Correction: An earlier version of this story had an incorrect number of Jewel-Osco positions for asset protection specialists. According to an Albertsons Companies’ spokesperson, there was an error with the LinkedIn job posts and there are actually only about 15 open positions for an asset protection specialist for Jewel-Osco.

Dive Brief:

• Jewel-Osco is looking to onboard around 15 asset protection specialists, according to an email from an Albertsons Companies spokesperson on Wednesday after a slew of recent LinkedIn job postings.
• The grocery company representative said the roles are across the Jewel-Osco banner, which operates stores in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa.
• As theft continues to escalate, many grocers are working to establish loss prevention teams, hiring experts to work with law enforcement and to identify repeat offenders and detect theft patterns.

Dive Insight:

An asset protection specialist for the grocer would focus on “preventing loss and controlling shrink by monitoring various areas of the fraud, compliance discrepancies, and other related activities,” according to Jewel-Osco’s LinkedIn job postings. 

The regional grocer operates 188 stores throughout Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, according to its website.

The open asset protection positions are a mix of full- and part-time positions, according to the spokesperson. The grocer said in the listings that it’s looking for applicants who have experience in loss prevention or asset protection. The job involves working to “identify potential concerns through use of [Jewel-Osco’s] video surveillance and other systems and apprehend in accordance with company policy, local and state laws,” according to the job description. 

The regional grocer is not the first to bring loss prevention and asset prevention experts in-house. Weis Market has 20 LinkedIn job posts dealing with asset protection with many narrowing in on organized retail crime (ORC). Kroger, H-E-B and Whole Foods Market also have job listings for asset protection roles. 

Grocers and other retailers have been dealing with an uptick in ORC. More than half of retailers recently surveyed by the National Retail Federation said that ORC has increased.