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At the National Retail Federation's annual Loss Prevention Conference and EXPO, attendees will hear from Los Angeles Chief of Police William J. "Bill" Bratton and representatives from other distinguished federal, state and local law enforcement agencies as well as some of the industry's top retail loss prevention executives. The three-day event will take place June 15-17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Bratton, often referred to as "America's Top Cop," will set the tone for the entire conference by describing his tactics and leadership style that successfully re-engineered the Boston, New York and Los Angeles police departments. He will speak at a General Session on Monday, June 15 at 8:30 a.m.

Other session and forum topics at this year's Loss Prevention conference include organized retail crime, returns and return fraud, cost-saving techniques for loss prevention executives, how to communicate during a crisis and social networking.

Session highlights include:

Optimizing Returns: Preventing Return Fraud and Impacting Net Sales
Monday, June 15, 9:45AM -10:45AM
This session will provide an overview of how the economy is impacting retailers' return rates. Speakers will highlight the company-wide impact of return fraud, demonstrating methods which lead to lower return rates, improved customer satisfaction and increased net sales.
Speakers: Daniel Hafford, Divisional Vice President, Loss Prevention, Coach; Mark Gray, Vice President, Risk Management TK Maxx, The TJX Companies Inc.; Mark Hilinski, Executive Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Accounts, The Retail Equation; Robert MacLea, Vice President, Loss Prevention, The TJX Companies Inc.; Robert Seward, Senior Marketing Manager, ACI Worldwide

How Focused Loss Prevention Initiatives Can Support Business Recovery in a Downsized Economy
Monday, June 15, 11:00AM -12:00PM
During this session, speakers will highlight operational losses that can cause a store location to become unprofitable or fail and will explore the most critical processes requiring checks and balances, merchandising practices and environmental placement that increase shrink, how organization and cleanliness can affect losses, and supply chain and customer delivery issues.
Speakers: Ryan Smith, Finance Manager, Shrinkage Analytics, Gap, Inc.; Wayne McBrian, Director of Loss Prevention, Brookstone Stores

The Do's and Don'ts of Communicating During a Crisis
Monday, June 15, 11:00AM -12:00PM
From out-of-control crowds to shopper violence and product recalls, retail stores have seen their share of crises in the past year. At this session, a seasoned crisis communications expert will look back at recent incidents and evaluate each company's response. He will provide insight on to handle the media when they arrive, ways to calm shoppers and employees, and how to minimize damage to the company's reputation.
Moderator: Ellen Davis, Vice President, Industry Public Relations, NRF
Speaker: Gene Grabowski, Senior Vice President, Levick Strategic Communications

Strategic View: Analyzing Shrink and Protecting Retail Interests
Tuesday, June 16, 8:30AM - 9:30AM
During this general session, attendees will hear from Dr. Richard Hollinger as he unveils the preliminary results of the National Retail Security Survey. Following that discussion, Director Marcy Forman of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will highlight top cases and provide an overview of how the agency is developing proactive measures to partner with the retail industry.
Speakers: Dr. Richard Hollinger, Professor, Criminology, Law and Society, University of Florida; Marcy Forman, Director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Department of Homeland Security

Organized Retail Crime: How to Succeed in Presenting a Big Case to the Prosecutor
Tuesday, June 16, 9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Attendees will hear certain tips and techniques behind taking a big case to the local authorities and great ways to handle paperwork and even evidence while working with authorities.
Speaker: Nelson Harrah, Senior National Manager, Organized Retail Crime, GAP, Inc.

Social Networking Sites: A New Investigative Tool
Wednesday, June 17, 8:30AM -10:00AM
This session will provide an overview of how retailers use social networking sites to aid in their investigations. The speakers will also discuss how to use these sites to work in conjunction with legal departments.
Speakers: Glenn Justus, Senior Corporate Investigator, Barnes & Noble; Randal Nickerson, Director of Loss Prevention & Audit, Dunham's Sports

For more information about NRF's 2009 Loss Prevention Conference and EXPO visit www.nrf.com/lp09.

About The National Retail Federation
The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2008 sales of $4.6 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com.

SOURCE: National Retail Federation