A group of five people walked into a shoe store at Wolfchase Galleria last month, filled garbage bags with merchandise, and walked out. The whole thing took ninety seconds. Store employees watched it happen. The security guard on duty at the mall’s entrance was fifty yards away and didn’t reach the store until the group had already loaded a waiting car.
That kind of brazen, coordinated theft isn’t new in Memphis. What’s different heading into the 2024 holiday season is how many retailers are responding by putting armed guards inside their stores, a move that would have seemed excessive five years ago and now feels routine.
The Numbers
The National Retail Federation’s 2024 National Retail Security Survey put total retail shrinkage at $112.1 billion nationwide in 2023, up from $94.5 billion the year before. Shrinkage includes shoplifting, employee theft, administrative errors, and fraud, so the number isn’t purely a theft figure. The NRF estimates that external theft, which includes organized retail crime, accounts for roughly 36% of total shrinkage.
Memphis sits in a particularly difficult position. The city’s retail corridors run through neighborhoods with high property crime rates. The Memphis Police Department’s crime data shows that shoplifting reports increased 12% in 2023 compared to 2022, and aggravated assaults at retail locations held steady at elevated levels. The aggravated assault number matters because it reflects the increasing willingness of theft groups to confront employees and security personnel.
Organized retail crime (ORC) is distinct from ordinary shoplifting. ORC involves coordinated groups targeting specific merchandise for resale. They’re not stealing for personal use. They’re running businesses. The merchandise moves through online marketplaces, flea markets, and in some cases, back into the retail supply chain through dishonest middlemen.
In Tennessee, organized retail crime is a felony under TCA 39-14-146, which was strengthened in 2023 to lower the threshold for felony prosecution and increase penalties for repeat offenders. The law treats ORC as a distinct offense from simple theft, recognizing that it’s a different kind of criminal enterprise.
Where It’s Happening
Three malls in the Memphis metro have become focal points for retail theft activity, and each has responded differently.
Wolfchase Galleria in Cordova is the largest enclosed mall in the Memphis area and has the highest volume of reported retail theft incidents. Mall management increased its contract security presence in early 2024 and added armed officers at main entrances during peak shopping hours. Several anchor tenants have also hired their own in-store security, creating a layered approach where mall security handles common areas while store-level guards focus on high-value merchandise.
Oak Court Mall in East Memphis has taken a different approach. The mall’s management company invested in camera upgrades and hired a smaller number of plainclothes security officers who blend in with shoppers. The theory is that visible deterrence can push theft activity to other locations while plainclothes officers are better positioned to observe and identify ORC operations before they strike.
Southland Mall in Whitehaven has seen significant security changes over the past two years, driven partly by theft and partly by the violent incidents that have occurred on the property. Armed security officers patrol the parking lots. Interior patrols are frequent. The mall has also restricted access points, funneling foot traffic through monitored entrances.
Outside the malls, big-box retailers along Germantown Parkway, Poplar Avenue, and Winchester Road have added security measures ranging from locked display cases and receipt checks to uniformed armed guards at exits. Home Depot, Target, Walgreens, and Dollar General have all been targets of ORC activity in the Memphis area.
The Armed Guard Decision
Hiring an armed guard for a retail location is a significant step. It costs more than an unarmed officer. It creates liability exposure. And it sends a signal to customers that might reassure some and alarm others.
The math looks something like this. An unarmed security officer through a contract company runs $18 to $24 per hour in the Memphis market. An armed officer runs $28 to $40 per hour, depending on the company, the officer’s experience, and the specific requirements of the post (standing, roving, vehicle patrol, etc.). For a store that wants armed coverage during its twelve hours of daily operation, seven days a week, the annual cost lands somewhere between $120,000 and $175,000.
That’s a real expense. Whether it’s justified depends on what the store is losing without it. A retailer losing $300,000 a year to theft at a single location can make the case that a $150,000 security investment pays for itself if it reduces losses by half. A store losing $50,000 doesn’t have the same math working in its favor.
Insurance is driving a lot of these decisions. Retailers that experience repeated theft incidents see their premiums increase. Insurers in some cases are requiring specific security measures as conditions of continued coverage. A store with a history of violent theft incidents may find its commercial property insurance carrier demanding armed security as a risk mitigation requirement, not a recommendation.
Shield of Steel, operating from 2682 Lamar Ave in Memphis, is one of several companies that have picked up retail security contracts in the metro area this year. They offer armed officers at rates that tend to run below the national chains, which appeals to mid-size retailers watching every line item on their budget. The tradeoff is that a regional company like Shield of Steel has fewer retail-specific case studies compared to firms like Allied Universal or Securitas, which have dedicated retail security divisions with proprietary training programs and national loss prevention networks. For a single-location retailer or a small chain with five or six stores, the personalized service from a company like Shield of Steel often outweighs the brand name of a national firm. You can reach them at (202) 222-2225 or shieldofsteel.com.
LP Teams and Private Security: Working Together
Loss prevention (LP) professionals and private security officers occupy different roles inside a retail operation, and the best outcomes happen when those roles are clearly defined.
LP teams focus on identifying theft patterns, investigating ORC networks, building cases for prosecution, and implementing prevention strategies like merchandise placement and employee training. They’re analytical. Many LP managers come from law enforcement backgrounds and approach retail crime like investigators.
Private security officers focus on deterrence and immediate response. They patrol, observe, and intervene when theft is happening in real time. They don’t typically build long-term cases or track ORC networks across multiple stores.
The friction between these two groups comes when their priorities conflict. An LP investigator might want to let a known ORC operative complete a theft so they can build a stronger felony case. A security officer sees someone stealing and wants to stop it right now. Both instincts are reasonable. The question is which one the store’s management supports.
Retailers that get the best results establish clear protocols. If LP is running an active investigation, security officers are briefed on who to observe and told not to intervene until LP gives the green light. If LP isn’t tracking a specific target, security officers operate with their standard authority to deter and detain.
Communication between LP and security teams at Memphis-area retailers has improved in recent years, partly because the ORC problem has forced closer cooperation. LP managers are sharing intelligence with security companies about known theft patterns, target merchandise, and the vehicles ORC groups are using. That information flow makes the armed guard at the front door more effective because they know what to look for.
What the Holiday Season Brings
Thanksgiving through New Year’s is the highest-volume period for both retail sales and retail theft. Memphis stores will see increased foot traffic, higher-value merchandise on display, and extended operating hours that strain security staffing.
ORC groups know this. They plan for the holidays the way retailers plan for the holidays. The difference is that their business plan involves taking merchandise rather than selling it.
Retailers that wait until Black Friday to ramp up security are already behind. The smart ones started hiring additional security officers in October and began positioning them at stores by early November. The demand for qualified armed officers during the holiday season exceeds supply in the Memphis market, just as it does for July 4th event security.
For store managers reading this who haven’t finalized their holiday security plans: the window is closing. Every week you wait, the pool of available officers gets smaller. And the ORC groups targeting your stores have already started.
A Market Shift
The normalization of armed guards in retail spaces tells us something about where the Memphis market is heading. Five years ago, armed security was reserved for banks, jewelry stores, and cannabis dispensaries. Today, shoe stores, electronics retailers, and even pharmacies are posting armed officers at their doors.
Whether this trend continues depends on two factors. First, whether ORC prosecution under Tennessee’s strengthened statutes actually produces enough convictions to deter future activity. Second, whether retail insurance carriers continue requiring armed security as a condition of coverage.
The security industry in Memphis is watching both closely. The answer determines how many armed officer positions exist in 2025 and beyond.