LAPD's Project Blue Light Starts at Topanga Mall in June with ALPR
LAPD plans to include private cameras in 10K-strong surveillance network
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) intends to develop a new surveillance center that will give police centralized access to live security feeds from cameras in public and private spaces, pending budget approval from Mayor Karen Bass. The department hopes to be able to access 10,000 cameras through the city through the program, which has been dubbed LAPD Live.

Real-time surveillance center to utilize live feeds from home security cameras

The real-time crime command center would give police access to security cameras in and on city buildings, retail stores, police body cams and the department's helicopters. It would integrate other software such as the Compstat intelligence tool onto one single screen. Homeowners could also register their own security cameras with the department to share footage from their property and be notified if a crime is committed nearby.

LAPD argues the program will reduce time and money spent on investigating crimes, gathering evidence, and talking to witnesses while "eliminat[ing] the need for officer visits to private residents" which in turn "preserves individual privacy." It would also help mitigate the effect of a recent decline in sworn officers.

And in San Francisco, Mayor London Breed put a measure on the next ballot to deregulate police use of facial recognition as tech investors contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding toward the cause.

Surveillance will cost state of California and participating businesses

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Theft & Shrink Will Continue to be Hot Topic in the Retail Industry in 2024
WSJ: As Retailers Cite Rising Theft and Shrinkage, Analysts Want More Details

Retailers say a surge in theft has hurt their bottom lines, but investors and analysts are looking for more specifics in coming financial reports

As retailers, in the coming weeks, report on the busy holiday shopping season, investors and analysts will be trying to get more understanding into shrinkage and theft.

Finance executives say they are fighting a growing wave of theft, cutting into profits that were already under pressure. But theft is just one contributor to shrink, the industry term for the difference between inventory on the books and what's physically on hand. Lost or damaged goods and inaccurate records also play a part. The picture of retail shrink, which retailers say has been accelerating, may also have been distorted by effects of the pandemic and inflation, some analysts say.

Shrink is now one of the most frequently discussed topics in the industry.

Some analysts say the higher shrink may partly reflect a return to prepandemic norms rather than entirely new trends in theft. Reduced visits to physical stores starting in 2020 simultaneously decreased the opportunities for theft, they say, an effect that dissipated as shoppers stepped out of their houses again.

Shrink in dollar terms is certainly elevated to some degree. But retailers' more recent reporting suggests that those numbers may overstate the case. Companies may also be using the focus on theft as an "opportunity to draw attention away from margin headwinds in the form of higher promotions and weaker inventory management," the William Blair report said.

Seeking specifics

Analysts want more information about shrink. Specifically, there is a desire for particulars around what is driving any increases in shrink, what companies are doing about it, whether those efforts are working and what the associated costs are. Retailers calculate shrink differently, and often don't disclose exact figures to show the impact to their financials.  wsj.com


52K Shoplifting Incidents in NYC in 2023 - 4,500 Fewer Than 2022
But there were still 3,000 more shoplifters arrested in 2023

NYPD Says Shoplifting Down, Arrests Up

Retail crime continues to frustrate brands and law enforcement worldwide.

Crime-plagued New York City reported new data showing progress with shoplifting. According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), the city documented 52,000 reported incidents of shoplifting last year-4,500 fewer than 2022. Police arrested 3,000 more shoplifters in 2023 than they did the year prior.

Michael Lipetri, chief of the Office of Crime Control Strategies, said police believe the decline in shoplifting incidents stems from a more visible patrols in shopping districts. Law enforcement has worked with NYC businesses to monitor criminal patterns. "What we also saw with shoplifting is we had a 40-percent increase in the store calling the NYPD to report a theft, and that's what we've asked them to do," he said.

NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share the department's 2023 crime statistics, noting a 13 percent decline in burglary, 3 percent decline in robberies, and 2-plus-percent dip in grand larcenies.

In Philadelphia, decision-makers announced new moves to attack retail crime. A new law championed by State Senator David Argall established the Office of Deputy Attorney General for Organized Retail Crime Theft, where five prosecuting attorneys will focus on statewide retail crimes. The law also lowers the value threshold for thefts that can be prosecuted as second- and third-degree felonies.

Under previous Pennsylvania law stolen merchandise worth $5,000-$19,999 qualified for third-degree felony charges; now that's $2,500-$9,999. The theft of $10,000-$49,999 in merchandise is now a second-degree felony, instead of anything over $20,000. yahoo.com


'The Chaos Must Stop!': NY Gov. Rolls Out Anti-Theft Plan
NY Gov. Hochul declares war against shoplifters in State of the State address
Gov. Kathy Hochul declared war against shoplifting on Tuesday, saying retail thievery in New York has spiraled out of control - with many products in stores under lock and key.

Hochul unveiled a multi-pronged plan to tackle the shoplifting scourge, including boosting penalties for offenders who assault retail workers.

The governor's plan would create a new category of crime to prosecute those who sell stolen goods online and set up a new "smash and grab unit" in the New York State Police Department to prosecute theft rings.

Hochul also vowed to provide dedicated funding to district attorneys to prosecute property crime, primarily retail theft. She noted that grand larceny crimes were up double digits compared to figures before the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Other initiatives proposed in the governor's plan include:

• Launching a new joint state, local and federal retail theft operation modeled after the existing gun enforcement task force.

• Expanding the work of Crime Analysis Centers to gather evidence from retailers victimized by organized crime to share with enforcement to boost investigations and prosecutions.

• Offering a tax credit to help merchants cover security costs and the loss of money from shoplifting.

Conspicuously absent from her plan, however, was any talk of specifically imposing tougher penalties for serial shoplifters. nypost.com


California Governor Calls For More Legislation to Fight Theft
Governor Newsom Calls for Legislation Cracking Down on Property Crime
SACRAMENTO - Governor Gavin Newsom today called for new legislation expanding criminal penalties, bolstering police and prosecutor tools to combat theft and take down professional criminals who profit from smash and grabs, retail theft, and car burglaries.

The Governor's legislative framework calls for the creation of new laws and expanding criminal penalties to crack down on professional thieves - those who profit from stealing goods for resale - bolstering law enforcement's ability to arrest suspects, creating a new crime addressing organized auto burglary committed to resell stolen property, eliminating the sunset provision for the organized retail crime statute, and exploring increased penalties for high-volume resellers of stolen goods.

Proposals within the framework include:

1) CRACKING DOWN ON PROFESSIONAL THIEVES: Creates new penalties targeting those engaged in retail theft to resell, and those that resell the stolen property - increasing felony penalties and prison time.

2) INCREASING ENFORCEMENT TOOLS: Bolsters existing law to ensure police can arrest suspects of retail theft, even if they didn't witness a crime in progress.

3) AGGREGATING THEFT AMOUNTS: Clarifies that the penal code allows law enforcement to combine the value of multiple thefts - even across different victims - to reach the threshold for grand theft.

4) FIGHTING AUTO BURGLARY: Creates new penalties for professional auto burglary, increasing penalties for the possession of items stolen from a vehicle with intent to resell, regardless of whether the vehicle was locked.

5) ELIMINATING ORC SUNSET PROVISION: Eliminates the sunset date for the organized retail crime statute. The law, which has been effectively used by CHP and others in the Organized Retail Crime Task Force, is set to expire on January 1, 2026.

6) INCREASING PENALTIES FOR RESELLERS: Explores strengthening the law to increase penalties for large-scale resellers of stolen goods. gov.ca.gov


Retailers Respond to California's Latest ORC Crackdown Proposals
California Retailers Association Applauds Governor's Latest ORC & Property Crimes Legislative Package
(Sacramento, CA)-- The following statement can be attributed to the California Retailers Association President and CEO Rachel Michelin following Governor Gavin Newsom's latest legislative proposals for cracking down on property crimes.

"Cal Retailers applauds the Governor for continuing to lead on the issue of Organized Retail Crime and working collaboratively with retailers on legislative proposals that provide real, tangible solutions to serial theft and Organized Retail Crime in California and prioritizing the safety of our consumers, employees, jobs and economy. Newsom's legislative package addressing ORC and property crimes announced today is yet another huge step in the right direction on tackling this problem. I and the members of the California Retailers Association appreciate that the Governor and his team listened to our concerns related to ORC/Retail theft and we look forward to continuing to work with the Administration, the Speaker of the Assembly, President pro Tem and members of the legislature on important policies that protect California's retail employees, our customers and the neighborhoods in which retailers operate in."

Read the Governor's announcement here.


'Not Enough Security' For 'Rampant Retail Theft'?
The family of the security guard fatally stabbed inside Macy's is suing the store
Security guard Eric Harrison was fatally stabbed at the Center City Macy's when a man attacked him and another guard with a knife.

The family of Eric Harrison, the Macy's security guard who was fatally stabbed at the Center City Macy's last month, is suing the department store, along with its affiliates, claiming the lack of security and safety measures led to his death.

On Tuesday morning, blocks away from the Macy's where Harrison worked as a loss prevention officer, Harrison's parents Dawn Fobbs and Eric Coates and their attorneys Eric Zajac and Evan Padilla announced a civil lawsuit against Macy's Retail Holdings LLC and other associated entities, including the building's owners, for not having enough security in place to protect their son and to respond to what attorneys said was rampant retail theft in the area.

"Safety and security failures gave rise to criminal opportunity," he added. "We were hired to get some answers to some very important, very good questions and to hold accountable those who share responsibility for those safety and security failures. Failures that contributed to the death of Eric Harrison," said Eric Zajac, one of the family's attorneys. "Circumstances had to exist to make an attack like that successful. To make it even possible, to make it even imaginable," said Zajac.

On Dec. 4, Tyrone Tunnell, 30, tried to steal hats from the department store at 13th and Market Streets just before 11 a.m., police said. When security guards confronted him and retrieved the stolen items, he initially left without issue, police said.

Minutes later, Tunnell returned, angered at the confrontation, and approached the two guards, who were both unarmed, police said. After they started arguing, Tunnell brandished a pocket knife and stabbed both men.

When officers arrived, they found Harrison, 27, with a laceration to his neck, and the other guard with stab wounds to his face, groin, chest and back. Both men were taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where Harrison was pronounced dead.

Tunnell was charged with murder, attempted murder, and related crimes and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing next month.

The store has recently faced what police said was some of the highest rates of retail theft in the city. Last year through Dec. 5, police received nearly 250 reports of retail theft at the location, according to police statistics. inquirer.com


Using AI, Facial Recognition & Other Tech to Stop Self-Checkout Theft
Experts say grocery stores can easily prevent self-checkout shoplifting
Retail expert Eelco Hos said significant advances are being made with artificial intelligence (AI), image recognition or cameras that flawlessly monitor which products a customer takes out of the store. These tactics are being employed more frequently abroad. "The notorious thief who shamelessly walks out with a full bag will continue to exist for a while, but the vast majority of thefts and errors at the cash register can be prevented this way. And these techniques will undeniably be introduced here too," Hos said.

The current self-checkout systems are only an "intermediate phase" on the way to a much smarter system for shopping, shopping expert Paul Moers believes. For example, last year a trial was conducted in Utrecht with a completely cashier-free ALDI supermarket, in which cameras and sensors registered which products a customer collected, and charged them accordingly.

According to Moers, these types of new payment systems will also become commonplace in the Netherlands. This is more likely to happen within five years, but could take a bit longer, he said. nltimes.nl
  

Dozens of California officials to discuss retail theft impact and solutions

10 Solutions for Combatting Retail Theft

The Velocity of Innovation is Accelerating Across the World & The Winners Will be Setting the Pace
Physical security: top predictions, trends for 2024
With complex risks looming nearly everywhere the security industry will have to perform brilliantly in 2024 to prevent widespread chaos and loss of life.

As the new year begins, the threat environment across North America and the globe has arguably never been so complex, from election integrity and deep fakes to drone swarms, ransomware and mass shootings.

The amplification of hate groups, political polarization, wars in Europe and the Middle East and the devastating impact of ubiquitous cyber gangs have created risks at nearly every turn. That means the security industry will have to perform brilliantly in 2024 to prevent widespread chaos and loss of life.

Security leaders must be ready for multiple critical events to happen simultaneously - and even for one event to have a ripple effect that causes other unforeseen incidents.

Organizational and agency leaders may anticipate an increase in protests during the week of the election this fall, citing an analysis of the historical risk data from the week of the 2020 elections (Nov. 1-7, 2020) supports this assumption, uncovering a 250% increase in reports of protests compared to the two weeks before the election.

However, the data also shows that other types of physical threats are also likely to increase during this time, he says. Specifically, reports of explosions increased by 220%, while reports of shootings increased by 65% and reports of arson increased by 38%.

The security industry will again have to be prepared for extreme weather and natural disasters that could take a toll on organizations and agencies, from both a financial and continuity perspective. He notes a new record was set for billion-dollar natural disasters in 2023 with 25 such events as of early December.

The lesson for security and resilience practitioners? The uncommon has become common.

Retail Execs Come to Grips with Impact of Violence

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'Shrinking Police Forces Can Exact Costs on Communities' & Retailers
2022 Resignations Up 47% & Retirements Up 19% Over 2019

Even at $112,000 starting pay, fewer people want to be San Francisco cops
The path to one of the most lucrative entry-level jobs in US law enforcement begins at a squat police academy nestled on a residential street in San Francisco. Enrollment has been plunging.

The academy graduated 26 officers last year, the lowest tally in at least a decade and less than a third of the 2019 total. While this year's group is likely to be bigger, only a half dozen recruits on a recent day were hammering their batons on practice bags, rehearsing jiu-jitsu-like techniques and wrestling each other to the ground in a gym adorned with a large American flag.

The scarcity underscores a major problem for San Francisco, but one that's also plaguing cities and towns across the US. San Francisco beefed up efforts this month to reverse the slide by lifting the starting pay for officers with no experience to $112,398 - the highest for rookie cops in big US cities, nearly double the level in New York City and more than what many US Secret Service agents earn.

To some extent, San Francisco is a special case. Its pricey housing market means high salaries don't go as far. It's also known as a progressive bastion, and negative views of the police repel some would-be cops. But a recent backlash on public safety has taken shape, including the recall of a liberal district attorney in 2022, and local leaders are increasingly backing the blue.

Whatever San Francisco's idiosyncrasies, plenty of other US towns, cities and states are contending with similar challenges in finding officers. The Dallas Police Department set up recruitment billboards in Chicago. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis approved bonuses of $5,000 for police willing to relocate from other states. Ithaca, New York, has offered a $20,000 signing bonus for lateral hires.

Arcata started dangling $50,000 bonuses to prospective new hires as a result. Alameda, just south of Oakland, offers $113,654 a year - more than San Francisco itself. Alameda is also offering a $75,000 signing bonus, the highest in the country, although officers have to pay back part of the sum if they leave the force in less than five years.

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Philadelphia Loses More Traditional Stores
West Elm & Kitchen Kapers are Center City's latest retail vacancies. But don't call Philly's downtown dead.
Industry experts say that retail occupancy downtown is almost recovered to pre-pandemic levels. As "disruption" is bringing in more experiential storefronts, some large gaps remain.

The West Elm and local brand Kitchen Kapers are both shuttering before the end of the month. Discount clothier Rainbow, the Rite Aid at 1628-36 Chestnut, and vintage sneaker shop atmos are either already out, or soon will be.

These soon-to-be shuttered storefronts feed a doom-laden narrative. Since the pandemic struck in 2020, and after several stores were broken into and damaged following protests that summer, there have been gloomy murmurs among some Center City watchers that retail is finished downtown.

Retail occupancy in Center City was at 84.5% in September, only 5% lower than it was in 2019. Restaurants and experience-oriented, non-shopping retail offerings have surged back, even as traditional retailers face increased competition from online sellers post-pandemic.

Fewer traditional stores, more experiential retail

By the end of 2023, 46 food and beverage outlets had opened downtown with another 20 on the way, according to a report on the regional retail industry from CBRE. Of the 32 openings being tracked by the Center City District, almost all of them are food, beverage, or activity based, known as "experiential retail" in industry parlance.

"There's this perception that downtown retail is dead," said Prema Katari Gupta, president and CEO of Center City District, in a December 2023 interview "But we are back at 85% occupied. What's going on in the retail industry is not just downtown and Philadelphia-specific. There's massive disruption because people are buying more things online."

Experiential retail is not just restaurants and bars, but also includes storefronts that offer activities, from yoga to dart halls and gaming parlors. inquirer.com


Retail's Strong Holiday Season
NRF: December CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor Numbers Show Retailers Had Strong Holiday Season
WASHINGTON - Retail sales continued to grow in December, completing a strong holiday shopping season, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, released today by the National Retail Federation. Total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were up 0.44% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 3.07% unadjusted year over year in December, according to the Retail Monitor. That compared with increases of 0.77% month over month and 4.24% year over year in November.

The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales - excluding restaurants in addition to autos and gas - showed increases of 0.19% month over month and 2.4% year over year in December. That compared with increases of 0.73% month over month and 4.17% year over year in November. Total retail sales for all of 2023 were up 5.32% over 2022 and core retail sales were up 4.46%. nrf.com


RFID to Improve Inventory Accuracy
Pacsun Adds RFID to Expanding Omnichannel Tech Stack
Pacsun will deploy the iD Cloud Store solution from Nedap as it seeks to improve inventory accuracy and gain RFID-powered operational insights to inform replenishment decisions. The chainwide rollout is expected to be completed in Q1 2024.

The youth-oriented retailer chose the Nedap solution for its ability to help improve inventory accuracy and enhance omnichannel fulfillment capabilities, including increased usage of buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) functionality. Nedap also uses a Virtual Shielding algorithm to digitally identify article location at a 98% accuracy rate, according to the solution provider.  retailtouchpoints.com


Costco Apologizes in Response to Union Victory
In a tactic that surprised many, Costco's management issued an apology to its employees rather than defend its work practices in response to one of its U.S. stores unionizing for the first time in two decades. Last month, workers at a Costco store in Norfolk, Virginia, unionized with Teamsters in a 111-to-92 vote.

"To be honest, we're disappointed by the result in Norfolk. We're not disappointed in our employees; we're disappointed in ourselves as managers and leaders," wrote Costco CEO Craig Jelinek and President Ron Vachris in an email to employees. "The fact that a majority of Norfolk employees felt that they wanted or needed a union constitutes a failure on our part." retailwire.com


Mango plans to open 500 new stores by 2026

Starbucks plans major expansion in India - to open one store every three days


Quarterly Results

Albertsons Q3 comp's up 2.9%, digital up 21%, net sales up 2.2%
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Dir. of Security job posted for Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits in Columbus, OH
The Dir I, Security will provide a secure environment by developing physical and technical security programs. The Dir I, Security will implement security programs and procedures to protect company personnel, property and reputation. The Dir I, Security will ensure that security procedures are properly executed by employees. The Dir I, Security will conduct internal and external investigations to resolve theft, workplace violence and misconduct at company facilities. indeed.com
 

Scammers Posing as 'Security Researchers'
"Security researcher" offers to delete data stolen by ransomware attackers
When organizations get hit by ransomware and pay the crooks to decrypt the encrypted data and delete the stolen data, they can never be entirely sure the criminals will do as they promised. And even if an organization gets its data decrypted, they cannot be sure the stolen data has indeed been wiped and won't subsequently be used or sold.

Someone is trying to take advantage of that fact, by posing as a security researcher and asking victimized organizations whether they would like them to hack into the server infrastructure of the ransomware groups involved to delete the exfiltrated data.

This service comes with a "small" fee, of course.

The offer(s) to delete stolen data

Arctic Wolf security researchers have encountered the offer two times, in two separate cases that happened in October and November 2023, respectively. In one, it was proffered by an entity calling themselves Ethical Side Group, and in the other by someone that goes by "xanonymoux". But the researchers believe that these might be one and the same.

Aside from posing as a security researcher and delivering proof of access to exfiltrated data via the same file-sharing service (file.io), in both cases the threat actor

"Based on [those] common elements (...) we conclude with moderate confidence that a common threat actor has attempted to extort organizations who were previously victims of Royal and Akira ransomware attacks with follow-on efforts," researchers Stefan Hostetler and Steven Campbell noted.

In both cases, the follow-on extortion attempt was unsuccessful. helpnetsecurity.com


Preparation is Key
If you prepare, a data security incident will not cause an existential crisis
Why is it that when a company becomes aware of a potential data security incident, the team working on it (and others who are made aware that "something" is going on) have an immediate and overwhelming feeling that the company is doomed? And yet, when there's another kind of high-risk event, such as an ethics investigation, it doesn't cause the same apocalyptic feelings?

This happens when there's a lack of preparation, but we can all choose to take actionable steps to turn down the temperature during incident response and help others and ourselves re-frame the issue.

Those who have built trusted internal and external relationships, have planned for the tough decisions, and understand what matters most to the company will be able to effectively navigate a cybersecurity incident without it being perceived as an existential crisis.

In our view, businesses can categorize effective preparation into two overarching categories:

1. Team-oriented planning (i.e., relationship building), and
2. Process-oriented planning (i.e., information gathering and developing and testing the company's capabilities at both the macro and micro levels). helpnetsecurity.com


AI Faces Growing Legal Threats
New York Times-ChatGPT lawsuit poses new legal threats to artificial intelligence
After a year of explosive growth, generative artificial intelligence (AI) may be facing its most significant legal threat yet from The New York Times.

The Times sued Microsoft and OpenAI, the company behind the popular ChatGPT tool, for copyright infringement shortly before the new year, alleging the companies impermissibly used millions of its articles to train their AI models.

The newspaper joins scores of writers and artists who have sued major technology companies in recent months for training AI on their copyrighted work without permission. Many of these lawsuits have hit road bumps in court.

However, experts believe The Times's complaint is sharper than earlier AI-related copyright suits. The Times lawsuit is "a little bit less scattershot in their causes of action," Brauneis said. thehill.com


Using YouTube to Spread Malware
Beware Weaponized YouTube Channels Spreading Lumma Stealer
Attackers have been spreading a variant of the Lumma Stealer via YouTube channels that feature content related to cracking popular applications, eluding Web filters by using open source platforms like GitHub and MediaFire instead of proprietary malicious servers to distribute the malware.

Researchers at FortiGuard said the campaign is similar to an attack discovered last March that used artificial intelligence (AI) to spread step-by-step tutorials on how to install programs like Photoshop, Autodesk 3ds Max, AutoCAD, and others without a license. darkreading.com


Understanding zero-trust design philosophy and principles

Russian hackers reportedly breached telecom network months before attack