Systems and methods for retracing shrink events

A method of detecting a shrink event, the method comprising:

• providing a server associated with a venue containing a plurality of items, the server including one or more processors;
• communicatively linking the server with a shrink event detection subsystem;
• detecting, via the shrink event detection subsystem, a theft event of a stolen item;
• backtracking from the theft event of the stolen item to recognize at least one attribute related to the theft event, the at least one attribute related to the theft event including at least one of a path traversed by the stolen item prior to the theft event, a path traversed by a perpetrator of the theft event prior to the theft event, and a duration that the perpetrator of the theft event was in possession of the stolen item prior to the theft event;
• recording the at least one attribute in a tracking database, the tracking database being accessible by the server;
• generating, by the server, a shrink event template based at least in part of the at least one attribute in the tracking database, the shrink event template being generated via machine learning analytics that recognizes at least one pattern based on the at least one attribute;
• generating tracking data, via a tracking subsystem, related to at least one of tracking a person within the venue and tracking one of the plurality of items;
• and
• comparing the tracking data with the shrink event template.