The Partner

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Randy Southerland

When it comes to security at national retailer Target Corp., Minneapolis, the best approach is one of partnership. Working closely with others - whether it's the employee in a local store, police agencies and suppliers - is the guiding philosophy behind Brad Brekke's approach to security.

As vice president of asset protection he has implemented the company's long-standing emphasis on helping to create safe and healthy communities. A cornerstone of that program is Target's various public-private partnerships with law enforcement agencies such as Target & BLUE. The program reaches out to law enforcement agencies to share resources and expertise in marketing, logistics, technology, investigations forensics and other services.

“A big focus for this corporation is what we call safeness, where the emphasis is on personal safety and security for our team members, guests and those people in our communities, which has allowed us to launch different efforts such as Safe City and a wide range of [other community] activities,” Brekke says.

These partnerships with law enforcement have proven to be a winner with agencies across the country. FBI chief Robert Mueller recently presented Target with the Director's Award recognizing the company for its contributions to communities and law enforcement throughout the nation.

The sheer length and breadth of his duties keeps Brekke's job interesting and ever-changing. That variety was the factor that drew him to retail security following a stint practicing law in Minnesota.

A former FBI agent who focused primarily on white collar criminal cases, Brekke decided to enter private law practice after leaving the bureau. Yet drawing up contracts and conducting business litigation paled in comparison to the excitement and variety of law enforcement.

“I actually tried it because I was an attorney in Minnesota, and I wanted to see what it was like,” Brekke says. “It was one of those situations where you can earn a living at it, but do you actually enjoy doing it every day? I enjoy security.”

That love of his profession led him to posts with Dayton's and Marshall Fields retailers before moving to Target's corporate office. There, he has taken on a job with parameters he describes as “none.”

“We get to be engaged from one end of the business to the other,” he explains. “So there's the traditional retail environment, of course, dealing with shortage and shoplifters and fraud and those types of things. We also are able to interact with the financial side of the business, providing services to the supply chain for our overseas sourcing offices.”

Although Target doesn't operate retail stores in other countries, it obtains many of its products from foreign suppliers, primarily Asia with support facilities in India. “You're in a more turbulent global environment, so you try to deal with what comes up there,” he says. “Nothing is different, but it's just the strain of trying to interact with different cultures, different customs and different laws, and to ensure that we can provide the same standards that Target has in the United States whether you're in China, India or other parts of the world. Overseas we deal with everything from petty crime to natural disasters.”

At the store level, Target's asset protection division confronts all the problems plaguing modern retail, from theft to fraud. His team is also concerned with crisis management and must contend with Mother Nature's problems.

“We have a large presence in the Southeast where we deal with hurricanes, and we deal with earthquakes in the West,” Brekke says.

As with any retail operation, theft is always a concern. Yet, in today's high-tech and wired marketplace, the dangers can also take the shape of brand infringement and theft of intellectual property as well.

“We monitor and work with our own in-house people all over the world and monitor products as they are either being made or shipped. We also identify retail outlets overseas that may be moving branded products,” he explains.

Target's asset protection division works with service providers and government agencies to overcome the scale of a global environment, in which thieves can hide in an endless number of locations outside the boundaries of the United States.

Here again is where partnership becomes an effective weapon in ensuring that criminals are brought to justice. Their approach, both domestically and internationally, is to do most of the legwork and information gathering prior to approaching law enforcement.

“It's something of a corporate philosophy - we don't want to become just the one with the complaint,” Brekke says. “We want to come to them with an issue but also a solution.”

With most law enforcement agencies overwhelmed by crimes - many of which may be more serious than retail theft - Target is able to provide the tools and the information that make it easier to bring a case to a close. The company even developed two “sting trailers” complete with wireless digital and GPS for use by law enforcement in snaring would-be sellers of stolen goods.

These relationships with law enforcement are reflective of Brekke's concept of security as a function that touches all aspects of the business. It is a concept that spans protecting data, property and people's well-being.

With more than 30 years in security, including a decade under his belt at Target, Brekke has seen many changes in the field with increased technology and the need to take a global and not a local perspective.

“I do believe that the security professionals are much more professional, much more highly educated, much more ingrained into the businesses,” Brekke says. “Historically, retail was focused around forgery and catching shoplifters, and I believe most of the industry has evolved into much more robust function that serves every area of the business.”

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

This month in Access Control

• Opening Up About Door Closers
• An Enterprise Approach
• The Framework For Open Systems
• On A Higher Plane
• More from April's issue