How One Major City is Losing the War on Retail Theft
Wall Street Journal: One City & Three Retailers Tried to Fight Shoplifting. The Stores Closed Anyway.

Portland, Ore., officials and retail executives spent months debating how to tamp down thefts and address quality-of-life issues

Target, Nike, and REI all complained about crime in Portland privately before announcing plans to close stores in the city in 2023.

The closures followed months-and in some cases years-of negotiations between company officials and the city over getting additional police patrols near their locations, improving response times and removing homeless encampments, according to emails reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Ultimately the companies said the city didn't provide enough support and they decided to shutter those locations, emails show.

The correspondence illustrates the behind-the-scenes tensions between the public and private sectors over how to address retail crime. Retailers boost the city's economy, but limited resources hinder local leaders' ability to satisfy the demands of each company. Oregon's largest city has struggled with a rise in violent crimes, homelessness and a decline in its population.

Shoplifting rates in Portland were up 22% in the first half of 2023 when compared with the same period in 2019, according to a Journal analysis of city crime data. The increase in Portland's shoplifting rate over the period was well above the average among 24 cities studied by the Council on Criminal Justice, a think tank.

The city has also set aside certain district attorneys to focus on prosecuting retail theft, and it is exploring ways to boost key shopping areas.

Nike temporarily shut down its Portland factory store in August 2022, without noting issues related to retail crime. It announced this past September that the location wouldn't reopen, months after privately lobbying the city to boost the police presence near the store.

REI last April said that it would close its city store in February 2024 when the lease expires. Target in September said it would close three Portland stores by late October, adding that levels of theft and organized retail crime harmed staff and customers' safety. wsj.com

Alto Helps Retailers Fight Theft Through Technology & Partnerships
"Retail crime is down in some regions, but it's rising in others, like New Jersey, Wisconsin, Texas, Minnesota, and Connecticut," according to Alto

Target, Walgreens have a new weapon against retail theft

Both companies have complained about problems with rising theft that's both accidental and intentional.

Both Target and Walgreens have partnered with Alto, a service that works with retailers, law enforcement, prosecutors, nonprofit organizations, and government officials to forge strong relationships that cut down on theft in stores. The company uses a mix of technology and real-life partnerships to both attack crime at the store and community level while helping stores in court after crimes occur.

Alto CEO Cristian Lopez answered some questions from TheStreet via email. He noted that tracking retail crime is challenging but shared that he has seen some positive news.

"Retail crime is down in some regions, but it's rising in others, like New Jersey, Wisconsin, Texas, Minnesota, and Connecticut according to our incident reporting data in Q4 2022, compared to the same period in 2023," he wrote.

"Historically, there's a gap between actual incidents and reported incidents. Retail crime notoriously goes unreported due to the reality that retail crimes, when reported, are often relegated to low priority or not pursued at all due to stretched police resources - that's the gap we're trying to close and why third-party incident reporting data is an important piece of the puzzle," he added.

Retailers also let some crime go uncontested in order to keep workers out of dangerous situations. That's something Lopez addressed as well.

"Protecting the safety of retail employees and shoppers is the most important component - more important than defining shrink how much of it can be attributed to retail crime. Retail crimes occur, and too often endanger people every day, which is why it's still an essential problem to solve for," he wrote. thestreet.com


On Crime, California is Starting to Choose Pragmatism Over Progressivism
Is California retreating from progressive ways due to concern about crime? Maybe.

In San Diego and elsewhere, there is a backlash to some new criminal justice policies seen since 2014. But any fixes must not revive bad laws passed generations ago.

What's happening now on a key issue feels far more substantial and suggests California is no longer as blue as it used to be. After a stretch from roughly 2014 to 2020 in which social movements targeting police brutality and the cruelties inherent in the criminal justice system led to policy changes across the nation, many Californians believe some of those changes have backfired. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and Gov. Gavin Newsom are among those who are responding to this development by choosing pragmatism over progressivism.

The San Diego mayor has made support for major changes in Proposition 47 a key part of his re-election bid. The governor does not dispute this framing but wants to protect the core value represented by Proposition 47 - its belief that severe punishments can ruin flawed people with salvageable lives. He is backing narrower proposals to decrease retail theft and to go after the serial offenders he describes as "professional criminals" with efficient resale operations.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board thinks Newsom's attempt to thread the policy needle here is worth trying. If he can quickly craft a proposal with provisions that can blunt property crimes - but do so without resurrecting state policies that have ruined the lives of tens of thousands of Californians for their youthful mistakes - that is far better than the alternative.

That said, the case for overhauling some state crime laws is substantive - and goes beyond tweaking existing measures to ensure they still deter offenses. sandiegouniontribune.com


Another New State Theft Law Targets ORC Kingpins
Law makes it easier for theft perpetrators to be charged with felonies

Pennsylvania law will attack brazen retail theft rings

Retailers across the nation are under siege, with some struggling to stay afloat amid a rising tide of crime.

In Philadelphia, some stores have been driven to close their doors. Two Wawa locations were forced out of operation due to rampant theft. Others reduced their hours at night to protect the safety of their employees.

Pennsylvania, in particular, has been hit especially hard. A recent study by Forbes noted that our state is the fifth- most impacted by retail theft. The same study determined that in 2021, approximately $430 in goods was stolen per resident - the highest total in the nation.

To combat this rising crime, I introduced Senate Bill 596, which has now been signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro as Act 42 of 2023.

This new law makes it easier for perpetrators of organized retail theft to be charged with a felony. The monetary thresholds for being charged with a second- and third-degree felony were cut in half. A new first-degree felony offense was also created.

Act 42 also created a new deputy Attorney General who will specifically focus on prosecuting perpetrators of organized retail theft. This new law will assist law enforcement to go after the top criminals, leaders of organized crime rings that resell goods on online marketplaces.

Criminals need to know that if they commit these crimes, there will be consequences. standardspeaker.com


Violence Against Security Guards Continues to Surge
More Security Officers Shot, But Fewer Deaths in 2023
Violence against private security and special police officers continues to increase at unprecedented rates each year and 2023 was no different. During 2023, more security officers were shot but fewer died than in the previous year.

However, the number of unarmed security officers shot or killed continues to climb at the fastest pace. During 2022, 167 security officers died on duty and of those, 123 of those security officers died from homicides.

In 2023, a total of 104 security officers including two special police officers died on duty and seventy-nine of those were homicides including three who were killed during a mass shooting, two who were killed during armored truck robberies, and nine who were killed during retail thefts.

While most officers died from gunshot wounds, four died of stabbings and three of blunt force trauma while nine others died of medical emergencies resulting in deaths that occurred while on duty.

Seven other security officers died in motor vehicle collisions including one security officer who was hit by a truck, one who was hit by a school bus, and one that was hit by construction equipment. Another security officer was killed after falling off a wall.

Security officers were also the victims of aggravated assaults at least 887 times in 2023.

In 2023, private security officers fired their firearms more than double that which had been reported in 2022 and were involved in at least sixty-three fatal shootings.  privateofficer.com


Migrant Influx Fueling Retail Theft Surge?
String of retail thefts, burglaries by migrants plaguing Chicago suburb: authorities

From Oct 23 to Jan 17, a total of 47 migrants were arrested in Oak Brook, Illinois

A Chicago suburb has been battered by a string of recent crimes committed by migrants who live in or near the Windy City. From Oct. 23 to Jan. 17, a total of 47 migrants were arrested in Oak Brook, Illinois, mostly for alleged property crimes, according to Brian Strockis, the chief of police for the Oak Brook Police Department.

Most of the migrants who were arrested were charged with retail theft and burglary, Strockis told Fox News Digital. Several American cities have been forced to deal with the effects of the nationwide migrant crisis as thousands of migrants arrive at the southern border each day.

The state of Texas began flying migrants to sanctuary cities in December, with the first flight arriving in Chicago. Fox was told at the time that the first flight left El Paso on Dec. 20 with 120 migrants on board and arrived at Chicago's O'Hare Airport later in the day. Sources in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office told Fox that all migrants signed voluntary waivers, as they do when bussed.

The decision was partially in response to Chicago's interference of the buses traveling to the sanctuary city. The city has launched lawsuits against companies transporting the migrants.

Nearly 34,000 migrants have arrived in the sanctuary city of Chicago since beginning data collection, with over $156 million spent on housing and care since October 2022, according to the city.  foxnews.com


The Battle Over Policing Rages in NYC
Mayor Adams vetoes 'How Many Stops Act' and solitary ban bill, teeing up clash with NYC Council
Mayor Adams on Friday vetoed the How Many Stops Act, which would beef up NYPD transparency requirements, and a bill to prohibit solitary confinement in city jails - setting the stage for a dramatic showdown with the City Council, whose leaders immediately pledged to override the mayoral attempt to block the measures.

In his news conference, Adams argued it would be "extremely detrimental to public safety" to enact the How Many Stops bill's proposal to mandate that NYPD officers log every encounter they have with civilians that's investigative in nature. Such a requirement would bury cops in "paperwork" and take time away from actual policing, the mayor added.

The How Many Stops legislation would require that NYPD officers report basic information into a department database about all interactions with civilians that have an investigative purpose. Supporters of the bill say such reporting can be done via a cellphone app and should take a few seconds.

Under current law, officers are only required to document so-called "Level 3" stops, where cops confront an individual because they have reasonable suspicion that person is engaged in a crime. Should the How Many Stops Act become law, cops would need to document all Level 1 and Level 2 stops as well. nydailynews.com


Chicago Hits Record High Car Thefts, Record Low Arrests in 2023
San Francisco reports the same

Oakland's surging violence is driving this In-N-Out at epicenter to close

AI - Tech - Geopolitical Threats
Top physical security predictions for 2024
After reflecting on security trends in 2023, security leaders share their physical security concerns and predictions for 2024. Concerns range from ongoing geopolitical issues to advancements in technology such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Biometrics, AI and access control

Jordan Avnaim, CISO at Entrust

"When working in tandem, physical and digital security measures can greatly reduce the risk of attacks businesses routinely find themselves defending against on a daily basis. However, when siloed, they can be each other's worst enemy."

Doug Gray, Chief Technology Officer at Amazon Business

"As AI tools become more prominent and accessible in 2024, organizations will invest in analytics and insights tools, automation, and AI-driven optimization of purchasing decisions to improve efficiency."

Geopolitical threats

Jeff Hauk Director, Public Safety and Police Authority Services

"Moving into 2024, I believe we will see the focus continue on the shaping and further developing the field of physical security. These trends will be focused on enhancing traditional security measures and strategies with the latest in technology. While the landscape continues to be very fluid and evolving, I believe the focus will include trends such as:

• Deployment of Behavioral Analytics and Threat Assessment and Management Teams

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) being increasingly employed.

• The use of IoT devices in physical security systems to provide real-time data

• Deployment of robotic devices and drones for patrolling, surveillance and monitoring in large areas or places that are challenging to access

• The trend of integrating various security components, such as access control, video surveillance, and intrusion detection securitymagazine.com


Walmart Fighting the 'Store Closure Bloodbath'
Walmart CEO keeps his feet on the store floors: "You can't solve a problem you don't know about."

Walmart CEO John Furner reveals his 'garden shed' approach to problem-solving

Walmart has taken significant measures in recent years to combat inventory shrink

Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner has revealed the unique approach he takes to solving problems for the retail giant as it battles against a store closure bloodbath. Like several other retailers throughout 2022, 2023, and the beginning of 2024, Walmart consistently fights against inflation rates, theft, and geopolitical conflicts.

Furner told the outlet that with those considerations in mind, it's imperative to "have an open network," listening to all perspectives, especially "the ones that are challenging you."

That's why, Furner noted, that he often travels to one of Walmart's 4,700 locations across America to hear ideas and suggestions from employees themselves. "You can't solve a problem you don't know about. You can't solve a problem that's a secret," he stressed.

Although, the CEO told Fox Business it was his upbringing tending to his grandfather's farm that shaped his business know-how.

Relating it to business, Furner explained that "there are so many unique situations that just land on you that there may not be a clear answer." "But between your team, your resources, American ingenuity, and creativity, there's probably a way to solve it."  the-sun.com


The #1 Question in Retail
NRF Big Show: Where Will AI Be Most Transformative for Retail?
At a session at the NRF 2024: Retail's Big Show, Amy Eschliman, managing director of retail at Google Cloud, predicted that generative AI (GenAI) could be as disruptive as the arrival of the internet or mobile phones.

"These massive transformations are nothing new to retail - the internet is a great example, it changed the way we shop; mobile phones, same thing," she said. "Now it's generative AI, which has the capability of transforming everything from the customer experience to the associate experience. It's got tremendous potential, and it's a really exciting time for retail because of this technology. It's about the ability to synthesize and analyze information that we did not have before. The possibilities are really endless."

AI and GenAI were either the primary topics or at least touched on across all panels at the NRF show, while AI-baked innovations were widely on display on the show floor.

Sucharita Kodali, VP and principal analyst at Forrester, said that "a lot of what is most powerful about AI already exists" in retail, citing recommendation engines, payment fraud protection, store labor optimization, and fulfillment analytics as examples.

However, she also said that outside some generated text and chatbots, the most promising benefit of GenAI, citing marketing content, "is one of the less common use cases of AI at retail right now."

Many panelists remained optimistic that AI will tackle repetitive tasks to free up staff to tackle more creative endeavors, including enabling associates to interact more with customers, rather than replace jobs.

Macy's CFO and COO Adrian Mitchell said the retailer has made a "lot of progress" applying AI to pricing science, continues to experiment with AI-powered personalization and inventory allocation, and is exploring a wide range of "simply automation."   retailwire.com


Retail Will Face Similar Challenges in 2024
Expect high prices, more self-checkout, and robots in 2024

WGA chief says several economic factors will determine how industry reacts

Wisconsin Grocers Association (WGA) President and CEO Brandon Scholz says grocery prices will remain high and self-checkout and robots will continue to take over the store floor, reports Wisconsin Business.

Scholz said inflation rates are still "crushing" food and grocery prices despite inflation calming to around 3%. The WGA leader warned that grocery prices will not come down any time soon due to higher wages and other workforce factors, including energy costs.

Scholz said the retail industry still has not seen workforce levels return to allow grocers to operate efficiently, and the wages and benefits that increased during the pandemic are not showing any signs of retracting.  supermarketnews.com


Best of NRF 2024: Top 10 Takeaways
The Big Show 2024 from NRF featured packed audiences eager to learn more about the latest tech advancements, partnerships, and innovations from across the industry.
 
Walmart To Raise Annual Salaries for Store Managers

Apple closes its 'mothership' Infinite Loop retail store for good


Last week's #1 article --

Theft Increases By 16% in LA
Los Angeles sees a drop in homicides, but property crime is up

Preliminary police data reveals a mixed picture in the city in 2023

A preliminary look at publicly available Los Angeles Police Department data reveals results that sometimes go in opposite directions. In 2023, violent crime fell by 3.2%, with drops in categories such as murder, robbery and rape.

"In regards to property crime, it was a different picture," Police Chief Michel Moore said during the Jan. 9 meeting of the Los Angeles Police Commission. "We saw a 3.5% increase."  xtown.la


In 2021, fleeing California residents took billions of dollars in personal income to other states, according to a Bay Area News Group analysis of the latest available IRS data. On a net basis, the Golden State lost $5.6 billion in residents' taxable income to Texas alone. California also lost $4.4 billion to Nevada, $3.5 billion to Florida and $2.6 billion to Arizona. In total, the state lost $29 billion to other parts of the country. mercurynews.com

The Growing Cybersecurity Challenges of AI
AI's Commercialization Puts Enterprise Security Under the Microscope
Every technological advancement - including generative artificial intelligence - brings with it its own, updated variety of adversarial threats.

"There are so many ways AI models can behave that they move beyond the binary of fraud and not fraud," Kojin Oshiba, co-founder of end-to-end AI security platform Robust Intelligence, told PYMNTS during a conversation for the "AI Effect" series.

The generative nature of modern AI systems, relative to the predictive machine learning programs of yesteryear, makes today's AI harder to control and could potentially lead to greater security vulnerabilities, Oshiba explained.

AI is one of the only technologies that can run afoul of an organization's entire list of compliance protocols in a single click.

Complicating - or compounding - matters is the fact that generative AI tools have become fully commercialized over the past year, allowing individuals without extensive knowledge of AI risks to use them and further emphasizing the need for rigorous security measures.

The Growing Importance of AI Security in Payments and Finance

Because AI represents both a dynamic attack vector for bad actors and a key value-add opportunity for enterprises, firms must double down on technical readiness, data readiness and resource readiness when looking to deploy AI safely and responsibly.

Oshiba rated most companies as having a low readiness level right now, while noting that progress is being made, particularly as firms look to bridge the gap between internal and external use cases.

As more enterprises move from consideration to adoption and eventually deployment of AI, Oshiba identified two urgent themes regarding AI security: data leakage and supply chain risks.

Establishing End-to-end Security for AI Systems: pymnts.com


2024: The Most Challenging Year Yet for CISOs?
A tougher balancing act in 2024, the year of the CISO

While CISOs are mostly satisfied, their jobs are increasingly stressful. Corporate executives and boards must take steps to address these challenges.

At the end of last year, I wrote that 2024 would go down as "the year of the CISO." This affirmation wasn't a CISO celebration. Rather, legal concerns, compliance requirements, board-level scrutiny, and continual job stress will make 2024 a challenging year for CISOs - so much so that some CISOs may simply declare "no mas" and seek out a more peaceful career path.

According to that research, 63% of cybersecurity professionals believe that working as a cybersecurity professional is more difficult today than it was two years ago. Similarly, 62% of CISOs shared this opinion but there was a slight difference as nearly one-third (32%) of CISOs claimed that working as a cybersecurity professional was much more difficult than two years ago, compared with 26% of non-CISOs.

What's making things more difficult for CISOs? The ESG/ISSA data indicates that business aspects of running a cybersecurity program like working with the board, overseeing regulatory compliance, and managing a budget are primary contributing factors. This makes sense as the CISO role has evolved from technical overseer to business executive over the past few years. At the same time, organizations have increased their dependence on IT for automation, optimization, customer service, and digital transformation.

In aggregate, the CISO role is expanding within business strategy and enablement, while it's increasingly difficult to accomplish core tasks like managing cyber risks, detecting threats, and responding to incidents. Not quite, "mission impossible," but moving in that direction. csoonline.com


Cybercriminals Finding Creative Ways to Bypass MFA
Out with the old and in with the improved: MFA needs a revamp
From AI to ZTA (zero-trust architecture), the technology responsible for protecting your company's data has evolved immensely. Despite the advances, cybercriminals repeatedly find new and creative ways to gain access to sensitive information. This can result in devastating consequences, making it key for leaders in the industry to proactively think about threats.

One of the key areas where cyber protection will continue to evolve in 2024 is multi-factor authentication (MFA).

An MFA bypass can be achieved through various strategies, all possible because of one key element: human error. To circumvent the MFA barrier, cybercriminals will often send phishing emails to encourage the victim to approve the log in or even get them to send an MFA code directly to the hacker. Flooding the victim with MFA codes as seen during MFA fatigue attacks can be as effective as performing a SIM swap attack on SMS-based MFA.

The long and short of it is that MFA is not un-hackable. While it is a fantastic security tool that puts up barriers for cybercriminals and will only continue to improve, user error will always remain a risk.

Phishing-resistant MFA technology is already becoming more widely used and as the name suggests, it uses identification methods that are less susceptible to MFA phishing attacks. helpnetsecurity.com


Public Comment Period Extended:
NIST NCCoE Data Security Draft Practice Guide (Vol A-C)
With this growing reliance on data comes the pressing need for cybersecurity and privacy controls to achieve confidentiality. In response, the NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has worked closely with the industry and tech community to develop two draft NIST Special Publications (SP):

• 1800-28, Data Confidentiality: Identifying and Protecting Assets Against Data Breaches (Vol A-C)
• 1800-29, Data Confidentiality: Detect, Respond to, and Recover from Data Breaches (Vol A-C)

These guides provide recommendations on how to prevent and recover from data breaches, including cybersecurity and privacy considerations to prepare for data breaches and specific technical direction for implementation. content.govdelivery.com


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