But beyond the moment of expectations that comes with each new year, the important thing is to keep in mind that the time we are living today could constitute in itself a great opportunity for those of us who are in the security business, because everything seems to indicate that in times of crisis there may be an increase in criminal activities.
In these days when unemployment tends to increase and access to jobs is increasingly restricted, the commission of crimes, mainly those related to theft, may increase, as stated by public institutions in several countries, including the Secretariat of Public Security of the Federal District of Mexico.
Given this possibility, there are certain sectors where investment in security can be a real priority; such is the case of businesses dedicated to retail sales, because according to the Global Barometer of Retail Theft (GRTB, for its acronym in English) the global rate of theft in retail establishments reached 71 thousand 165 million euros, a figure that although it represented a marginal decrease of 1.5% compared to 2007, it did mean an increase in the cost of crime for retailers, which reached 3,201 million euros.
This information is the product of a study conducted by the Retail Research Centre in Nottingham, UK, and supported by Checkpoint Systems, Inc. To obtain the data, 920 large retailers from 36 countries on five continents were interviewed confidentially, whose combined sales reached 554,334 million euros. The investigation covered the twelve-month period between June 2007 and the same month in 2008.
Fortunately, in the world of security, threats are seen at the same time as opportunities and the data presented above give an indication of a direction towards which the flyers can begin to be thrown.
