Retailers Walking Fine Line as They Seek to Curb Rampant Theft
With Retail Theft Rampant, Will New Deterrents at Walmart, CVS and More Drive Consumers Away?
Retail shrink, or company inventory lost to causes other than sales, has risen to an unprecedented level, causing some of the trade's biggest corporations to implement extra in-store anti-theft devices at the risk of losing customers.

Although retail management has identified several types of shrinkage - such as internal/employee theft, operational loss, administrative errors and return fraud - it is organized retail crime (ORC) that accounts for a large part of the problem. This grander, more coordinated type of shoplifting that has industry leaders taking tougher security stances and paying plenty for them.

Explaining these "more sophisticated and highly dangerous" crimes to a Senate hearing in Nov. 2021, CVS Health crime and corporate investigations exec Brendan (Ben) Dugan told the committee judiciary that his company has seen ORC increase 300% since the start of the pandemic. Dugan indicated those thefts had resulted in annual losses of more than $200 million for his company.

And in a company call to investors in Jan. 2022, Walgreens CFO James Kehoe claimed his company's retail shrink rose 40% to 50% "over the last two years" - and was then currently "absorbing a 52% increase in shrink," per Best Life.

Retailers Lock Up Product In Response to Increased Theft

More locked product cases and additional security gear have been implemented by Walmart, CVS, Walgreens and others in an attempt to thwart criminals from stealing large quantities of goods and reselling them for profit.

Having to access items from locked displays is causing an inconvenience for shoppers, who have taken to social media to complain about the increasingly unacceptable customer service at stores that are understaffed and underperforming.

If the issue grows into a widespread departure of bothered and scared shoppers from stores, retailers will have to come up with more consumer-friendly strategies to battle this level of theft. On a broader level, one might expect the industry to confront ORC through proposed legislation and retail-crime associations. finance.yahoo.com


The End of America's 'Great Crime Decline'
Taking violence and government seriously

Left and right must reckon with American violence and rethink government's role in reducing it.

Americans now are fretting that the "Great Crime Decline" they enjoyed over the last two decades is being reversed. Surging violence has already brought back a politics reminiscent of the post-1960s, when Republicans hammered Democrats as insufficiently devoted to law and order. The recent uptick in homicides and shootings has simply widened a consistently large gap in lethal violence between the United States and other affluent nations.

In spite of this persistent bloodshed, powerful groups on both the left and the right in American politics stubbornly refuse to reckon seriously with the problem. On the left, a long-standing narrative persists that fear of violent crime is misplaced, and that policing, prosecutions, and incarceration should be severely curtailed or even abandoned. On the right, talk about violent crime arises when the issue can be exploited for political advantage. But in practice, Republican lawmakers often hamper efforts that could yield meaningful reductions in violence over the long term, particularly around gun control. Both of these positions make policy reform untenable.

American violence: High and pervasive

The United States is an outlier among developed democracies when it comes to lethal violence. As the figure below illustrates, the lowest rate of murder in the United States since World War II is higher than the highest rates of murder in Canada, Germany, Britain, and Spain. In fact, the U.S. far exceeds the murder rates in all of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea over the same time period. The gap between the United States and the rest is immense. Canada comes closest, with a peak in homicides at three per 100,000 residents, but it is dwarfed by the peak U.S. murder rate over the past 50 years, which was over 10 per 100,000.

Solution aversion impedes policy reform

Despite these facts on the ground, too many people in positions of influence and authority on both the left and right do little to confront the problem of violence in their policy programs. The problem on the left, particularly at the national level, is refusing to take violence seriously.

If the problem on the left is refusing to take violence seriously, the problem on the right is a steadfast refusal to take government seriously; that is, the positive role that government can play in reducing violence.

People at risk want "punishment plus" - Getting from here to there - Conclusion: niskanencenter.org


America's Murder Capital: New Orleans
New Orleans to end 2022 with the highest homicide rate in the U.S.
2022 ends with New Orleans as America's Murder Capital with the most killings per capita. Violent crime in the Crescent City has reached levels not seen in more than 25 years.

Morale with the New Orleans Police Department is low and President of the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission says the city has lost over 150 police officers this year.

"The police department stood at nearly 13,000 officers as we speak today were looking at about 900 police officers," said Goyeneche.

Goyeneche says since 2019 the homicide rate has increased by 132%.

"Shootings have increased 87%, car jackings have increased 167%, and armed robberies are up 21%," said Goyeneche.

Goyencche says political officials are now responding to the issue by providing officers the resources they need.

"The pay raises that have been ignored for the past three years will be provided to the police department," said Goyeneche. louisianaradionetwork.com


Other states with bail reform
Efforts have been pushed in New York, Alaska and California. In both Alaska and New York, bail reform was rolled back. In California, residents there voted to keep cash bail as is.

If implemented, Illinois would be the first state to have this type of elimination. But it is important to note that California, New Mexico, Kentucky, Nebraska, Indiana, New York and New Jersey have all successfully made some type of changes to their bail laws - each varying on a state-by-state basis.....

..There has been near elimination of cash bail in both New Jersey and Washington D.C. A study published in the MDRC - a nonprofit nonpartisan organization - shows that in New Jersey fewer people have been arrested for lower-level crimes and jail populations decreased. The study also shows crime continues to decline in that state.....

Is NY bail reform working?

Bail reform has also led to a sharp decrease in cases where a low bail was set. As a result of this critical reform, fewer New Yorkers were detained pretrial on low bail amounts simply because they didn't have the resources to buy their own liberty. Sep 22, 2022.  ourquadcities.com

   5 Ways Cash Bail Systems Undermine Community Safety


65 I Counties Out of 102 Fighting New No-Bail Law
Ill. Supreme Court Puts Cashless Bail in State on Hold
The Illinois Supreme Control issued a stay on the elimination of cash bail in the state's SAFE-T Act until the high court rules on the constitutionality of the sweeping criminal justice law.

On Wednesday, Kankakee County Chief Circuit Court Judge Thomas Cunnington ruled in a lawsuit filed by 65 counties that portions of the so-called SAFE-T Act were unconstitutional, specifically the bail reform and pre-trial release portions of the act.

Cunnington allowed other portions of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, such as body cameras and training for police, to stand.

Additionally, Cunnington said that by eliminating monetary bail in all situations in Illinois, the act violates that portion of the state's constitution on crime victim's rights.

The SAFE-T Act, he said, "impairs the court's ability to ensure the safety of the victim and victim's family between the time the defendant fails to appear in court and the rule to show cause hearing, in violation of the Crime Victim's Bill of Rights.  officer.com


Perfect Storm of Crime Surge & Police Exodus
As Applications Fall, Police Departments Lure Recruits With Bonuses and Attention

Many police chiefs say staffing levels have not rebounded from a wave of resignations that started with the pandemic and the 2020 unrest.

As American police departments seek to overcome an exodus of disgruntled officers and a sudden decline in applications, they are wooing recruits with some of the tactics a football coach might use to land a prized quarterback.

A steep drop in the number of people wanting to become police officers since the start of the pandemic and the unrest of 2020 have given extraordinary leverage to job seekers, forcing departments to market themselves in new ways.

At a recent conference in Washington held by the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement policy organization, officials from departments across the country said they were struggling. They said they were not finding enough people willing and able to fight crime, staff unfilled shifts and build residents' trust in the police. nytimes.com


Violent crime fell in Tampa in 2022, police say

Violent crime rises in Albany in 2022

US: 102.7M Cases - 1.1M Dead - 99.6M Recovered
Worldwide: 666.2M Cases - 6.7M Dead - 638.1M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 829

'Tripledemic' Sweeping Bay Area
A triple-whammy of illness hits the Bay Area
It's not just COVID now. Flu season has arrived, and the respiratory syncytial virus is also surging in the Bay Area and around the country. Overlapping symptoms like fever, chills and headaches can make figuring out what you have difficult, and my colleague Aidin Vaziri has a guide on how to distinguish between the illnesses.

Holiday travel is expected to increase the risk of COVID spread and potential reinfection. And hospitals have been strained over the past month as cases have risen. Nationwide, infections of kids have shot up 50% in the past eight weeks.

Santa Clara County, the Bay Area's most populous, is now in "high" COVID spread tier based on CDC measures, and residents are recommended but not required to wear masks. But don't expect mask mandates or more dramatic business lockdowns to return, according to California health officials. Now, the best way to stop the spread of the virus is to get vaccinated, they've said. sfchronicle.com


The Shift Away from Remote Work
Is Remote Work Dying A Fast Death?

With the reopening of economies, the question remains: Is working from home a thing of the past?

Although some companies favor remote working, others are reducing the number of remote offerings. According to LinkedIn data, remote work positions fell to 14% in September from a high of 20% in February. But this decline in remote work listings has not reduced employees' demand for workplace flexibility. More than half of job applicants preferred remote roles.

According to a CNN report, many CEOs want their employees back in the office at least a couple of days weekly, indicating a shift to hybrid work. Some CEOs have taken extreme measures, such as Elon Musk of Twitter, who mandated that all employees work from the office five days a week or lose their job. forbes.com


US extends air travel COVID-19 vaccine mandate for international visitors
The U.S. government has quietly issued an extension to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for foreign travelers.

EU says 27 member states 'strongly encouraged' to impose pre-departure COVID-19 testing of passengers from China

Why Xi Jinping Reversed His Zero-Covid Policy in China

FTC Takes Action Against Noncompete Restrictions for Security Guards
FTC Cracks Down on Companies That Impose Harmful Noncompete Restrictions on Thousands of Workers

Agency action eliminates noncompetes covering thousands of workers, promoting greater economic opportunity and competition

The Federal Trade Commission has taken legal action against three companies and two individuals, forcing them to drop noncompete restrictions that they imposed on thousands of workers. Drawing from the FTC's substantial expertise in this space, these actions mark the first time that the agency has sued to halt unlawful noncompete restrictions.

According to the complaints issued by the FTC, each of the companies and individuals illegally imposed noncompete restrictions on workers in positions ranging from low-wage security guards to manufacturing workers to engineers that barred them from seeking or accepting work with another employer or operating a competing business after they left the companies.

Prudential Security, Inc. and Prudential Command Inc. In its complaint, the FTC said the two affiliated Michigan-based companies and their owners, Greg Wier and Matthew Keywell, exploited their superior bargaining power against low-wage security guards, requiring them to sign contracts containing restrictions that prohibited them from working for a competing business within a 100-mile radius of their job site with Prudential for two years after leaving Prudential.

Prudential's security guards typically earned hourly wages at or near minimum wage, yet the company's standard noncompete clause included another restriction that required employees to pay $100,000 as a penalty for any alleged violations of the clause, the FTC noted.

According to the FTC, Prudential tried to enforce its noncompete restrictions by suing individual employees and competing security guard companies, in some cases blocking workers from accepting jobs at significantly higher wages. Even after a Michigan state court determined that Prudential's noncompete restrictions were unreasonable and unenforceable under state law, the companies continued to require all of their security guard employees to sign them.

In August 2022, Prudential sold the bulk of its business to another security guard company. Prudential security guards who now work for the acquiring company are not subject to noncompete restrictions with the company, according to the FTC's complaint. But approximately 1,500 of Prudential's former employees were still subject to the noncompete restrictions.

Under the Prudential order, the companies and their individual owners are banned from enforcing, threatening to enforce, or imposing noncompete restrictions on any current or past workers, and are prohibited from imposing noncompete restrictions in any of their other business ventures, including any future business ventures. They are also required to notify all affected employees that they are no longer bound by noncompete restrictions. ftc.gov


Fed Judge Insists on Incarceration Because "These crimes happen so many times and do so much damage"
DOJ: Seattle CFO embezzled more than $2.1 million from health club chain sentenced to prison

While employer was suffering from illness, 25-year employee transferred money from company accounts to her own bank accounts

Seattle - A 57-year-old Seattle woman who embezzled more than $2.1 million from her long-time employer was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.

Michele D. Sharar pleaded guilty on April 25, 2022, to wire fraud for the fraudulent fund transfers she made between 2014 and 2017, from the victim's business bank accounts to her personal bank accounts. The victim in this case asked that Sharar serve no prison time. However, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said a sentence of incarceration was important because of the problem of bookkeepers and accountants stealing from small businesses. "These crimes happen so many times and do so much damage," Judge Coughenour said.

Sharar worked for Emerald City Athletics and Emerald City Health Properties for more than 25 years, rising to the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). During a time period when the owner of the company had medical issues, Sharar began stealing money from the company to feed a shopping addiction. justice.gov


"Dimitre Hadjiev's jewelry store wasn't a legitimate business - it was a front for fraud"
DOJ: South Street Jeweler Convicted of Selling Counterfeit Rolexes and Financial Fraud Crimes
PHILADELPHIA - Dimitre Hadjiev, 41, of Upper Darby, PA, was convicted at trial of charges including trafficking in counterfeit goods and financial fraud offenses related to his sale of counterfeit luxury wristwatches.

Since at least 2014, Hadjiev operated a jewelry store on the 300 block of South Street in Philadelphia, out of which he sold and customized watches and other jewelry. An investigation by the IRS and FBI revealed that Hadjiev was knowingly buying and selling counterfeit Rolex watches and customizing Rolex watches with counterfeit Rolex parts. justice.gov


Is Retail Ditching Curbside Pickup?
Kohl's discontinues curbside pickup, more retailers may follow

Kohl's discontinues curbside pickup and more retailers are considering canceling the omnichannel service.

As the COVID-19 pandemic kicked into full force, retailers were forced to respond - improvise is more like it - by ramping up new services such as curbside pickup. In fact, a majority of retail chains ranked in Digital Commerce 360's Top 1000 offered curbside pickup in 2021.

But now that consumer life has returned to some form of normalcy, with shoppers feeling empowered to cruise store aisles as in pre-COVID-19 days, the question arises: Have retailers and shoppers kicked curbside pickup to the curb? That depends.

In August, Kohl's paused its curbside operations, which it started in 2020, in favor of an automated self-pickup system. Book retail chain Barnes & Noble Booksellers Inc. no longer has designated curbside pickup spots or outdoor signs about the service, "primarily due to declining usage by customers," a spokesperson says.

An REI spokesperson said it's choosing to keep curbside for now at the outdoor apparel chain, declining to elaborate further.

In March 2022, 25% of online shoppers said they used curbside pickup within the previous six months, according to a Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights survey of 1,132 online shoppers. But in September 2022, only 17% of shoppers said they planned to used curbside pickup as a part of their holiday shopping, according to a later Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights survey of 1,088 online shoppers.  digitalcommerce360.com


Employee Surveillance - Productivity Killer?
Micromanaging Employees' Online Activity Can Negatively Impact Productivity

Micromanagement Is A Leadership Misstep

A culture of distrust is not conducive to a productive work environment. If your company has a reputation for micromanaging, it's going to be difficult to attract top talent. The best employees want to work in an environment where they feel trusted and empowered to do their jobs well. They don't want to be constantly monitored and/or directed by their managers-and internet use is no exception.

Finding The Right Balance

Look at the bigger picture. Chances are that if your team has productivity issues, it's a deeper problem that won't be solved by micromanaging internet use. If you want to maximize your workforce's productivity, consider the efficiency of the general work structure. Make sure employees spend their time on impactful tasks related to their job roles. Having to cover absent colleagues, fix avoidable errors or do ineffective data entry is often the real threat to productivity.

Don't Be A Dopamine Grinch

We all need to step off the productivity treadmill from time to time, and online browsing can provide much-needed respite. Sure, there might be healthier alternatives, such as meditation or taking a walk. But if someone prefers to spend a few minutes browsing Facebook or Amazon, that's their decision to make. Instead of immediately having a negative reaction to employees using the internet for private purposes, we should ask whether it's such a productivity killer in the first place. forbes.com


9% of Workers Have Substance Abuse Disorder
NIOSH Address Workplace Substance Abuse Recovery Issues

In the U.S. there are 13.6 million workers with a substance abuse disorder, representing 9% of all employed adults.

The U.S. continues to struggle with substance abuse disorders (SUDs). Data shows that 70% (about 13.6 million workers) of all adults with an alcohol or illicit drug use disorder are employed. The 13.6 million workers with a SUD represent nearly 9% of all employed adults. About 1.9 million workers (1%) receive treatment annually for a SUD, and about 13.3 million workers (nearly 9%) report that they are in recovery or have recovered from a past or present substance use problem.

Looking specifically at people with SUD, approximately 53% have a mild disorder, 23% have a moderate disorder, and 24% have a severe disorder. The term addiction often is used to characterize severe SUDs.

To help employers understand and support recovery, in a blog entry on NIOSH, the authors summarized a new article published in Occupational Health. ehstoday.com


Are Your Stores Ready?
Gov. Newsom declares state of emergency as Northern California braces for another storm
Northern California is bracing for yet another powerful storm that's expected to bring strong winds and drench the already-battered region with heavy rain on Wednesday, prompting Gov. Newsom to declare a state of emergency to "support response and recovery efforts."

A moisture-rich atmospheric river - fed by a plume of subtropical water vapor at the lower and middle levels of the atmosphere - is expected to bring wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour and more than 6 inches of rain in some parts of the Bay Area. The Sacramento Valley can expect up to 4 inches of rain and some areas in the foothills could see up to 6 inches. latimes.com

   Bay Area storm: Tens of thousands without power as damage assessments begin


NRF: 10 Retail industry predictions for 2023

The 12 most impactful retail acquisitions of 2022

The Growing Cost of Cyberattacks
Warning: The Cost of Cyberattacks Can Break the Bank

As the volume and cost of cyberattacks continue to surge, one-in-five U.S. and European organizations report that they have come close to filing bankruptcy as a result of a cyberattack.

Being hit by ransomware can be a major detriment to a business-whether or not they decide to pay the ransom. A recent study found that 37% of all businesses were hit by ransomware in 2021, and an astounding 32% of victims paid the ransom to recover only 65% of their data. This creates a lose-lose situation for victims of an attack, resulting in a hit to financials and operations, no matter which option they choose. And it's not just big corporations that are the victims of such attacks; any business with any digital asset can be the target of cybercrime.

It's no surprise that attacks are costing organizations dearly. Ransomware cost the world $20 billion in 2021, and that number is expected to rise to $265 billion by 2031. Recovering from a ransomware attack cost businesses $1.85 million on average last year. Serious incidents don't just result in obvious expenses-third-party forensics, IT overtime, and regulatory fines. There are also potential legal costs, customer churn, and reputational damage. Don't forget about the soft costs of notifying customers of an incident, greater difficulty attracting new customers, and potential loss of business partners.

It's time to invest in effective cybersecurity

As the volume and cost of cyberattacks continue to surge, one-in-five U.S. and European organizations report that they have come close to filing bankruptcy as a result of a cyberattack. This alarming statistic underscores a simple reality-it is far less costly to invest in effective cybersecurity than it is to recover from a successful cyberattack. But where do you get started?

What should businesses do?

Invest in Comprehensive email security

Comprehensive email security can help businesses stay ahead of increasingly complex attacks. An effective defense should have advanced phishing and impersonation protections to protect against attackers who have developed an ability to evade traditional defenses. Comprehensive email security also requires implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Train employees - Update outdated tools and technology - Prepare for the worst networkcomputing.com


The Cyber Threat Landscape Will Continue to Evolve in 2023
Ominous 2023 cybersecurity threats ensure an active landscape

Cyber criminals have upped their game as C-level security teams look to meet new challenges

The Hot Buttons for 2023

Paye foresees an intensification in supply chain attacks ranging from the more complex enterprise organizations down to the small and medium businesses and managed service providers. "Adversaries will increasingly target these suppliers rather than the larger enterprises knowing that they provide a path into multiple partners and customers. To address this threat, organizations of all sizes while conducting a risk assessment need to consider the vulnerabilities of all third-party software or firmware. "

However, the threat vectors continue to multiply as the mobile workforce expands and networks are stretched to home offices and understaffed corporate facilities. Nadir Izrael, the CTO and Co-founder of Armis, an asset visibility and security company, sees the future of cybersecurity as being an agentless entity as employees continue to work from home and on their personal devices.

Targeting the Threats for 2023

Ransomware and cyber extortion will remain among the top cyber threats in 2023. As cybercriminals' tactics continue to evolve, they will increasingly favor exfiltrating data over encrypting it for cyber extortion. Governments will continue to strongly advise organizations not to pay ransoms and may even introduce legislation relating to this. That is what Cyril Noel-Tagoe, a Principal Security Researcher at Netacea, is forecasting, citing the fact that double extortion ransomware (where a copy of the data is exfiltrated before it is encrypted) has surpassed traditional ransomware as cybercriminals' extortion tactic of choice.

He also fears that the advancement of machine learning and artificial intelligence to fight potential cybercrime is similarly being used by cybercriminals as it becomes more advanced and accessible.

Sorting Out the Remedies

The adoption of Zero Trust Security models is becoming a driving force in a comprehensive cybersecurity framework for most large-scale organizations. But as Torsten Staab, a Ph.D., Principal Engineering Fellow at Raytheon Intelligence & Space reminds us, Zero Trust is a tool, not a product.

The One Constant in Cybersecurity - It Only Gets Harder: securityinfowatch.com


New Global Ransomware Task Force Activated
Global counter-ransomware task force to become active in January
Clare O'Neil, the Australian cybersecurity minister, plans to announce in coming days that a global task force to counter ransomware will become operational this month, the latest step in a global effort that began in Washington to fight back against the growing number of cyberattacks, a senior Biden administration official told CyberScoop.

As first announced during a recent summit in Washington, Australia will lead the International Counter Ransomware Task Force, which includes the U.S. and its allies, in an effort to foster greater international information sharing and exchanging capabilities to battling the global ransomware problem.

Australia is taking the lead "because they've had some very major ransomware attacks," the senior administration official told CyberScoop. "They recognize that the network is global [and] the people are global so to take it on really requires global operational partnerships."

Indeed, Australia has been hit with numerous high-profile ransomware attacks over the past year, including one that targeted one its largest private health insurers. Countries worldwide will be invited to join the ransomware task force, which will focus on resilience, disruption and efforts to counter illicit financial activities globally, according to the senior administration official.

The task force is the latest component of the Biden National Security Council's attempts to deter ransomware actors and falls under the umbrella of the larger Counter Ransomware Initiative, a partnership that includes 36 countries and the European Union.

The administration has issued a series of sanctions against ransomware actors, cryptocurrency exchanges and mixers, moves that attempt to disrupt the financial infrastructure ransomware actors rely on to carry out and profit from attacks. cyberscoop.com


Weaponzing Artificial Intelligence
Defensive vs. offensive AI: Why security teams are losing the AI war

Weaponizing AI to attack understaffed enterprises that lack AI and machine learning (ML) expertise is giving bad actors the edge in the ongoing AI cyberwar.

Innovating at faster speeds than the most efficient enterprise, capable of recruiting talent to create new malware and test attack techniques, and using AI to alter attack strategies in real time, threat actors have a significant advantage over most enterprises.

"AI is already being used by criminals to overcome some of the world's cybersecurity measures," warns Johan Gerber, executive vice president of security and cyber innovation at MasterCard. "But AI has to be part of our future, of how we attack and address cybersecurity."

Enterprises are willing to spend on AI-based solutions, evidenced by an AI and cybersecurity forecast from CEPS that they will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.6% from 2020 to 2027 to reach a market value of $46.3 billion by 2027. venturebeat.com


Cyber concerns to expect in 2023
Cybersecurity is expected to be a top priority in 2023 as lawmakers step up their efforts to address evolving threats, including ransomware attacks and foreign spyware.

Twitter Whistleblower Joins Rapid7, a Cybersecurity Company

Fencing Operator Bust Stops New Jersey Boosters Network
DOJ: New York Man Gets 3 Yrs in Prison for Conspiring to Traffic $1M+ in Stolen Goods
Razel Romhein, 49, of Staten Island, New York, from 2011 through May 2013, along with others engaged in a conspiracy to traffic in stolen health and beauty aid products and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. These products were stolen by "boosters" from various places, including retail stores located in New Jersey, and then sold through a series of distributors at a significantly discounted price.

Romhein operated a warehouse facility in Staten Island, New York that functioned as a "cleaning station" for the stolen products. He arranged for the delivery of stolen merchandise and he and others removed security packaging and other labels from the products that identified the retail stores from which the products were stolen. The products, with an aggregate value of at least approximately $1 million, were then sold for a profit. justice.gov


Baldwin County, AL: Two men suspected of being part of South American Theft Ring
The Gulf Shores Police Department arrested two people who allegedly burglarized a Diamond Jewelers early New Year's Day morning, according to a Facebook post from the GSPD. Ricard Fabian Soto-Vargas, 34, and Sebastian Vilches, 36, were arrested and charged with: Third-degree burglary, Possession of burglary tools. Possession of marijuana. Police said they were called to 108 East 20th Ave at around 12:07 a.m. on Jan. 1 for a "burglary in progress." Police said the alarm was set off after Soto-Vargas and Vilches made "forcible entry." Police said no merchandise was taken and the two fled the scene before officers arrived. Officers quickly located them by the vehicle they drove away with. They stopped them and detained them both. Both are being held at the Baldwin County Jail with "an immigration hold due to verification that they have entered the United States illegally," according to GSPD. Police said investigators are working with multiple other law enforcement agencies to determine if Soto-Vargas and Vilches "have connections to a South American theft ring that is responsible for similar crimes in the United States." You are encouraged to contact the GSPD Criminal Investigations Division if you have any information. fox10tv.com


Chicago, IL: Chicago Police release video: Smash-and-grab burglary on Mag Mile
Surveillance video shows crooks smashing their way into a Mag Mile store, and then wheeling out bins full of merchandise. It happened Christmas morning at Bottega Veneta in the 800 block of North Michigan Avenue, in at least the third time the upscale boutique has been hit since the pandemic. Chicago police released surveillance video hoping the public can help identify the suspects and vehicle involved. The theft happened at 4:37 a.m. on a frigid cold Christmas morning steps from the historic Water Tower. Surveillance footage shows three men emerge from a white van, one with what appears to be a sledgehammer, the others with 96-gallon recycling bins. Inside, the suspects are seen clearing out store shelves and clothing racks, filling up the bins with all the merchandise. Police have not released the value of the stolen goods, but Bottega Veneta's handbags can retail for thousands of dollars each. Within moments, the smash-and-grab crew loads up the van and takes off. More than a week later, no one is in custody.  fox32chicago.com


Chester County, PA: Group accused of stealing thousands in fragrances from Ulta Beauty stores
Three Delaware women were arrested in Chester County after police say the trio robbed an Ulta beauty store and other retailers in neighboring counties. West Whiteland Township Police shared surveillance video that allegedly shows the women brazenly filling store baskets with thousands worth of fragrances at the store in Exton last Thursday. Investigators say the group robbed two other Ulta Beauty stores in nearby Newtown Square and Plymouth Township, Montgomery County earlier in the day. Those robberies tipped off police and store employees when the group set its sights on the Exton store, which has previously been the target of similar robberies.  fox29.com


Fenton, MO: Five wanted in Gun store burglary, $5,000 reward offered
Authorities are searching for five people accused in a Fenton gun store burglary earlier this week. On Tuesday morning, a group of five people broke into the Denny Dennis Sporting Goods store at 1 Gravois Road and stole several firearms. Police responded to the scene around 3:40 a.m. Tuesday, but did not make any arrests. Feds released photos of five suspects wanted in the investigation and two vehicles tied to the burglary. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the burglary. fox2now.com


Austintown, OH: Prison inmate from Cortland suspected of $1,000 shoplifting spree at Home Depot
A Cortland man who has already been locked up for more than a year has been transferred to the Mahoning County Jail to face allegations that he shoplifted more than $1,000 worth of tools from the Home Depot in Austintown. Austintown Police picked up 35-year-old Ryan Repko from the Trumbull Correctional Institution where he has been serving a year-and-a-half long sentence for tampering with evidence and illegal conveyance of drugs into a government facility. According to Austintown Police, Repko was identified as one of two men who allegedly loaded power tools into a shopping cart at the Home Depot on November 17, 2021, placed the tools into a car and drove away. A police officer recognized Repko from store security video. Repko was booked into the Trumbull County Jail on December 13, 2021 before being transferred to state custody. Repko is charged with grand theft. wfmj.com


Royal Oak, MI: Women charged in organized thefts at Ulta store; large fight breaks out in downtown