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Deadliest Weekend of 2023 Three days. 10 mass shootings.

Three days. 10 mass shootings. More than 50 victims. US sees worst weekend of 2023.

Nine children were shot at Georgia gas station.

Six people were killed in a Mississippi town.

Eleven people were shot in Memphis.

Five people were injured near a parade in New Orleans.

Six people were shot on a Chicago expressway.

That's just half of the reported mass shooting violence over the weekend. 

There were 10 mass shootings from Feb. 17 through Feb. 19 – the most of any weekend so far this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. That’s considering all shootings from Friday to Sunday in which four or more people were shot, not including the shooter or shooters.

The number of shootings over the weekend is unusual for mid-February in the U.S.  The incidents come on the heels of several high-profile mass shootings in California last month, as well as an attack at Michigan State University last week. 

Mass shootings in 2022 reached their peak in mid-July, when the U.S. witnessed 15 mass shootings over a regular weekend,

This past weekend, there were two mass shootings in Georgia and Missouri and one each in Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina and Mississippi. All together, 13 people were killed and 46 injured.  At least 15 of the victims were children and teens. 

Mass shootings in 2023 outpace 2022

There have been 82 mass shootings this year, compared to 59 at the same time last year, according to data from the publicly sourced nonprofit database.

'More guns everywhere'

Almost all of the states that witnessed mass shootings over the weekend – expect for Illinois and South Carolina – do not required a license to carry concealed loaded guns.  usatoday.com

 

Nike's Portland Closure Getting Lots of Media Coverage

"Rapid Escalation in Theft & Deteriorating Public Safety" Nike Closed Portland Store
No Agreement May Close Store Permanently & Wants Same in Downtown Store

Nike asks to hire or fund police in order to reopen Portland Community Store

 

2022 - The Most Incidents of Fatal Police Shootings Then Ever Recorded
2022 The Most Fatalities Ever - The Daily's Retail Violent Fatalities Report

There were only 15 days in 2022 when police did not shoot and kill someone

With more than 18,000 police departments nationwide, it’s difficult to pinpoint a single reason for the increase, experts said. The rate of violent crime dropped steadily after 2016 but has climbed higher since 2020. Last year, 49 police officers were shot and killed in the line of duty, compared with 61 the year before, according to FBI data.

The demographics of those killed, however, have remained largely the same: While more White people were shot and killed by police overall last year, Black people were killed at a rate 2.5 times higher based on their percentage of the population.

The majority of people police shot and killed were armed. And, as in prior years, about one quarter of people killed were in the throes of a mental or emotional crisis.

The most deadly calls remain those for domestic disturbances.  washingtonpost.com

 

Seattle's "Violent Crime Rate Reached a 15-year High in 2022.”
Evidence Disappeared - City Officials Deleted Thousands of Text Messages

The Price of Anarchy in Seattle

The city pays $3.65 million to the victims of the ‘summer of love.’

Residents and businesses were victims of the riots that broke out in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder. On Friday Seattle settled for $3.65 million with locals who sued after the police abandoned the city’s East Precinct to mayhem.

The notorious Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, really an urban anarchy zone, operated from June 8 to July 1, 2020. Then-Mayor Jenny Durkan called it a “summer of love,” and last week the Seattle Times still insisted it was “mostly peaceful.” Yet the occupiers declared a no-cop zone, and Seattle restored control only after two murders and multiple shootings.

In a federal lawsuit filed in June 2020, businesses, property owners and residents described how they were subjected to “extensive property damage, public safety dangers, and an inability to use and access their properties” after Seattle chose “to actively endorse, enable and participate in the occupation.” The city made no admission of wrongdoing in Friday’s settlement, but its failure to maintain order clearly led to havoc.

Car Tender, an automotive repair business that is among the plaintiffs, described how an intruder doused its premises with hand sanitizer and lit a fire. The owner repeatedly called 911, but ”police never responded to the scene that night,” the lawsuit says.

The occupiers also told property owners that “if they dared to paint over graffiti, their buildings would be more severely vandalized or even burned to the ground,” the complaint says. It describes how “violence, vandalism, excessive noise, public drug use, and other crimes were rampant” within the public park at the occupied zone’s epicenter.

Evidence that would show to what extent city officials enabled the mayhem has disappeared under questionable circumstances. In an order last month, federal Judge Thomas Zilly excoriated Ms. Durkan, former Seattle police chief Carmen Best, fire chief Harold Scoggins and others for having “deleted thousands of text messages” during the relevant period “from their City-owned phones in complete disregard of their legal obligation to preserve relevant evidence.”

June 2020 began Seattle’s descent into disorder, and there’s no end in sight. The Seattle Police Department released its annual report this month, and it shows that “the violent crime rate reached a 15-year high in 2022.” Seattle recorded 52 homicides last year, a 40.5% increase over 2019. Shootings and shots-fired incidents reached an all-time high.

Friday’s settlement offers some relief for some residents and businesses harmed by Seattle’s dereliction in 2020. But the costs from the summer of lawlessness continue to mount.

 

Stores in Antioch, CA.?  Police Aren't Responding to Burglaries

Police took hours to respond to a pair of Antioch burglaries 'in progress'; the repercussions reveal a division between cops and City Hall

Police apologize, union accusations follow the slow response

Restaurant owner watches security camera images from home as burglars throwing property from the business into a backpack. Minutes earlier, the security company that oversees his restaurant monitors called 911 to report it.

The wait went on so long that it prompted a viral social media post by Gilliland, followed by a public apology from the police department and a pledge to increase staffing, which in turn was quickly followed by a message from the police rank-and-file laying blame for the delayed response at the mayor’s doorstep.

The same morning that the Hillcrest was being burglarized, the Cocina Medina restaurant in Lone Tree Square also was hit. Police also took hours to arrive to that one. Gilliland posted his frustrations about the long wait time to social media from inside the restaurant, 90 minutes after he called 911, lamenting that “police never showed up.”  eastbaytimes.com

 

Police Staffing Issues Aren't Just in Big Cities - Response Times?

Startling photo of empty patrol cars sounds alarm over N.C. staffing woes

Last summer, the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office was short 13 officers. Now, it’s short nearly 30

CLINTON, N.C. — They say a picture is worth a thousand words. One North Carolina sheriff is hoping this rings true after posting a startling photo to the department’s Facebook page.

Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton is sounding the alarm over his department’s staffing woes with a photo of rows of empty, unused patrol cars – at least 17 – that remain idle in the department’s lot.  police1.com

 

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COVID Update

660.4M Vaccinations Given

US: 104M Cases - 1.1M Dead - 102M Recovered
Worldwide: 678.1M Cases - 6.7M Dead - 650.7M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 820

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Hy-Vee suspends employee discounts citing 'significant' discrepancies, plans to revamp program

Hy-Vee has suspended its employee discount program and plans to revamp it by mid-April after the company found cases of fraud and misuse.

In a press release Monday, Hy-Vee officials said there was a significant uptick with people using the discount, even though they did not live in the same household, or even the same city, as the employee. The employee-owned company based in West Des Moines, Iowa, added that there were other fraudulent practices and loopholes that were occurring within the program.

“The discrepancies found were significant enough to signal a much broader issue that needed to be addressed immediately,” the release stated.

As reported by TV station KAAL in Rochester, Minnesota, Hy-Vee executive vice president Georgia Van Gundy noted some instances of fraud in a video sent to employees last Friday. Those include an employee having their Fuel Saver account used in five different states in one hour and another employee using their discount to make large purchases with the intention of reselling the items at a profit.

Some of the chain’s workers, however, still see the action as punitive.

One worker who contacted KAAL-TV/ABC 6 News in Rochester, MN, said, “This feels like penalizing their frontline workers who have continued to work and support Hy-Vee through the COVID-19 pandemic.”  omaha.com

 

Retailers Upgrade Payments Choice and Fraud Prevention With Outside Help

Retailers upgrading their payments experience and fraud prevention capabilities are increasingly seeking outside expertise in their innovation journeys, going for “buy” rather than “build” in digital systems.

Analyzing results from the study “Retail Payments Innovation Year in Review: How Real-Time Payments Drive the In-Store Customer Journey,” a PYMNTS and ACI Worldwide collaboration, we find that just over half (51%) of U.S. and 63% of U.K. retailers say they’ll use third-party technology partners for innovative tech, with 1 in 3 saying efforts will combine both.

The use of third parties underscores the growing complexity of systems needed for retailers to create the digital experiences that are most in demand by consumers in 2023. We found that 57% of non-grocery retailers plan to outsource payment method innovation, for example.

More convenience and better customer experience are driving retailers to seek third-party expertise as they seek scalability and proven functionality without the time and cost of developing these systems in-house.

As the study notes, “75% of all respondents cited improved customer experience as the reason to implement digital in-store tools, 31% said it was the most important reason. Another 63% cited convenience as their motivation to use these tools, with 13% saying it was the most important draw.”

Get the study: Retail Payments Innovation Year in Review: How Real-Time Payments Drive the In-Store Customer Journey

An example of the third-party systems expected to be sought this year by merchants is ACI Instant Pay. Introduced in January, ACI Instant Pay is getting the jump on the Federal Reserve’s FedNow instant payments system being launched later this year.

There are no interchange fees for use of ACI Instant Pay. Merchants pay a flat fee for the instant payments functionality, which is also expected to reduce chargebacks.

However, in addition to payment methods, merchants will be relying more heavily on third parties for help in data security and fraud detection from companies with deep expertise in these areas.

Per the study, “Approximately 40% of both U.S. and U.K. retailers reported currently innovating around data security. A similar share of U.K. retailers (39%) plan to innovate in the next 12 months. More than half of U.K. retailers are already engaged in fraud detection innovation, and 18% plan to innovate. In the U.S., 37% of retailers have introduced these innovations and 37% have innovation plans.”

See also: ACI Worldwide Debuts ‘Instant Pay’ Ahead of FedNow Launch   pymnts.com

 

Remote Work's Financial Disaster Wake For Big Cities
No more big Urban push for retailers. At least until converting empty offices to residences - which is the discussion now

Nearly 30 percent of work remains remote as workers dig in

Nearly 30 percent of all work happened at home in January, six times the rate in 2019, according to WFH Research, a data-collection project. In Washington and other large urban centers, the share of remote work is closer to half. In the nation’s biggest cities, entire office buildings sit empty. 

The share of all work performed at home rose from 4.7 percent in January 2019 to 61 percent in May 2020. Some economists consider the remote-work boom the greatest change to the labor market since World War II.  

Workplace experts say remote work is here to stay. Workers love it. Employers have learned to live with it. The average worker saves 70 minutes of daily commuting time by working from home — and spends almost half of that extra time doing work: a win-win.

Much of corporate America has settled on a weekly formula of three days in the office and two at home for the hybrid worker. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are popular choices for trudging into the office. On Fridays, city centers can look like depopulated ghost towns. 

The work-from-home movement has reshaped the largest cities. Only last month, for the first time since the pandemic began, did the occupancy rate in urban office buildings reach 50 percent in the 10 largest cities.   As of last week, 49 percent of desks sat empty in Chicago, 53 percent in D.C., 51 percent in New York and Los Angeles.  

For some mayors, tax collectors and downtown businesses, the remote-work boom has seeded fiscal disaster. New York, alone, “is going to see about $12 billion less in expenditures in downtown Manhattan” because of remote work, Bloom said.  

Working from home “means less consumer spending, and it means less transit use,” in big cities.

“It’s not the end of cities,” Ozimek said. But “if cities aren’t flexible and smart about how they change their fiscal policies and tax policies, you could end up in a bad situation.” 

The number of CEOs lobbying for a return to fulltime office work “is dwindling to basically zero,” Bloom said. thehill.com

 

The First Real Example of the Three Year Wage Wars
Home Depot Says $1 Billion in Wage Increases Will Weigh on Profit
Go ahead complain about inflation......

Tuesday Morning to close 250+ stores

 

Illinois Police Respond After Training Grenade Found in Goodwill Donation Box

 

 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

JOB TITLE

The Vice President of Field Asset Protection is responsible for effectively leading the Asset Protection Team to deliver best in class results and drive positive change through the consistent execution of AP’s primary objectives. Builds great teams by developing leaders as problem solvers and collaborative partners, and by managing performance and potential. Provides strategic and tactical direction and leadership of shortage programs and initiatives. Manages implementation and execution of shortage initiatives in the field and provides feedback to internal business partners that improves processes and practices. Leads the field focus on safe and secure environments, teams and partnerships, theft and fraud, and operational shortage.

Burlington Stores, Inc., headquartered in New Jersey, is a nationally recognized off-price retailer with Fiscal 2021 net sales of $9.3 billion. The Company operated 893 stores as of the end of the third quarter of Fiscal 2022, in 46 states and Puerto Rico, principally under the name Burlington Stores.

burlingtonstores.jobs

Quarterly Results

Walmart Q4 U.S. comp's up 8.3%, eCommerce up 17%, Total revenue up 7.3%
     Sam's Club Q4 comp's up 12.2%, Membership income up 7.1%
     International Q4 net sales up2.1%

Walmart Full Yr. U.S. comp's up 6.6%, eCommerce up 12%, total revenue up 6.7%
     Sam's Club FY comp's up 10.5%, Membership income up 8.6%
     International FY net sales flat

 

Dillard's Q4 comp's flat, total sales flat, Full Yr. comp's up5%, total sales up 5%

Home Depot Q4 comp's down0.3% sales up 0.3%, FY comp's up 3.1%, sales up 4.1%

Be Proactive About Pending US Federal Data Privacy Legislation

What the American Data and Privacy Act means for businesses

Whether or not ADPPA passes this legislative term, there’s a good chance a similar bill will pass soon

The American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) is a potential major bipartisan bill that introduces oversight on how consumer data is collected and processed by U.S. businesses. The legislation aims to strengthen data privacy and to provide oversight on how artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are used to uncover insights in the data that can be monetized. The goal of this legislation is to ensure the safety, integrity, and equity of AI algorithms.

While the potential legislation is important for protecting individual privacy rights, it will have significant implications for businesses when developing and managing their AI algorithms.

The ADPPA is bipartisan federal data privacy legislation that will create an Office of Data Privacy within the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to oversee the way that companies use and collect data. However, the ADPPA is about more than just data — it will also examine AI algorithms to determine whether they’re safe, effective, and non-discriminatory. Companies will have to disclose what data they collect, how they plan to use it, and how long they intend to retain it. The pending legislation is a natural extension of GDPR and CCPA, which many states have already accepted as the standards for data privacy in the United States.

It’s important to note that ADPPA won’t just affect large enterprises, it will apply to all businesses of any size. The only businesses that will be exempt from the regulations will be small businesses that for the three years prior to the law's passing have

    - Revenue that was less than $41 million a year
     - Personal data sales that accounted for less than 50% of their revenue
     - Not processed more than 100,000 records

It is likely that only a small number of businesses will meet all three of these criteria, especially due to the threshold of the record. And even if businesses meet these criteria now, if they have any plans to grow, they will unlikely be able to meet the criteria in the future. This means that most businesses will need to prepare to comply with ADPPA regulations eventually.

The ADPPA is necessary because people in the United States are seeing harmful, unintended outcomes from poorly designed AI algorithms.

To comply with the ADPPA, organizations must be able to provide complete insight into how the algorithm works, what it’s expected to do, and how it’s trained. Businesses will also need to demonstrate that their algorithms are effective (i.e., they do what they are supposed to do), the costs of fewer data privacy don’t outweigh the benefits, and that the algorithms are safe, non-intrusive, and non-discriminatory.   securityinfowatch.com

 

DOJ & U.S. Companies Are Fighting Back - Disrupting Gangs & Getting Some KO's
Gangs Are Shifting Back to Scams to Obtain Payment Card Data

Ransomware Attacks Decline as New Defenses, Countermeasures Thwart Hackers

Cybercriminals face drop in payments while some get laid off

After ballooning for years, the amount of money being paid to ransomware criminals dropped in 2022, as did the odds that a victim would pay the criminals who installed the ransomware. With ransomware, hackers lock up a victim’s computer network, encrypting hard drives until victims pay.

The blockchain-analytics firm Chainalysis Inc. says that payments that it tracked to ransomware groups dropped by 40% last year, totaling $457 million. That is $309 million less than 2021’s tally.

The hacking groups behind ransomware attacks have been slowed by better company security practices. Federal authorities have also used new tactics to help victims avoid paying ransom demands. Asset seizures have disrupted major ransomware gangs, one of which recently had layoffs, cybersecurity officials say.

The FBI said last month that it disrupted $130 million in potential ransomware profits last year by gaining access to servers run by the Hive ransomware group and giving away the group’s decryption keys—used to undo the effects of ransomware—for free.

In the fall, about 45 call-center operators were laid off by former members of a ransomware group known as Conti.  They had been hired as part of a scam to talk potential victims into installing remote-access software onto networks that would then be infected by ransomware, but the call centers ended up losing money, he said.

Companies have also stepped up their cybersecurity practices, driven by demands from insurance underwriters and a better understanding of the risks of ransomware following high-profile attacks. Companies are spending more money on business continuity and backup software that allow computer systems to restart after they have been infected.

Four years ago, 85% of ransomware victims wound up paying their attackers. Today that number is 37%.  The average ransomware payout in the final quarter of 2022 was just over $400,000—up from around $300,000 during the last quarter of 2021.

Experts said that in some cases financially motivated hackers are migrating away from ransomware toward other methods of attacks, such as scams to obtain payment-card data. 

“Just because traditional ransomware has slowed down doesn’t mean threat actors have,” said Adam Meyers, senior vice president of intelligence at CrowdStrike.  wsj.com

 

The Long Arm of the FBI - Especially if you Hack Biden-Musk-Bezos Twitter Accounts

Spanish Court Approves Twitter Hacking Suspect's Extradition to U.S.

British Man Also Charged With Nude Photo Extortion, Swatting, Cryptocurrency Theft

Spain's high court approved the U.S. Department of Justice's request that a British man be extradited to face charges that he hacked Twitter in 2020 to perpetrate a cryptocurrency scam.

Authorities arrested O'Connor, aka "PlugwalkJoe," in southern Spain's Costa del Sol in July 2021, at U.S. request.  The court said the Justice Department's documentation of crimes allegedly committed by O'Connor was voluminous and detailed.

Twitter Hacked in 2020

O'Connor is one of four individuals charged with tricking several Twitter employees to share their administrator credentials, which attackers used to gain unauthorized access to 130 high-profile Twitter accounts on July 15, 2020. Compromised account holders included Biden, who was then the Democratic presidential nominee, plus Tesla CEO Musk, the corporate accounts of Apple and Uber, and Floyd Mayweather, Jeff Bezos, Kim Kardashian, Mike Bloomberg and Warren Buffet.     govinfosecurity.com

 

PCI Security Standards Council

New Video Series: Questions with the Council

In this new video series, Emma Sutcliffe, SVP Standards, answers the payment industry’s questions about PCI DSS v4.0. Questions include:

What are the first steps organizations should take when transitioning from v3.2.1 to v4.0?
Why is PCI DSS v4.0 more stringent on multifactor authentication?
Can you discuss the transition timeline from v3.2.1 to v4.0?
The new standard lists several requirements as "best practices" effective with the release of the standard. How should organizations look at beginning to implement these practices while still focusing on 3.2.1 security implementations?

Watch “Questions with the Council” where Emma answers these questions and more! Make sure to subscribe to the Council’s YouTube page to stay up to date with upcoming payment security videos.  pcisecuritystandards.org

 

Amazon wants employees to return to the office in May

Starting in May, Amazon will require employees to work out of the office at least three days per week. The company announced the plan in a memo published on Friday and attributed to CEO Andy Jassy (via CNN). In advocating for the policy, Jassy said a hybrid work arrangement would “strengthen” Amazon’s corporate culture and lead to better collaboration among its workforce.

“It’s not simple to bring many thousands of employees back to our offices around the world, so we’re going to give the teams that need to do that work some time to develop a plan,” Jassy said. “We know that it won’t be perfect at first, but the office experience will steadily improve over the coming months (and years) as our real estate and facilities teams smooth out the wrinkles, and ultimately keep evolving how we want our offices to be set up to capture the new ways we want to work.”  engadget.com

 

Why you should rewrite your game plan for DTC inventory management

The Rise of Direct-to-Consumer

A new industry report confirms the rise of Direct-to-Consumer in North America, with 66% of companies having increased their DTC spend since the start of the pandemic. A total of 35% said investments increased significantly.

But the game plan isn’t fully baked

Winning with DTC requires that companies look at the inventory management technologies running point to support this new model. Over, under, around, and everywhere in between. 

The competition is completely different now. The rules and conditions of the game will surely continue to evolve. Omnichannel brands can no longer rely on old systems to compete in new and unfamiliar avenues. 

Inventory visibility, the real ‘New Normal’

Uncertainty will always be our ‘normal’. Beating it will require new moves and technologies that were not in the playbook prior to DTC.

Legacy inventory management software has left brands largely helpless when it comes to being able to fulfill orders from wherever or however they are placed. Available inventory quantities become very blurry with DTC. Even the simple new concept of starting to ship in Eaches instead of Pallets introduces new difficulties in satisfying DTC demand. 

So in 2023, companies continuing on the DTC path must rewrite their narrative: inventory visibility first, vs. inventory management. 

DTC order fulfillment solutions create the fast break

Modern order fulfillment solutions that bring real-time inventory visibility are how brands will get a clear picture of inventory and reign their DTC markets. 

When asked how their business best protects against failing customer expectations with DTC, survey participants cited investing in order management and fulfillment technology as the number-one strategy (42% of the sample in Europe and 36% in North America).  retaildive.com

 

Why Digital Identity is About More Than Fighting Fraud

Digital identity used to be something that people considered “just tick-the-boxes” technology. 

But as Steve Durney, vice president of strategy at Prove, told PYMNTS, forward-thinking companies can use digital identity as a way to differentiate themselves … and actually generate more revenue by improving the customer experience. 

There’s certainly room for many companies to improve how they verify and authenticate users. As it stands now, there are speed bumps in the mix as we conduct more of our daily commerce online.

“The old joke,” he said, “is that secure and fast are not friends, and they’re not great dance partners. You wind up sacrificing one for the other.” Any time that users are attempting to get through a slew of online screens just to simply make a payment or to onboard themselves to set up a loyalty account, said Durney — well, those journeys come with a lot of friction.    

The enterprise-level challenge, he said, is to balance security and convenience in such a way that consumers complete those onboarding and verification activities … and businesses keep their top-line momentum intact.  

A Tough Trade-Off 

That’s no easy undertaking, as Durney observed. Here’s the quandary: Make it too easy to make transactions, and companies and consumers are exposed to the fraudsters. Make it too hard, and the shopping cart gets abandoned. The consumer, forced to pause, may disappear and never return. 

It’s more important than ever for security professionals to consider their tech investments and ID efforts, said Durney. In the current macro environment, the fraud threat is increasing. More people do shadier things when they’re stressed, said Durney, and that includes hacking.    pymnts.com

 

Napa, CA: Man arrested after outlet store theft in Napa

Officers were made aware of an Outlet Retail Theft Crew from Fresno. The crew has stolen thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, typically from Nike Stores. Benshone Carter was located inside the Napa Nike Store with various bags of merchandise. As Officers approached Benshone, he began walking away. He soon started running to his vehicle, which was conveniently parked behind the food court emergency exit. He fled at an extremely high rate of speed out of the parking lot (possibly 80 MPH+). It is believed he hit a curb as both front tires exploded. Benshone then ran across Highway 29, where he was located hiding in the parking lot of Embassy Suites. Benshone's vehicle was impounded and he was arrested on various charges (facebook.com/NapaPD/)

Berks County, PA: Couple Arrested for Stealing $25K Worth of Merchandise from Two Ulta Stores; , Possibly as Part of Multi-State Theft Ring

Elkin Riva Gallego, 22, and Angy Ramirez Linares, 32, were arrested Thursday in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and are facing felony retail theft charges, according to court documents obtained by Inside Edition Digital. A couple was arrested in Pennsylvania last week after cops say they stole from 2 Ulta stores and are suspects in a multi-state theft of the beauty store chain, according to reports. Elkin Riva Gallego, 22, and Angy Ramirez Linares, 32, were arrested Thursday in Berks County and are facing felony retail theft charges, according to court documents obtained by Inside Edition Digital. Spring Township police say the couple stole $25,000 worth of merchandise from two Ulta stores, ABC 6 reported. Officers allegedly caught them in the act on Thursday. "They were pushing a stroller. There was no baby in the stroller. They are simply used for the theft. Putting items into the stroller, and that's how they did other thefts too across a multi-state area," Spring Township Det. Sgt. Robert Long said in a statement. (insideedition.com)

 

Bartow County, GA: Well-dressed thief steals copper from metro Atlanta Lowe’s

UPDATE: The sheriff’s office says they have identified the suspect. His name has not been released. Deputies in Bartow County are searching for a suspected thief who dressed himself up before shoplifting from Lowe’s. Surveillance photos show the dapper suspect dressed in suit complete with a pocket square. Investigators say he walked into the Lowe’s the day before Valentine’s Day and loaded five spools of copper wire onto a cart and pushed it out of the store without paying. Loss prevention employees described the incident and deputies say surveillance footage matched their account of events exactly. (wsbtv.com)

Washington, DC: $4K of Lululemon clothing stolen from DC store, front door shattered

More than $4,000 worth of Lululemon clothing was stolen from one of their DC locations on Monday morning, according to a police report.

Officers responded to 1925 14th Street NW around 6:30 a.m. and found the front entrance glass door had been shattered. A total of $4,340 worth of clothing was reported stolen including 16 joggers, 16 pairs of pants and 5 jackets. (fox5dc.com)

Lenexa, KS: Man charged in robbery of Lenexa GameStop store where 2 employees were tied up

One man is charged in the Feb. 12 robbery of a GameStop store in Lenexa, Kansas, where the robbers tied up two employees and detained a customer.

Johnson County prosecutors charged Sylvester Pickett, 30, of Kansas City, Kansas, with aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and felony theft under $25,000. (kshb.com)

An Industry Obligation - Staffing 'Best in Class' Teams Every one has a role to play in building an industry. Filled your job? Any good candidates left over? Help your colleagues - your industry - Build 'Best in Class' teams. Refer the Best & Build the Best Quality - Diversity - Industry Obligation
	Corporate Risk Manager Charlotte or Raleigh, NC - posted February 14 Summary of Role and Responsibilities: Proactive approach to preventing losses/injuries whether they are to our employees, third parties or customers valuables. They include cash in transit, auto losses or injuries; Report all incidents, claims and losses which may expose the company to financial losses whether they are covered by insurance or not...
	Director of Asset Protection & Safety Mount Horeb, WI - posted January 27 The Director of Asset Protection and Safety is responsible for developing strategies, supporting initiatives, and creating a vibrant culture relating to all aspects of asset protection and safety throughout the organization. As the expert strategist and leader of asset protection and safety, this role applies broad knowledge and seasoned experience to address risks...
	Manager of Asset Protection (Corporate and DC) North Kingstown, RI - posted February 17 The Manager of Asset Protection - Corporate and Distribution Center (“DC”) role at Ocean State Job Lot (“OSJL” and “Company”) will have overall responsibility for the ongoing safety and security of all operations throughout the corporate office and supply chain...
	Field Loss Prevention Manager Phoenix, AZ - posted February 2 As a Field Loss Prevention Manager (FLPM) you will coordinate Loss Prevention and Safety Programs intended to protect Staples assets and ensure a safe work environment within Staples Retail locations. FLPM's are depended on to be an expert in auditing, investigating, and training...
	Business Continuity Planning Manager Jacksonville, FL - posted January 26 Responsible for developing, implementing and managing the company's Business Continuity (BCP) and Life Safety Programs to include but not limited to emergency response, disaster recovery and site preparedness plans for critical business functions across the organization. In addition, the position will develop and lead testing requirements to ensure these programs are effective and can be executed in the event of a disaster/crisis...
	Region Asset Protection Manager (Ft. Lauderdale) Fort Lauderdale, FL - posted January 18 Responsible for managing asset protection programs designed to minimize shrink, associate and customer liability accidents, bad check and cash loss, and safety incidents for stores within assigned region. This position will develop the framework for the groups' response to critical incidents, investigative needs, safety concerns and regulatory agency visits...
	Region Asset Protection Manager-St Augustine and Daytona Beach Market Jacksonville, FL - posted January 18 Responsible for managing asset protection programs designed to minimize shrink, associate and customer liability accidents, bad check and cash loss, and safety incidents for stores within assigned region. This position will develop the framework for the groups' response to critical incidents, investigative needs, safety concerns and regulatory agency visits...
	Region Asset Protection Manager: Fresco y Mas Banner Hialeah, FL - posted January 18 Responsible for managing asset protection programs designed to minimize shrink, associate and customer liability accidents, bad check and cash loss, and safety incidents for stores within assigned region. This position will develop the framework for the groups' response to critical incidents, investigative needs, safety concerns and regulatory agency visits...
	Manager of Asset Protection & Safety Operations Woodcliff Lake, NJ - posted December 9 The Manager of Asset Protection & Safety Operations is responsible for the physical security, safety compliance and reduction of shrinkage for Party City Holdings, by successfully managing Asset Protection (AP) Safety programs for all PCHI locations...
	Loss Prevention Auditor and Fraud Detection Analyst Boston - Framingham, MA - posted December 2 As a Loss Prevention Auditor and Fraud Detection Analyst for Staples, you will conduct LP operational field audits remote, virtual and in person, within a base of 60 retail stores to ensure compliance to operational standards to drive operational excellence and preserve profitability...