'Californians for Safe Stores & Neighborhoods'
New campaign aims to discourage retail theft in California
Serial shoplifters have been able to avoid being charged with more serious crimes because of the $950 threshold in California Proposition 47. Now, there is a new campaign aiming to change that.

We have seen the images and videos of retail stores being hit by groups of thieves across the Bay Area, with seemingly nothing being able to deter them.

"I went and talked to everyone that I could to try to figure out a solution on how we could turn the corner on this rampant theft that we are seeing in our state, and this is what we came up with," Rachel Michelin, president of California Retailers Association, said.

It is a campaign by the California Retailers Association called Californians for Safe Stores and Neighborhoods.

One of the four primary aims is to deter retail crimes by eliminating the misdemeanor threshold and making repeat offenders eligible to be charged with felonies. Law enforcement representatives say they support aggregating retail theft crimes but point out what they say is another loophole in current California law - zero bail schedule.

"The larger issue is that folks commit felonies, particularly here in Oakland, gun crimes, and they come back the same day. They commit multiple shopliftings. They come back the same day. What we have to do is that when you commit felonies, you need to stay in jail, or you have to have a bail schedule that's consummate with the level of crime you committed," Officer Barry Donelan said.

"That's not our fight. Our fight is about retail theft. That's what we are trying to solve," Michelin said. kron4.com

Colorado's New Retail Theft Law
Gov. Jared Polis signs bill to address online sale of stolen products
Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday signed into law legislation that seeks to crack down on stolen and counterfeit products being anonymously sold through online marketplaces, such as eBay and Facebook.

Beginning in 2023, House Bill 1099 will require some third-party sellers to provide identifying information to the online marketplace they're using and to the person they're selling to.

Supporters said the bill will address retail theft ranging from porch pirates to large, organized smash-and-grabs by cutting off the ability to resell stolen goods. This comes as retail crime is rising both statewide and nationally. In 2021, a survey found that 69% of retailers experienced an increase in organized retail crime in the last year. Reports of theft, robbery and burglary have steadily increased in Colorado in recent years, reaching over 147,000 incidents in 2021 - up 13,000 from 2019 - according to state data.

"We are cracking down on retail theft and protecting business and consumers by making it harder for thieves to resell stolen goods online," said bill sponsor Rep. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon. "These new laws focus on giving law enforcement effective tools to prevent crime, and I'm proud Gov. Polis has signed them into law."

"Everyone is affected," bill sponsor Sen. Rob Woodward, R-Loveland, earlier said, adding the bill would address the root cause of theft.

"Porch pirates are stealing Amazon packages. Organized shoplifting is driving up the costs at local retailers. And online purchases of counterfeit drugs and products by unsuspecting customers is growing quickly," Woodward said.  coloradopolitics.com

Another State Grapples with ORC
Attorney General Tong Issues Testimony in Support of "An Act Concerning High Volume Third-Party Sellers on Online Marketplaces"
The legislation seeks to require high volume third-party sellers on online marketplaces to disclose certain information on the marketplaces and to consumers. If passed, the legislation would be an important first step in combatting the growing problem organized retail crime.

"Organized retail crime is not your run-of-the mill shoplifting," Attorney General Tong states in his testimony. "Crime rings, often operating across state lines, recruit local residents to participate in the theft of large quantities of these everyday products. Now, instead of taking the stolen goods to a pawn shop or selling them off the back of a truck, these sophisticated organizations lease warehouses and list the goods for sale on the major online platforms, and they electronically fence the products."

The problem of organized retail crime must be addressed on both the supply side and demand side, Attorney General Tong states in his testimony. "SB 257 is a good first step to addressing the problem of the ease with which criminals can resell their stolen wares through online retailers," Attorney General Tong states.

Attorney General Tong and Governor Ned Lamont announced recently the formation of the Connecticut Organized Retail Crime Task Force, charged with combating the growing problem of organized theft at brick-and-mortar retailers. portal.ct.gov

NYC's Anti-Crime Efforts: New Police Unit & Facial Recognition Tech
New York mayor's crime plans reinforce 'worst parts of NYPD', say experts

Plainclothes unit and enthusiasm for facial recognition technology are worrying civil rights advocates

Despite garnering support from top Democrats such as Joe Biden and New York's governor, Kathy Hochul, Adams's vast expansion of controversial policing tactics and calls for deep cuts to New York's affordable housing and homelessness services have left many anxious about his impact on the very coalitions that elected him.

Adams has reinstated New York's infamous plainclothes unit, an anti-crime squad of officers dressed in civilian clothing and tasked with targeting violent crime. Adams, who published a blueprint to end gun crime last month, promoted the plainclothes unit as a means to aggressively target gun crime, but Adams's reinstatement of the units via newly minted "neighborhood safety" teams has been met with criticism given their legacy of violence.

Adams also pledged to increase the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) to identify culprits of crime despite widespread pushback over the technology's efficacy and use by police. While posited as a tool to solve serious crime, critics have argued that such technology, in addition to being disproportionately used on New York's minorities, is inaccurate.

Use of FRT by the NYPD (which would be responsible for rolling out the technology's expansion) over the past decade has also prompted at least six lawsuits, reported Politico, mainly over the NYPD's disclosure of their FRT practices.

The NYPD has claimed that facial recognition has helped solve a number of serious crimes, reporting that FRT led to 2,878 arrests between October 2011 and 2018 out of 3,817 searches, but experts have argued that such stats do not disclose if matches were made on the basis of photo editing or using reference images. theguardian.com

NY's Sweeping New Public Safety Plan Includes Changes to Bail Reform
Gov. Hochul to pitch changes to bail reform law as part of public safety plan
Gov. Kathy Hochul is now proposing a sweeping public safety package including changes that will make more crimes bail eligible in New York after weeks of being accused of ignoring the city and state's crime wave, The Post has learned.

The 10-point plan, obtained by The Post, includes a measure that would give judges more discretion to order bail and detain criminal defendants for a host of additional crimes based on their criminal history, including repeat offenders.

"The statute will set forth specific criteria on which judges will base their determinations, including criminal history and history of firearm use/possession." More gun crimes would also be eligible for bail.

Many of the recommendations also appear similar to amendments sought by Mayor Eric Adams, who has pitched changes to the state's bail and "Raise the Age" laws as ranking among his top Albany priorities.

"The governor's proposal includes significant steps, which I have advocated for, that would make New York safer, while not undoing important reforms. It is a big step forward that these proposals are being discussed at the highest level in Albany, and I am grateful to the governor and the legislature for their partnership," Adams cheered the proposal in a statement on Thursday.

Adams has said he supports giving judges the ability to consider the "dangerousness" of defendants before deciding the terms of their release, if at all.

The bail law was approved to prevent people from being detained solely because they didn't have enough money to post bail, but problems immediately surfaced after law enforcement complained the statute is flawed. nypost.com

Crime in West Hollywood up by more than 130%
The latest data shows crime is up by more than 130% in the popular city. The data was revealed by the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station when officials looked at crime statistics from February 2021 to February 2022.

Some common crimes include aggravated assault, murder, rape, burglaries, arson, and human trafficking, authorities said.

"We had a large spike of robberies regarding jewelry and people being followed home from establishments," Sgt. Yost added. The increase in crime is also being noticed by private security companies. foxla.com

Baltimore Police changing how they collect and report crime data

US: 81.3M Cases - 996K Dead - 56.8M Recovered
Worldwide: 466.6M Cases - 6M Dead - 398.3M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 354   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 720
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Another COVID Surge is Coming
A covid surge in Western Europe has U.S. bracing for another wave
A surge in coronavirus infections in Western Europe has experts and health authorities on alert for another wave of the pandemic in the United States, even as most of the country has done away with restrictions after a sharp decline in cases.

Infectious-disease experts are closely watching the subvariant of omicron known as BA.2, which appears to be more transmissible than the original strain, BA.1, and is fueling the outbreak overseas.

In all, about a dozen nations are seeing spikes in coronavirus infections caused by BA.2, a cousin of the BA.1 form of the virus that tore through the United States over the past three months.

Another surge also may test the public's appetite for returning to widespread mask-wearing, mandates and other measures that many have eagerly abandoned as the latest surge fades and spring approaches, experts said. washingtonpost.com

Retail Pharmacy Chains: Overworked & Understaffed
Pharmacists say understaffing in retail chain pharmacies could cause patient harm
Throughout the pandemic, health care workers endured long hours amid staffing challenges. The men and women behind the counters of local pharmacies also experienced the strain.

Several pharmacists spoke with WBTV after either cutting back on hours or quitting their retail pharmacy jobs, some citing concerns even before COVID-19 entered the scene.

According to the findings from the 2021 National Pharmacy Workplace Survey, 88 percent of people working in pharmacies said inadequate staffing is likely to contribute to medication errors or near misses.

One Charlotte area pharmacist told WBTV the industry needs to change to keep people safe and pharmacists wanting to work. "We started doing the COVID shots, we started doing curbside delivery, we started doing mail-out delivery," he said. "All these things were just extra, and they just got added on without any additional help." wbtv.com

Retail COVID Outbreaks Continue, Even as Cases Decline
Reported COVID Outbreaks at Grocers, Box Stores Aren't Over
The latest COVID-10 outbreak report from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment shows a continuing decline in the number of sites connected with spread of the disease, which mirrors the state's drop in cases and hospitalizations over recent weeks. But confirmation of a new outbreak at a King Soopers outlet in Douglas County and active investigations at more than twenty other grocers and box stores demonstrate that the virus continues to circulate at public places.

Earlier in the pandemic, a total of 38 King Soopers and City Market stores owned by the giant Kroger concern were deemed COVID outbreaks - among the highest total for national chains operating in Colorado. The CDPHE has resolved those probes but is still actively investigating outbreaks at eight Walmarts and an affiliated distribution center, seven Home Depots and three Costcos, as well as a Trader Joe's, a Sam's Club and a Target distribution center. westword.com

Mask Mandate Fines & Violations
TSA has investigated 3,800 mask-related incidents, issued $644,000 in fines
The Transportation Security Administration has investigated more than 3,800 incidents of potential violations involving the federal mask mandate, assessing more than $644,000 in civil penalties, according to a report this week by the Government Accountability Office.

The TSA, charged with enforcing the mandate in airports and other public transportation settings, has issued more than 2,700 warning notices, the report said. It issued civil penalties in about 900 instances, roughly 24 percent of cases that occurred between Feb. 2, 2021, and March 7, 2022. washingtonpost.com

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How Moscow Hackers Use Those Stolen CC Numbers Online
DOJ: Final Defendant in International Credit Card Scheme with 71 Online Shell Companies & Moscow Connections Gets Over 24 Years in Federal Prison
Aleksandr Maslov, 40, of Sacramento, was sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison, for his involvement in an international credit card fraud scheme.

According to evidence presented in the trials of his co-defendants and in court documents, between approximately Oct. 5, 2011, and March 5, 2014, Maslov conspired with Rouslan Kirilyuk, 43, of Los Angeles; Mihran Melkonyan, 41, of Sacramento; Rouslan Akhmerov, 46, of Studio City; and others in a massive credit card billing scheme that involved working with Moscow‑based hackers to create approximately 71 fraudulent online companies established with the sole purpose of fraudulently charging approximately 119,000 stolen credit card numbers. In total, the members of the scheme billed the stolen credit card numbers for over $3.4 million in unauthorized charges.

Kirilyuk and his associates created fraudulent companies with names designed to sound like real companies, such as "CVS Store," "Walt Mart," and "Chevran."

The members of the conspiracy also used numerous runners in the Los Angeles area to withdraw money in the form of cash. The conspirators then sent a portion of the stolen money to Moscow, using prepaid debit cards and by hiding cash inside of items shipped through the mail.

Maslov, Kirilyuk and Melkonyan all fled to avoid prosecution. Kirilyuk was apprehended in Mexico and arrested by FBI agents after being flown to San Francisco. Melkonyan was apprehended in California after re-entering the United States. Maslov was apprehended in Virginia.

In trial on Feb. 15, 2017, Melkonyan was found guilty of 24 counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud. He was sentenced on January 4, 2019, to 19 years and two months in prison.

In trial, on Feb. 26, 2019, Kirilyuk was found guilty of 24 counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of failure to appear. He sentenced on Dec. 6, 2019, to 27 years in prison.

On Dec. 15, 2014, Akhmerov pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud for his participation in the scheme and was sentenced to time served. justice.gov

More Amazon Walkouts
Amazon workers in 3 US warehouses staged walkouts as they seek $3 raises and 20-minute breaks, reports say

Over 60 Amazon workers at three warehouses in New York and Maryland staged a walkout.

Amazon workers at three warehouses staged walkouts Wednesday demanding higher pay and longer breaks, Vice reports.

Night-shift workers at two warehouses in New York and one warehouse in Maryland walked out in protest. One Long Island City worker told Vice the workers shut down their warehouse's conveyor belt before walking out.

The protesting workers join a growing chorus of employee activism at Amazon. The e-retail giant is currently facing union elections at facilities in Alabama and New York. The workers told Vice they are seeking a $3 hourly increase to their wages, which range from $15.75 to $17.25, to keep up with rising costs of living.

The workers also called for a re-institution of 20-minute breaks, Vice reported. Amazon brought in 20-minute breaks as a pandemic measure to allow workers more time to adhere to rules such as social distancing, but has since cut them back to the 15 minutes that were previously allotted.

In total, over 60 workers walked out across the three warehouses, Vice reported. Huffington Post reporter Dave Jamieson reported the Maryland walkout, which consisted of roughly 30 workers, was the majority of the shift. businessinsider.com

'National Warehouse Capital'
Warehouses Transform N.Y.C. Neighborhoods as E-Commerce Booms

The region is home to the largest concentration of online shoppers in the country. The facilities, key to delivering packages on time, are reshaping neighborhoods.

An e-commerce boom turbocharged by the pandemic is turning the New York City region into a national warehouse capital.

In just two years, Amazon has acquired more than 50 warehouses across the city and its surrounding suburbs. UPS is building a logistics facility larger than Madison Square Garden on the New Jersey waterfront near Lower Manhattan.

In Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, 14 huge warehouses to help facilitate e-commerce operations are rising, including multistory centers previously found only in Asia.

Fueled by the soaring growth of e-commerce while so many Americans have been working from home, online retailers, manufacturers and delivery companies are racing to secure warehouses in the country's most competitive real estate market for them. nytimes.com

H&M opens online marketplace with plans to expand