown for many college students seeking careers. Besides the role of undercover shoplift agent, few are aware of the diverse and rewarding careers that await in the industry. Fortunately for the asset protection industry, large reservoirs of quality candidates are eager to find rewarding careers. However, only a few asset protection leaders have cast their recruiting nets into these bountiful waters.

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Universities across the country are filled with energetic, inquisitive students who are actively contemplating their career paths. Except for the occasional job fairs, the asset protection profession overall has been woefully limited in their attempts to educate and cultivate team members from this diverse talent pool. This is surprising in that a 2012 survey of loss prevention executives commissioned by the National Retail Federation (NRF) Loss Prevention Education Committee reflected that 71 percent of respondents stated team members with a college degree add organizational credibility to their department. Additionally the survey, conducted by Professor Robert Hanson at Northern Michigan University, further indicated that 93 percent of respondents felt that a baccalaureate degree was beneficial for a promotion to a district or regional LP position.

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