America's 'Coast-to-Coast' ORC Scourge Demands Federal Action
State and local governments have taken some action, but Congress needs to step up

Organized crime blamed for scourge of shoplifting, smash-and-grab flash mobs

Critics fault soft-on-crime liberal leaders, demand federal action

Rampant shoplifting and organized retail theft, often unchecked by local governments and allowed to grow into a multibillion-dollar industry, have major retailers turning to Washington for help. Legislation to resolve the problem has yet to turn the tide of the shoplifting scourge.

Congress is considering ways to combat organized theft, which is eating into retailers' bottom lines and causing headaches for shoppers, who increasingly find everyday items locked behind glass. The problem is coast to coast.

"From our perspective, things are not really changing. We've seen [organized retail crime] cases continue to grow not only in volume and velocity but in size and scope, year over year," Scott Glenn, vice president for asset protection at Home Depot, told The Washington Times.

Republican lawmakers say liberal elected leaders and prosecutors encourage lawlessness with lenient criminal justice policies.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, responded to smash-and-grab thefts in 2021 by calling for stiffer prosecutions and more state funding to target the problem. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, signed a bill last year that created second-degree and third-degree felony crimes for people who commit repeated thefts within a short period.

Retailers are lobbying Congress to pass the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, establishing the Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center through the Department of Homeland Security. The center would coordinate federal efforts, establish relationships with state and local law enforcement and set up a secure system to share data and spot trends.  washingtontimes.com


DAs Nationwide Continue to Ramp Up Fight Against Retail Theft
New Placer County, Calif. initiative aims to crack down on retail theft

New signs available for businesses county-wide promote the Placer County District Attorney's recently formed Retail Theft Vertical Prosecution Program.

A new campaign by the Placer County District Attorney's Office hopes to combat retail theft by raising awareness of a county-wide initiative designed to catch and prosecute thieves.

Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire unveiled new posters Wednesday that he said businesses can put in their windows. The posters read, in part: "This business is protected by Placer County's retail theft initiative."

"They are absolutely designed for the would-be thief to know, walking into a business in Placer County, that we won't stand for it, that they will get reported, suspects will be arrested, and they will be prosecuted," Gire said.

Gire said the signs promote his office's recently formed Retail Theft Vertical Prosecution Program. Created in October 2023 through $2 million in state grant funding, the program consists of a group of three people - a deputy district attorney, a district attorney investigator and a crime analyst - who are dedicated to investigating retail theft crimes.

"To have a dedicated team start to finish increases, one: efficiency," Gire said. "It really allows the attorney, the investigator, the crime analyst to know the cases inside and out. And it allows those same people to know sort of the organized retail networks that are operating within our county and outside of our county so that we can try and cast as wide a net as possible to catch thieves that come into our county."  kcra.com


The 'Dark Shadow' of Shoplifting Continues to Plague Los Angeles
To solve the problem, the city must return to the mindset that 'stealing is a crime!'

Op-Ed: Shoplifting Hurts Everyone

A dark shadow looms over Los Angeles as rampant, shameless shoplifting plagues local businesses, leaving a trail of demoralization in its wake.

Research by Richard C. Hollinger, a criminology professor at the University of Florida, highlights the correlation between shoplifting and small-business closures. According to his findings, businesses in areas with higher rates of shoplifting are more likely to shut down, unable to absorb the financial blows of theft and the subsequent need to invest in security measures.

Moreover, the psychological toll on business owners cannot be overstated. A study published in the Journal of Business and Psychology found that the fear of crime significantly affects business owners' well-being and job satisfaction. Constantly worrying about theft undermines their passion for entrepreneurship and erodes the sense of community that thriving local businesses often foster.


Officers are caught in a perpetual game of cat and mouse, facing demoralization as they witness a continuous cycle of arrests followed by swift releases due to lax prosecution. Academic insights from the Police Executive Research Forum underscore the strain on police resources caused by organized retail crime.

The rampant shoplifting epidemic in Los Angeles is not just a concern for business owners trying to make ends meet. It reverberates through the entire community, impacting customers who face higher prices and diminished services and police officers struggling to maintain order amidst the rising tide of organized retail crime.

To address this issue, a collaborative effort is required - one that involves policymakers, law enforcement agencies, and the community at large working together to find comprehensive solutions that safeguard the economic vitality and social fabric of Los Angeles. But most importantly, it involves a radical shift in mindset - stealing is a crime!  labusinessjournal.com


Stockton, CA: Lawmaker releases referendum targeting parts of Prop 47
A state lawmaker from Stockton released a new referendum aimed at tackling retail theft. "I've seen it done in my hometown of Stockton. Enough is enough. For us, it's all hands on deck. We need to do something. We should have done it yesterday, but we're on it today," said Democratic Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua (D-Stockton). The lawmaker said the video of a man going through shelves of tobacco products, tossing items into a trash can before being grabbed by a 7-Eleven employee and taken to the ground led him to say enough is enough. "It went viral. A person coming in and stealing and getting hurt. We don't want that to happen," said Villapudua. Villapudua is introducing a referendum aimed at addressing concerns related to Prop 47. "This is not a Republican or Democratic issue. This is a statewide national issue that we are trying to solve, and I don't have all the answers. What we turned in today was basically a spot bill to get this ball rolling," said Villapudua. A graphic he released said the referendum will revise the $950 property value threshold for misdemeanor, saying it has fueled a market of petty and repeat offenses with zero-to-low accountability. He said it will also support diversion programs for likely offenders. "We're addressing the root of problems not just putting people away. We're addressing the root of problems," said Villapudua.  abc10.com


NYC 'Significantly Curbed Crime in 2023'
NYC Mayor Adams says NYC remains the 'safest big city in America'

Mayor Adams, NYPD say gun seizures in 2023 curbed shootings, murders, other NYC violent crime
New York remains the "safest big city in America," Mayor Adams crowed Wednesday as he and the NYPD said efforts to get guns off the street and enforce quality of life significantly curbed crime in 2023.

Murders fell by 11.9%, to 386 reported in 2023 compared to 438 in 2022, police data shows. When 2023 is compared to 2022, rapes were down 10.5%, robberies were down 3.1%, grand larceny thefts were down 2.5% and burglaries were down 13.1%, the city's crime data shows.

The number of shooting victims on city streets - who are counted separately from the underlying crimes that led them to be shot - in 2023 declined by 27%, to 1,150 from the 1,566 shooting victims reported in 2022.

Adams said the data shows police are bringing order to city streets. "The results are clear - crime is down, jobs are up, tourism is back," Adams said at a One Police Plaza news conference. "But our work is not done. We're not spiking the ball. We're not saying, 'Mission Accomplished.'

A 15% increase in the number of stolen cars and a 6% jump in assaults kept the overall crime rate from dropping further, the data shows. The commissioner said the NYPD's continued "efforts to combat gun violence" - which resulted in the seizure of more than 13,500 guns in the last two years - created "ripple effects" that helped drive down other felonies.  nydailynews.com


Crime Remains High Compared to Pre-COVID Benchmarks
Opinion: Dems want you to think crime crisis is over. Here's why they're wrong
After reaching a record-high number of homicides in Democrat-run cities across the country, 2023 experienced about 13% fewer than the previous year. ABC News framed the statistic around public polling that shows Americans are deeply concerned with crime. Citing a recent Gallup poll, crime analyst Jeff Asher told ABC News, "Seventy-something percent of Americans believe crime is rising this year. And seventy-something percent of Americans in this case just happen to be wrong."

New York-based journalist Ahmed Baba used the ABC News piece to pretend fears about crime are unfounded, claiming there's a "stark disconnect between how a lot of Americans feel and what's actually happening. Disinformation is distorting our perception of reality."

But crime is high and we aren't wrong to feel concerned. We're simply looking at our cities the way we're supposed to. Context is key to understanding crime statistics. We're seeing fewer homicides when compared to a historically high number of murders between 2020 and 2022. That detail is important.

Surveys reveal that American concerns about high crime rates persist, primarily because current figures remain elevated compared to the pre-COVID era. During that time, law enforcement was fully funded and had broader operational latitude. And we can't forget that in a bid to deflect responsibility for the crime surge, a consequence of their defund police strategy, Democrats originally blamed the uptick in criminal activity to COVID. Therefore, it is logical to look towards 2018 and 2019 as benchmark years for a more accurate comparison of crime rates. And the numbers are less impressive when you do that. foxnews.com


Another State Grapples with Retail Theft Surge Fueled By Addiction
'South Burlington Police data shows a 48% increase in retail theft since 2020'

Vermont: Police, lawmakers look to stop revolving door of retail theft
Retail theft is up across much of the state, according to the Vermont Retail and Grocers Association. The group says businesses are reporting several thefts each week and thousands of dollars in monthly losses. The South Burlington Police are among the departments on the frontline of responding to the daily onslaught

South Burlington Police data shows a 48% increase in retail theft since 2020, logging more than 400 incidents in 2023 alone. Poverty and mental health are factors, but SBPD Police Chief Shawn Burke says most offenders are stealing to feed drug addictions.

"They're somehow exchanging that, whether it's selling the product themselves to make cash to pay cash for drugs or they're trading that product with drug traffickers for drugs," Burke said.

South Burlington Police in November launched a new initiative to crack down on retail theft. Over 10 days, officers swarmed hotspots like Lowes at the UMall. Plain-clothed officers in unmarked cars worked closely with employees to identify shoplifters. It resulted in 17 arrests and 10 charges of retail theft. wcax.com


'Sophisticated' Shoplifting a Global Problem
Europe: Supermarket boss says thieves are becoming more 'sophisticated' as losses from shoplifting exceed profits
Shoplifters are fast becoming the biggest thorn in the side of retailers, with a Dutch supermarket adding its voice to a global clamor of chains sounding the alarm on spiking rates in crime.

Retail chain Jumbo is bracing to take a €100 million ($110 million) hit from shoplifting last year, exceeding an expected profit of around €80 million ($88 million), the group said Wednesday during its earnings release, NL Times reported via news agency ANP.

That represents about 1% of the chain's turnover for 2023, in what chief executive Ton van Veen described as "not a healthy situation." He called for politicians to address a swelling tide of shoplifting that is gripping major supermarkets amid a cost of living crisis and technological changes at checkouts.

Van Veen said his supermarket planned to up the presence of security guards at its 725 stores while increasing the use of camera surveillance. fortune.com


San Francisco sees decrease in holiday crime, city leaders say
Compared to last year, San Francisco leaders say visitors packed places like Union Square this holiday shopping season and despite more people, car break-ins and retail theft were down.

Maine's deadliest mass shooting propels homicides to new high in the state

Charlotte, NC councilman proposes task force to combat youth crime

Retail Rocked by Unexpected CEO Exits in 2023
'42% of all announced retail CEO exits last year were unplanned or unexpected'

Korn Ferry says retailers had a spike of unplanned CEO exits last year

Is it harder for one person to have all the skills needed to be CEO? Abrupt exits and a notable boomerang were among the retail c-suite changes in 2023.

Unexpected CEO exits at retail companies picked up in the final months of last year along with a continued trend of women being replaced with men, according to executive search firm Korn Ferry's quarterly analysis of job changes.

About 42% of all announced retail CEO exits last year were unplanned or unexpected, defined so because no successor was named or the departure was filled with a committee that serves as "the office of the CEO."

That accelerated at the end of the year as about 64%, or seven of the 11 CEO exits in the fourth quarter, were unplanned and that was more than three times the abrupt departures in the last three months of the prior year.

The retail industry's CEO comings and goings last year speak to the increasing complexity of the role, said John Long, Korn Ferry's North America retail sector leader based in Dallas.

"It's getting harder and harder for one person to have all the skills to be CEO," Long said. "That's why we're seeing more chief customer officers and chief operating officers augment the CEO's ability to be more focused on critical aspects of the business."

A local surprise departure included Matt Furlong from Grapevine-based GameStop and Rosalind Brewer at Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Among the 47 departing CEOs last year, men also had longer tenures, an average of 7.7 years for men to 3.7 years for women.  dallasnews.com


Retailers Becoming 'More Tactical' in Return Strategy
What Retailers Are Doing to Make Returns Less Annoying
Recent data from the National Retail Federation reveals that last year, shoppers returned 16.5% of items purchased online and in stores - an increase from the 2019 return rate. In light of this, retailers are expected to shift their focus from showrooms to stockrooms, addressing the influx of returned goods.

"We're heading for a trillion dollar problem here," Tom Enright, a retail analyst at research firm Gartner, told WSJ last month. He said businesses forfeit about half of their profit margins due to returns, factoring in the expenses associated with both selling the item and handling the return process.

With that in mind, retailers are getting more tactical about how they approach returns. The shipping and mailing company Pitney Bowes introduced a returns drop-off network in collaboration with PackageHub. According to the company, the network enables cost-free returns without the need for a box or label at nearly 1,000 locations, and there are plans for hundreds more to be launched soon across the country.

Then there are retailers who are looking to do away with returns completely by simply telling customers to "keep it." In fact, according to data from returns services firm goTRG, the adoption of these policies has risen to 59% among retailers, a significant increase from the 26% reported last year.

Some retailers opt to impose return charges on customers who are not members of their loyalty program, while providing free returns for loyal customers. H&M is one such retailer, as reported by PYMNTS, and this strategy is designed to enhance their loyalty program. pymnts.com


NRF: 7 retail industry predictions for 2024
Artificial intelligence's influence continues to grow, consumers demand sustainable actions, and the customer experience remains more important than ever

2024 will be a breakout year for delivery drones

BJ's kicking off 2024 expansion

TGI Fridays Abruptly Closes 36 Restaurants


Quarterly Results

Walgreens Boots Alliance Q1 U.S. retail pharmacy comp's up 8.1%, sales up 6.4%, Retail comp's down 5%, sales down 6%, Pharmacy comp's up 13.1%, sales up 10.7%, sales up 10%