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Tools · Organized retail crime

ORC observe-and-report form for associates

By awareretailgroup.com Editorial· Edited by · Published

Steps

  1. Step away and tell the manager. Once the person moves on, tell the manager on duty immediately. Do not follow, block an exit, ask for a receipt, or touch the person or the merchandise.
  2. Record the date, time, and your position. Write where you were standing when you saw it. The report is only useful if LP can act on it without calling you at home.
  3. Describe each person separately. One block per person: height, build, hair, clothing, bags. Do not guess at a name, and do not write a motive.
  4. List the items and the quantity. Name what was taken and how much, as closely as you can. If a high-theft item in your department was swept, say which one.
  5. Note exit direction and vehicle. Only what was seen from inside the store. Nobody goes to the door or the lot to get a plate.
  6. Note whether you were approached. If the person spoke to you, write what was said, word for word where possible. Answering as you would any customer was the right move.
  7. Record who was told and when. The manager's name and the time you reported it. This starts the chain of custody for the report.
  8. Hand it to the manager. The manager signs and files it the same shift. Then the associate goes back to the register or the aisle.
  9. Manager closes the loop. Within a day, the manager tells the reporting associate, in front of the crew, what LP did with the report. A report that vanishes into the office ends reporting.

Drawn from the article this tool is based on.

This form is the report checklist from how to train associates on organized retail crime, laid out as fields an associate fills in after a suspected ORC event. It fits on the back of the do/don’t poster. The associate observes, reports, and steps away. The form is the entire contribution.

How to use it

Print a stack and keep it beside the manager’s desk, with the do/don’t table posted in the break room. Introduce it in the ten-minute ORC huddle, where pairs practice: one associate describes a stranger out loud, the other writes. Rerun the huddle the morning after any incident while details are fresh.

The form is for what was seen, not what was guessed. Boosters look calm, fast, and targeted, so an associate may notice late, and that is fine. A description and timeline written before the shift ends is what LP can match across other stops on the route. Once the report exists, the repeat-offender process takes over; what grocery LP leaders do when a repeat offender walks in covers who owns that step, and it is never the associate. Cashiers and receivers use the same form and rules, since gift card fraud and short pallets are ORC too; the register half is in gift card scam training for cashiers. Suspect photos and watchlists stay with the LP team and the manager on duty. More at the organized retail crime hub.

The printable

The observe-and-report form:

Field What to write
Date and time When you saw it
Where you were standing Register, aisle, department, or door
Person one Height, build, hair, clothing, bags
Person two Same fields, filled in separately
Person three Same fields, filled in separately
Items and quantity taken What and how much
Exit direction Which door, which way
Vehicle, if seen from inside Color, type, anything visible from where you stood
Were you approached? Yes or no, and what was said, word for word where possible
Manager told Name and time
Associate signature
Manager signature and time filed Filed the same shift
Follow-up told to associate Date and what LP did with it

The do/don’t table, posted next to the stack:

Do Don’t
Greet the person with eye contact Follow them through the store
Note clothing, height, bags, direction of travel Ask for a receipt or check a bag
Note the time and the items taken Block the exit
Tell the manager on duty immediately Chase into the parking lot
Step away if approached or threatened Touch the person or the merchandise

Who sees each kind of ORC first, so everyone knows the form is theirs:

Where ORC shows up Who sees it first Cue to report
Shelf sweep Floor associate Calm, fast, targeted, empty cart or bags
Gift card fraud Cashier Buyer on the phone while loading several cards
Phone scam Manager, service desk Caller claiming to be corporate, wanting card numbers
Cargo or supply chain theft Receiver Short or resealed pallet, unfamiliar driver

Common mistakes

What to do this week