criminal justice consultant

loss prevention director

loss prevention officer

préventionniste

Vaughan Investigations

I was employed at Vaughan for about a year and a half, and I had a very positive experience working there. I actually left the company to move to another province, and then worked for some other Loss Prevention outfits and "In-House" security (retail), which provided me with a lot of perspective.  I was blown away at the differences between Vaughan and the other companies. 
Vaughan offers a significant amount of time "on the floor", looking for theft and fraud- which is frankly where the action is. Other companies had me analyzing receipts in a closet, checking-in customers' backpacks, and policing staff' purchases- Vaughan preferred that I go on the floor and reduce shrink by catching perpetrators.
Some companies have their employees wear uniforms (whether it be the company they work for, or the ever ubiquitous SECURITY), but not Vaughan, as their viewpoint seems to be to remain in plain clothes and just catch perpetrators.
Another positive feature is safety, but with common sense. For the uninitiated, when I started I shadowed other workers in the company for a significant amount of time, and I felt like I had a large amount of leeway once I graduated to working alone (but sometimes had a partner), which went a long way when I wasn't as used to the job yet. No question was a stupid one to my supervisor, and they checked in periodically with me when I didn't ring them already. What I appreciated about Vaughan was while they were fine if you let a person go after they threatened you or sprinted away across a boulevard, they don't have a "no touch policy" like some companies do, where you basically plead with people to come inside so they can get arrested. If a strict no touch policy is more your style, consider working at Superstore's Loss Prevention department, where their employees can't put hands on people and use the mystical sounding, "Verbal Judo". Just know that they'll consider firing you if you touch a organized retail crime thief who's wheeling out the door with a shopping cart full of meat.
Whatever it be P/T or F/T, another feature I enjoyed about Vaughan was that they had extremely flexible hours. Basically, as long as you satisfy the minimum amount of hours needed to work in a week (16=P/T, 40=F/T), they don't really care when you work (within reason). It lent itself to a lot of flexibility for life and it's unpredictability, which really contributed to a sense of work/life balance. What was nice was once I earned the trust of the company, I started to work 108 hours a pay period, as they seemed to have shifts coming out of the wazoo. Although they didn't have an Overtime policy, most companies as a result just won't let you work more than 40 a week (and some companies have you scrambling to get 28 hours a week instead), so I took the opportunity while I could.
There is paperwork involved with the job, but nothing very challenging, and you essentially get to explain why you kick butt as a LPO. It's not like when I worked at a retail store and had to be on the Occupational Health and Safety committee- tantamount to listening to a mouth breather wearing dangly mittens attached to their jacket sleeves explain why they think the ThunderCats cartoon series is underrated as a franchise. 
In short, I quite enjoyed working at Vaughan, and am confused how people who want to get experience working towards jobs in fields such as law enforcement and corrections feel it is beneath them. As an intuitive and hard working person, I found myself getting stats by being observant and throwing myself into situations, and the company seemed to appreciate that and supported me. It was a beneficial partnership in my journey, which by the way ended up having nothing to do with law enforcement, corrections, etc.


-Although I had a very positive experience being employed at Vaughan, it didn't strike me as a career kind of gig. It is probably more of a stepping stone to careers in the law enforcement, corrections, and military industries- although another positive about the company is it goes ALONG with those industries very well in terms of P/T work when you do get that career job as a police officer, etc. 
-It's also a small company, so there is not a ton of room for advancement. However, that small company feel means that there is good camaraderie, and they're not choked with policies and politics that other companies have.
-Not a job where you go to the same building every day- they have you go all over the place to various stores, with some consideration to your geography.
-No Overtime. Work 125 hours this pay period? Here's 125 hours of straight pay (most companies just won't let you work more than 40 a week as a result).
-Finally, watching people shop can be dull at times- which is hardly a slight against Vaughan, but Loss Prevention in general.

I worked for Vaughan investigations for just shy of 5 years, starting at the bottom of the barrel working my way to the top within 3 years. 
Before Vaughan, I had absolutely no idea where to start ( knowing I wanted to do policing ) however they came into my workplace at the time & started doing what they do best. I got into contact with the director & went from there, I thought it was the coolest thing arresting people for shoplifting/fraud/assault/tresspassing, I mean I still do. However when I started, the competition within the company in terms of advancement was quite tough ( a lot of good employees wanting higher positions ). If you put yourself in the position to succeed and be successful within the company, it will not go unnoticed, people now a days are extremely lazy & want things to be handed to them after making 1 solo arrest within a pay period. If you apply yourself starting day 1, & are eager to improve & put yourself in that position, you will succeed. The director makes it VERY clear in the interview what you’ll be doing on a daily basis & what’s expected of you. Within my time frame employed there, I made 670 arrests. Some people worked there for 2 years or even longer & made maybe 20-30. The director & owner are honestly 2 of if not  the best employers I have ever had, they are very very understanding, the biggest thing is communication, especially if you want to get into law enforcement. Sure jobs will have pros & cons, every job does, but it’s really what you want to get out of the job. If you’re serious about policing or anything in that field, this is the gig you’ll want. I had zero management experience before being employed here & I went to managing an entire new city with the guidance of the director & owner. 

I’m now employed with RCMP which was my goal from the start. It’s not going to happen overnight, put your mind to your goal & make it happen. The days can be long at the job, but if anything that should motivate you to get something even more, if you start playing mind games with yourself & think negatively, you’ll want to quit. It was 1 thing I made clear to myself when working here, is to never hand in a pay period without at least 1 arrest, as everyone has slow pay periods. You should want to get arrests as that’s where you’ll gain the most valuable experience towards policing, dealing with individuals whether it’s in a cooperative manner, passive or active resistant. 

You meet a ton of friends within the job & that’s also quite cool. I’ve made some lifelong friends while being employed there. ( most of which are also now with various policing agencies). 

Overall, if you’ve read this far & are thinking about applying, just do it. You won’t regret it if you apply to the job what I’ve explained in this post. If you’re in post secondary, it’s such a flexible job for you as you make your own schedule. The minimum hours is quite low for part time & you can work more if you choose to do so. 

I worked at Vaughan for 2 years and it is exactly what you should expect if you want to work in law enforcement. It can be very boring and lonely at times, but you have to keep yourself busy and focused on the task at hand. All of a sudden you got from 0-100 and you are under copious amounts of stress dealing with offenders.

This job is perfect for students going through University/College. The hours don't get better. You get to pick your own schedule every week, allowing you to plan work around life. During my time, my boss was very reasonable in planning shifts around exams, picking up less shifts during exam times etc.

During training (80-120 hours depending on your comfort level) you are with a partner who knows what they are doing. They teach you the basic skills you need to do the job, how to work, how to process offenders, complete paperwork etc. After training you start to work a lot on your own. It can get rather boring at times, but you find your own creative ways to work effectively.

This is not a job for those with no experience. You should be very comfortable talking to people and dealing with stressful situations. 

A typical day at work is walking the floors. You never sit on cameras. This allows you to be proactive and not stuck sitting in front of a screen. The management during my time prioritized your safety and would not get mad at you if you didn't arrest everyone. This was very important because it wasn't always safe to apprehend people on your own. They were impressed if you got stats and recovered/prevented theft of merchandise. Again honesty and integrity are very important traits to possess working here.

The best part of the job was the scheduling to support work/life balance.
The hardest part of the job was the down time spent alone when no shoplifting was happening.


I worked for Vaughan for a little under a year and enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to. The job itself seems pretty simplistic but there’s a lot of nuance to it that establishes a considerable learning curve. Once you get better at it though, the job becomes a fairly rewarding experience. There’s some bizarre sense of pride that comes from knowing you got everything right before and during an arrest.

The physicality of the job is defiantly a reality but it might be a little overstated. You will have to arrest people and they will get violent, but the violence is only a means of escape a grand majority of the time. People rarely turn around and fight you if you can’t hold them by force. And scary as it may sound, the arresting process is probably the most fun part of the job.

“Workplace Culture” is a hard thing to describe if you spend a lot of time aggressively avoiding it, but Vaughan has a pretty tight group. It’s a relatively small company so you’ll eventually meet everyone. A lot of the time you’re actually working with someone you’ll be essentially locked in a closet with them for eight hours, which (as negative the connotations sounded just then) is actually a good way to get to know someone.

Making a lot of mistakes in the beginning is totally natural. Management allows a lot of them to be chocked up as learning experiences, as long as it doesn’t become repetitive.

Pay’s fine. If you’re doing well raises come in pretty quickly without you having to ask for them.

It’s probably the best place to go if you’re looking for policing experience, as it’s a fairly close approximation to the responsibilities involved.

Working at Vaughan for the last year and a half has been great. Some of the benefits for employees I’ve seen include: 

Incredibly flexible hours, room for growth relative to performance, great employee/employer relationships, wealth of learning experiences, encouraging work environment with some friendly competition, group activities weekly, and communicative team members and leaders.

If you’re looking for a path to a career in law enforcement, this is a great place to start. The exposure to police, without being a first responder, is unlike anything else. 

You should know what you’re getting into, though. There are times where things will get physical, and knowing the best and safest option is a must. Luckily, that’s something you gain experience in very fast during training. There’s potential for dangerous situations and injury, if you make the wrong decision. 

Although this is no overtime pay, employees get the benefit of making their own schedules to work as much as they’d like. There’s nothing stopping anybody from working 100+ hours per pay period, if they choose. 

The only few negatives I can think of are that there’s no health or dental benefits (which I must admit, is a pretty huge negative), and that people tend to be very immature at times. 

If you show up to your shifts, and you do your job, this is an incredibly rewarding experience that I would highly recommend for anybody in post-secondary or looking for a law enforcement career. 

   Law enforcement has always been the end goal for me. However, that field is not the easiest to jump into. There’s the matter of relevant experience, relevant skills, and maturity among other things. My time at Vaughan so far has set me on the fast track to achieve my goals and I will always be grateful for the opportunity. 

   Every shift presents you with a new challenge and those challenges serve their purpose in personal growth, critical thinking, and tact. I hardly recognize the person I was before I was hired a year ago (and I mean that in the best way possible). I’m very proud of how far I’ve come as an individual and that’s largely in part thanks to Vaughan. 

   The skills developed here go far and beyond just personal. You learn how to become a better team player and a better leader. Vaughan is a tight knit company where after a short while you won’t just know everyone’s name but develop lifelong friendships. We have such a diverse group and wide array of personalities, there’s a zero percent chance anyone feels left out or ostracized. Each employees voice is heard and valued equally. 

   Management is very hands on and accesible. They are willing to answer any questions you might have and make it a point never to patronize; seeing that they’ve either made similar mistakes or had similar questions in the past. 

   I like to think of this Job as a hidden gem in the security field and I am beyond lucky to be apart of the Vaughan family. 

I had the privilege of working in loss prevention for 7 years, and it was an incredibly valuable experience, especially for anyone considering a career in law enforcement. The role taught me a great deal about security, investigation, and critical decision-making in high-pressure situations.

One of the standout aspects of the job was the opportunity to work independently and make important decisions in real-time. In many instances, I had to rely on my own judgment and training to handle situations that could escalate quickly, which helped me develop strong problem-solving skills under stress. This autonomy gave me the confidence to handle challenging scenarios efficiently.

The experience also provided numerous opportunities to collaborate with law enforcement. I was able to learn firsthand how to communicate effectively with officers and other authorities, which was invaluable in building a solid understanding of the criminal justice system.

Furthermore, the company promoted an environment where effort and initiative were recognized. There were clear pathways for advancement for those willing to apply themselves, offering a chance to grow both professionally and personally. With hard work and a proactive approach, it was definitely possible to move up within the organization.

Overall, my time in loss prevention was highly rewarding, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking to build a foundation for a career in law enforcement or security.

Vaughan Investigations is an excellent place to work. in my personal experience the ability to work your own set of hours made an excellent balance of work life culture.
the hands on training i received from multiple lop's staff with years of experience was a proven success. Vaughan Investigations offers a competitive wage for industry stranded as well as ample opportunity or raises. the management at the time i was there was excellent. there were a variety of team leaders. who where very knowledgeable and readily available if need be. The owner is a devoted family man and one of those salt of the earth type people.
the culture at Vaughan Investigations was fun and challenging. the staff were all well rounded individuates staying in contact and often having weekly social events. to unwind as well as discuses future company operations. i was well trained and confident in my ability to preform any of my scope of employment duties at Vaughan Investigations. i would highly recommend working for them there are a very positive and progressive company. keep in mind the nature of the business is not for everyone cretin a skill set is required and you need to put in the work effort to be successful at it.

Good place to start off in security if you have no experience, however i would not recommend staying. A-lot of security jobs start off with a wage similar to this company however, extremely poor work environment, zero support from management, no organization, the work itself is way too dangerous. You have zero backup, zero benefits, work solo, and are not tactically trained to pursue the work you do. Management is against you associating with other coworkers, they often manipulate their employees into thinking there is no other place better to gain experience (which is definitely not true) . There is no structure in the company, there is no HR. Handcuff training is not provided. There is not much room for growth at this company. Wage increase is not given often. Staff find enjoyment in body slamming people in poverty on the ground over a 5 dollars. I recommend you seek employment somewhere else, you have a better chance building your law enforcement career at a place that respects you for the work you put in, values you as an individual, and that is more trauma informed as a whole.

Vaughan Investigations will create their own narrative about you even if it means lying through their teeth. Be careful as the company WILL make up false stories about you if you don't fit their mold. Management does not have the temperament or capacity to manage the company, won't own up to mistakes even when confronted with it. You'll be treated like dirt.

Working conditions are unsafe and it is common to get injured on the job. You are often left solo during training for extended times.

Pay is quite low and the job is a dead end.

Travel isn't compensated and you may have to drive to multiple different locations during your shift based on demand.

Overall management makes the job excruciating, the culture is quite racially divided and untrusting, unprofessional, and lacks integrity - I highly recommend applying elsewhere.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Criminal justice consultant 4 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
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Loss prevention officer 4 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Préventionniste 1 salary reported	$19.00 per hour

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