Retailers Worldwide Investing in Security Measures to Curb Store Crime
UK: Poundland to tackle retail crime as it ramps up security measures
Poundland is plugging more money than ever into new security measures to tackle retail crime after losing more than £40 million worth of stock last year. The value retailer, which sells a large proportion of its products for £1 or less, said it had been a particular target of theft and abuse.

The fresh round of investment will include kitting out staff with anti-theft technology, including the introduction of anti-theft technology and communication headsets for its staff across its store estate. It is also investing in CCTV and rolling out Motorola Solutions VT100 body cameras to stores with the most significant crime issues.

The cameras, which provide a visual deterrent for offenders as well as recording incidents, have driven an 11% decline in violence against Poundland's colleagues, alongside a marked reduction in shoplifting and theft, since their initial trial.

"So, we will be launching our 'Retail Against Crime' campaign this month-a bold approach to tackling theft and anti-social behaviour in our stores.

"This campaign is a commitment to protect our people and our community by actively challenging crime and creating an environment where theft and anti-social behaviour have no place. Together, we can make shopping in our communities safe and enjoyable, making retail crime a thing of the past."

Poundland, which has more than 800 stores in the UK, said the rate of theft and abuse against workers had "accelerated significantly" across its shops over the past 18 months.

As well as bodycams and headsets for staff to communicate quickly when incidents occur, Poundland said it was working more closely with local police to crack down on offenders and recruiting more undercover security guards.

Official figures released in October showed that shoplifting in England and Wales had hit a new 20-year high. Nearly 470,000 offences were logged by police forces in the year to June 2024, up 29% on the previous year, and the highest annual figure since current records began in 2003. theindustry.beauty


Are the California Wildfires Providing Cover for Looters & Criminals?
Opinion: California could learn a lot from Florida when it comes to looters
Obviously, with the winds still whipping the deadly fires around Tinseltown, all resources, including police, are stretched to the breaking point, providing hard-hearted thieves with a target-rich environment for their crimes.

One thing that these thugs in Los Angeles can count on is that if they encounter a homeowner amid their looting, there is little chance that person will be pointing a gun at them. In the free state of Florida, where the Second Amendment protecting gun rights is revered, not reviled, potential looters, after hurricanes for example, know that stealing from the wrong house could be a death sentence.

There are really two ways in which the unarmed people of Los Angeles are put at risk by the Draconian anti-gun laws in the Golden State. The first is that individuals are unable to protect themselves and their property, but the second, and it might be worse, is that criminals are very well aware of this.

Angelenos don't need guns to overthrow their government, not yet anyway, but they do need them to hold down the fort, or the house, so to speak, while the government pours all of its resources into disaster management.

This is precisely where Los Angeles residents find themselves today. The city and state governments are overwhelmed, people need to protect themselves and short-sighted, anti-gun policies are preventing them from doing that.

This is why we see reports of some of the wealthy in LA paying for private security to protect their homes, which I guess is great if you are a millionaire, but if not, it leaves you even more vulnerable.

Progressive gun policies such as those in California, like so many other progressive policies, are intended to make citizens weaker, more vulnerable, and more dependent on the state. That is on open and clear display in LA today. aol.com


Did Security Failures Cause New Orleans Attack?
How New Orleans failed to protect Bourbon Street from attack, block by block

Major security lapses preceded the vehicular-ramming attack that left 14 dead, according to a Post examination of visual evidence and accounts from witnesses.

As New Orleans officials deployed to protect thousands of revelers they knew would flock to the city's famed French Quarter on New Year's Eve, they parked a police SUV to block the main entrance to Bourbon Street, a packed pedestrian thoroughfare long seen as vulnerable to a vehicular-ramming attack.

But the SUV left a large gap. That allowed the driver of a pickup truck to turn onto Bourbon Street hours after midnight, video shows, in the first moments of a deadly Islamic State-inspired rampage. It was not a momentary security lapse: At various times earlier that evening, the gap between the police SUV and the nearest structural obstacle was more than twice the width of the attacker's truck, a Washington Post examination of visual evidence found.

A short distance down the block, the truck drove over a hydraulic metal barrier that officials had planned to raise that night to prevent unauthorized vehicles from driving down Bourbon Street, according to a New Year's Eve road-closure plan obtained by The Post. The barrier was left down.

Beyond that point, there were no anti-vehicle barricades or police vehicles blocking the path of the truck that night, according to eyewitnesses and video footage reviewed by The Post. The driver sped virtually unimpeded for almost 1,000 feet, plowing through a crowd of people until he struck a piece of construction equipment that happened to be there for a project unrelated to security, according to photographs, videos and witness accounts.

Fourteen people were killed and dozens injured. washingtonpost.com


The Battle to Replace ShotSpotter in Chicago
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson testing ShotSpotter replacements as alderman tries for his own pilot
As Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration conducts pilot testing on first-responder technologies to replace the ShotSpotter system he discontinued, one skeptical alderman wants to move ahead on a technology tryout he set up himself.

Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, announced his plans Monday to test a technology that helps police identify and respond to gunshots with tools like acoustic detectors, infrared cameras and even drones. The pilot program would cover half a square mile in the Back of the Yards neighborhood and cost the city nothing, but it can start only with Johnson's approval, Lopez said.

Johnson's administration only learned of Lopez's solo effort Sunday night, when the alderman alerted media to a Monday news conference, Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Garien Gatewood said in an interview Monday morning. Gatewood did not say how the city planned to move forward with the pilot and added that Lopez has not communicated with the mayor's team about it.

The process in Johnson's administration to replace ShotSpotter is already well underway, according to Gatewood. As that process moves forward, the city has already begun piloting new first-responder technology of its own, Gatewood said. chicagotribune.com


The Spotlight: Using kids as accomplices in organized theft rings
From fake jewelry scams on the side of highways to distract and grab thefts, law enforcement is warning of Romanian organized crime rings targeting victims in Washington state. One store owner in Leavenworth says the thieves used kids as accomplices when they stole from her shops. She confronted one of the suspects and it was caught on camera. Now, one suspect has been arrested but others are still wanted.  fox13seattle.com


Missouri Governor Takes Tough Stance On Crime

Professional athletes' homes are getting broken into, according to the FBI
 

Sonoma County, CA: 100+ cases of baby formula recovered from Vallejo woman after fraud EBT user arrested
A Vallejo woman was arrested last Friday for several fraudulent EBT card transactions, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) announced on social media Monday. Deputies recovered about 115 baby formula containers that were kept inside Target plastic bags. Authorities did not state where exactly the baby formula was stolen. According to SCSO, a traffic stop was conducted around 12:25 p.m. on Jan. 10 in Santa Rosa. The deputy at the scene recognized the suspect as someone wanted for EBT fraud across Northern California. She is known to be involved in multiple thefts of, specifically, baby formula and had two outstanding felony warrants for retail theft, the sheriff's office said. The suspect's warrants were from San Joaquin County and Placer County. During the traffic stop, a deputy asked the woman for her driver's license, but she provided a fake Romanian passport instead, according to SCSO. She was arrested at the scene. Photos posted by SCSO show the amount of baby formula deputies recovered.  kron4.com


Enfield, CT: Over 250 items recovered during attempted theft at Burlington store in Enfield
A man from New York City was arrested in connection with attempting to steal items in six shopping carts and five pieces of luggage from the Burlington store in Enfield. The Enfield police said at around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday officers were called to the Burlington Coat Factory for a larceny in progress. Upon arrival, one officer was injured during the arrest of the suspect, 26-year-old Alexander Puello of New York. During the investigation, a woman pictured below is suspected of being involved in the incident. The woman had left the area before police were able to capture her.  wwlp.com


Bethel Park, PA: Police searching for four suspects in Bethel Park gun store break in and robbery
Police are investigating after a Bethel Park gun store was broken into early Monday morning. Bethel Park Police and a forensics unit from Allegheny County were on scene at the Allegheny Arms & Gun Works store located in the Millennium Shops along Library Road in Bethel Park early Monday morning. KDKA's news crew at the scene witnessed a window that appeared to have been shot out along with crime tape and evidence markers along the ground outside the store. "We know that four suspects broke into this business and removed the firearms - the amount [of firearms] is undetermined at this time," said ATF Assistant Special Agent Joseph Price. Police said the break-in happened before 4:30 a.m. and they didn't waste any time. "They were probably in the store for under four minutes," Agent Price said. "In and out, four minutes."  cbsnews.com


Daly City, CA: Update: Suspects fled on bus after Victoria's Secret theft
Police found four theft suspects fleeing on a bus after stealing merchandise from Victoria's Secret, according to the Daly City Police Department. At 7:16 p.m. on Dec. 21. 2024, Daly City police officers responded to the Victoria's Secret in the Serramonte Center for the report of a theft. Police learned that four suspects, one woman and three juvenile males, began to steal the store's fragrances. Daly City PD said the woman stuffed the fragrances in a large reusable tote bag. The other suspects packed the merchandise into the female suspect's tote bag. The female suspect dropped the tote bag, where most of the stolen merchandise was placed, after Victoria's Secret's loss prevention officer chased her. DCPD said officers located all four suspects on a bus. Police said the group stole approximately $1,255 worth of merchandise. All of the merchandise was recovered on the bus, police said. The female suspect, identified as a 20-year-old Oakland resident, was arrested and booked into jail for burglary, organized retail theft, contributing to the delinquency of minors, giving false information to police officers and outstanding warrants.  kron4.com
 

Beaumont, TX: Beaumont Police are asking for public's help to identify woman accused of stealing $1K worth of merchandise from Marshalls