Shoplifting's biggest enablers might be the retailers themselves

• Retailers have been talking a lot about how theft is a problem at their stores.
• But Walmart, Target, and other chains' own policies and practices could be worsening the problem.
• Conflicting policies and understaffing can make it hard for workers to prevent theft.

The retail industry has spent much of the past year raising alarms around shoplifting and "organized retail crime."

But while conversations about the problem of theft at stores often center on external factors such as law enforcement and the criminal justice system, one of the biggest obstacles to curtailing theft may be a lot closer to home.