How Public-Private Partnerships Are Improving Retail Security in 2025

The retail security landscape has evolved dramatically in recent years, driven by sophisticated organized retail crime, emerging technologies and innovative collaboration models. SIA’s recent Vertical Insights Retail Security Symposium brought together industry experts, technology providers and law enforcement leaders. Here are some of the top takeaways on how law enforcement, public-private partnerships and the Retail Industry Leaders Association are addressing these challenges.

Real-World Success: Campbell, California’s Integrated Approach

Capt. Ian White, supervisor of the Special Enforcement Division at the Campbell, California, Police Department, showcased one of the most impressive implementations of integrated security technology in law enforcement. The department launched a program in 2023 focused on “precision policing,” real-time response and interdiction, aimed at ensuring officers are in the right place at the right time and designed to make it very difficult to commit crime through immediate intervention.

The program’s core components include:

• Real-Time Crime Center: A cloud-based platform that brings together public safety cameras, body-worn cameras, in-car cameras, drone footage and shared retailer cameras onto one pane of glass accessible by every officer in the field.
• Drone as First Responder: Campbell became the first law enforcement agency to obtain a Federal Aviation Administration waiver for 24/7 drone operations without visual observers on roofs, achieving the goal of a single operator in a room flying drones from fixed locations.
• Strategic Camera Placement: Public safety cameras are strategically placed using heat mapping of high-crime areas, focusing on retail corridors and major thoroughfares while being sensitive to community privacy concerns in residential neighborhoods.

The results have been impressive, with numerous successful interdictions of retail theft, vehicle recovery and suspect apprehension that would not have been possible without these integrated systems.

The Power of Public-Private Partnerships

Perhaps the most transformative element discussed was the potential for retailers to share camera systems directly with law enforcement. Camera sharing systems allow end users to choose how they share, deciding to turn cameras on only when there’s a 911 call from their business or in the near vicinity and selecting which cameras—typically exterior and public spaces—to share.

The benefits extend beyond emergency response. Retail line staff can access digital applications that send alerts directly to dispatch centers and bring cameras live in real time, letting law enforcement know something is occurring in the store.

For cost considerations, camera sharing systems offer a compelling return on investment, with annual costs as low as $150 after the first year, providing direct connection to law enforcement real-time crime centers.

Addressing Organized Retail Crime

Organized retail crime remains a significant challenge, with flash mob-style thefts and coordinated criminal networks operating across regions. While these fast, high-impact incidents cannot always be prevented, security systems can help reduce risk, shorten events and help law enforcement close the loop by immediately gathering data on people, vehicles and license plates to share downstream with other stores and law enforcement departments.

The symposium emphasized the importance of intelligence-driven approaches that enable:

• Real-time alerts and information sharing across locations
• Rapid identification of vehicles, suspects and patterns
• Coordination with regional law enforcement task forces
• Evidence collection that supports prosecution

RILA’s Multifaceted Approach

Lisa LaBruno, senior executive vice president and executive director of the RILA Communities Foundation at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, outlined several initiatives addressing retail crime through collaboration:

• Vibrant Communities Initiative: This program, a partnership between RILA and the National District Attorneys Association, operates on the theory that approximately 80% of retail losses are caused by about 20% of offenders, focusing limited law enforcement and prosecutor resources on the most prolific offenders through information-sharing calls and coordinated prosecution strategies.
• Addressing Underreporting: Research revealed that retail theft reporting rates hover around 10%, with retailers reporting only about 10% of theft occurring in stores, while the number of recorded events in case management systems increased steadily from 2019 to 2023.
• Gift Card Fraud Prevention: The Gift Card Fraud Prevention Alliance leverages LPR, centralized evidence processing, crime-linking platforms and other technology to identify highest-impact offenders and gangs operating across the country.

LaBruno also emphasized that approaches must be tech agnostic because retailers use multiple platforms and their strategies differ by locality.

Conclusion

The retail security sector is at an inflection point where technology capabilities, collaborative frameworks and practical necessity are converging. Retailers remain excited and optimistic about partnerships with law enforcement organizations, seeking creative ways to get stakeholders collaborating and addressing mutual challenges. As these partnerships mature and technologies continue to evolve, the industry is positioned to make significant progress in addressing retail crime while enhancing both safety and the customer experience.

Want even more on this topic? You can read expert perspectives on how technology integration is being used to enhance retail security, watch the full symposium here or check out the SIA Retail Security Advisory Board page.

In creating this blog, content from the Vertical Insights Retail Security Symposium was summarized using multiple large language models and reviewed by human editors.