By the end of 2022, the number of Old Navy stores in the US reached 1,100. It’s not the most rapid growth in the world, but not bad for a store created by Gap almost 30 years prior.
Like most stores, Old Navy has its own, internal way of dealing with shoplifting and it mostly revolves around overly friendly customer service.
Old Navy doesn’t have a blatant, in-your-face policy that explicitly refers to shoplifting. What they have are Security Agents and Loss Prevention Agents. They work in loss prevention management and in the store, with a focus on theft prevention.
Of course, the security side of things is more focused on theft, while loss prevention includes theft and also deals with the loss of merchandise through damage, incorrect orders, or other scenarios not explicitly linked to shoplifting.
The Reality of Shoplifting Policy
Old Navy is in the same boat that most retail chains are. Old Navy doesn’t allow its employees to accuse, target, harass, or physically stop or prevent shoplifters from stealing merchandise. It’s a sensible stand to take in light of the litigation that actions against shoplifters might facilitate.
The only possible employee exception to the above is an Old Navy Asset Protection Service Representative or what is more simply known as a ‘Loss-Prevention’ agent.
You can think of these as pseudo-security officers, though it’s more of a ‘watch and tell’ role than anything else.
Role of an Asset Protection Service Representative
This job is the core of Old Navy’s shoplifting policy. You won’t find a large, block-style paragraph titled, “Old Navy Shoplifting Policy” on an Old Navy or GAP (Old Navy’s parent company) website.
There’s a refund policy, a shipping and handling policy, a ‘return and exchange’ policy, a gift card policy, size charts, a cancelation policy, and more. But a shoplifting policy is not a part of the listed information blocks on Old Navy’s Customer Service page.
The closest thing that Old Navy has to a shoplifting policy is a Safety Alerts tab and multiple openings across the country for Asset Protection Service Representatives. This job role is responsible for monitoring the entryway of Old Navy stores, along with a great many other responsibilities.
As Old Navy terms it, “In this role, you will embody our value of Doing The Right Thing by protecting People, Assets, and Brands.” An Asset Protection Service Representative is far from an actual security guard or a police officer.
For example, an Asset Protection Service Representative (APSR) won’t be issuing any civilian arrests, investigating shopper’s background histories, or coordinating with the FBI. An APSR is essentially a preventative resource for Old Navy stores, by way of visibility.
The primary role of an ASPR is to be seen by shoppers as they enter the store. Old Navy operates under the idea that visibility is an effective deterrent. And they are, to a certain degree.
ASPRs are there to help employees avoid escalating circumstances as well. Their role is to serve as a visible deterrent, minimize potentially negative circumstances, maintain the physical security of the store (making sure the doors are locked and alarms are on), and greet customers.
Last but not least is the most interesting part of the Old Navy job offering—assisting the Asset Protection Coordinators during external shoplifting apprehensions.
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Asset Protection Coordinator
This is the core of Old Navy’s shoplifting policy. An Asset Protection Coordinator is like the police chief of Asset Protection Service Representatives. According to GAP, the role revolves around, “doing the right thing by protecting People, Assets, and Brands.
An Asset Protection Coordinator (APC) is responsible for identifying the factors and methodology of potential and current shoplifters, fraud, external theft, and fraud trends.
Since there are multiple APCs throughout the country, at a number of GAP stores (which includes Old Navy, Banana Republic, etc), their jobs are specific to a number or group of stores in a given area.
The role is more of an investigatory role, rather than a physical, store security service. An APC spends the majority of their time coordinating with ASPRs across a range of stores within that APC’s area.
Habitual offenders, high-impact external theft, and fraud make up the vast majority of what an APC has to investigate and they use a number of tools at their disposal.
CCTV cameras, data trends across Old Navy stores throughout the district, and incident reporting from the stores in which the APC has purview are all a part of the APC’s authority.
However, they don’t just conduct investigations. APCs also conduct training and one-on-one teaching moments with personnel. An APC trains employees based on the Company Case Management and Reporting Systems manual.
The role goes beyond that as well, often coordinating with state and local law enforcement, depending on the severity of the situation, which usually transcends petty shoplifting.
Does Old Navy Stop Shoplifters?
Not really. The primary reason behind that is civil litigation. What Old Navy might do, depending on how much is stolen, is pursuing a shoplifter after the fact. That’s where the ASPR and APC come in. If someone is caught on CCTV stealing, there are a few things that might follow.
First, Old Navy may ban that person from shopping in its stores. Of course, the person in question won’t know about the ban. They will just be closely watched and monitored if their face crops up in another Old Navy.
Depending on what is stolen, Old Navy may contact local law enforcement, in the jurisdiction in which the theft occurred. Of course, at that point, all of the CCTV evidence would be turned over to local law enforcement and they would work to identify and locate the individual in question.
Most Old Navy bans concern ‘returnaholics,’ or people that constantly purchase online apparel, wear it, and return it before the 30-day period is up.
They get their refund and move on. Again, this is something handled by ASPRs and APCs, mostly the latter.
They will also work with CCTV footage and ascertain whether or not someone shoplifted from the store. If that person is blacklisted, employees and the ASPR that are aware they are in the store again may use a couple of methods to discourage the shoplifter from a repeat offense.
Of course, a blacklisted shoplifter may be asked to leave the store as well. For the most part, the ASPR will remain close to the individual, asking if they need help with anything, and paying careful attention to what they are wearing prior to entering the changing room and after they exit.
Since most shoplifters put the new clothes on underneath their current clothes, an ASPR may quickly check the changing room to see if there are any empty hangers in there, once the shoplifter leaves.
All Things Considered
Since there are so many thievery accusations, resulting in lawsuits for false accusations, and successful lawsuits against anti-shoplifting measures, Old Navy doesn’t actively pursue shoplifters within their stores.
That’s the case for most retail chains. Some are not even allowed to call the police without risking being fired.
Instead, Old Navy utilizes Asset Protection Service Agents and Asset Protection Coordinators to limit or minimize shoplifting throughout the many Old Navy Stores in the US.
It’s not the most effective tool in the world, since it’s reactive and not proactive. However, it’s the tool they have, so they use it.
Reference Sources
https://www.gapinc.com/en-us/jobs/w91/38/asset-protection-coordinator-aor