What Knowledge Do Loss Prevention Professionals Need? Have Your Say

As retail crime continues to escalate in both volume and complexity, the demands on today’s Loss Prevention (LP) and Asset Protection (AP) experts have never been greater.  

From confronting organised retail crime to navigating new technologies and keeping up with rapidly shifting offender tactics, the role of the modern LP/AP professional is evolving at extraordinary speed.  

Yet despite this pace of change, the industry has never had a clear, evidence-based understanding of how LP/AP teams are trained, what knowledge they feel confident in, and where they believe further development would help them stay ahead. 

That’s why Professor Emmeline Taylor, a world-leading scholar of retail crime, is launching a new piece of research to map the professional development needs of the sector. And she needs your input. 

Why this research matters

For many in LP and AP, career progression has come through experience, on-the-job learning, and time spent on the frontline. 

Formal training pathways vary widely across retailers, and many practitioners report limited exposure to the criminological, behavioural, and environmental frameworks that increasingly shape effective loss prevention strategies.

Early insights suggest that awareness of core criminology theories (those that explain why crime occurs and how it can be prevented) may be far lower across the industry than expected.

At the same time, the risk landscape is shifting fast. New forms of theft, fraud, aggression, and organised criminality require practitioners who are confident in understanding the criminology research and theories behind offender decision-making, high-risk locations, and the impact of the current and future interventions. 

Professor Taylor’s survey aims to answer three critical questions:

1) What training are LP/AP practitioners currently receiving?

2) Where are the knowledge gaps, especially around evidence, theories, and approaches?

3) What should the foundational training for LP/AP professionals look like for the retail industry?

Whether you’re new to a role in AP/LP, in either field or an office based position, or you have decades of experience, your insights are essential. All responses are treated confidentially and reported only in aggregate.

Please take the survey today and help strengthen the future of loss prevention and asset protection.