Lawmakers Demand DOJ Action to Curb Retail Theft
Rep. Ken Buck leads letter to DOJ demanding action on surging retail crime

Colorado lawmaker and more than a dozen other Republicans urge federal action on crime wave.

More than a dozen Republicans sent a joint letter Monday to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding action on surging retail crime over the past year-plus. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., the prime author of the letter, told Fox News the Biden administration must act to provide for the security of all citizens.

"I urge the Justice Department to take action and develop a national strategy to address the alarming rise in organized retail crime," his letter reads.

In an interview with Fox News on Saturday, Buck said he hopes the DOJ will take the nationwide surge in retail thefts "more seriously" than at present.

"We need to have a federal effort that is supporting the effort that's going on in state and local law enforcement. These gangs are national and sometimes international. And so, the federal government should get involved in helping out. They shouldn't necessarily take the lead, but they should get involved in helping out," he said.

In the letter, Buck and his colleagues wrote that there has been a "sharp rise" in such crime in the past several months, and that local law enforcement agencies are in danger of being overwhelmed.

The letter also cites the Biden Justice Department's recent success in capturing $4.5 million in profits from stolen merchandise through its Operation Booster Buster - which broke up a large-scale theft ring in Tulsa, Okla., and surrounding areas. Twenty-nine people were charged in that operation, in cooperation with Oklahoma authorities. foxnews.com

Petty Thieves Plague San Francisco. 'These Last Two Years Have Been Insane.'

Small-business owners have been hit particularly hard by additional security and repair costs

Although violent crime in San Francisco is lower than in many other major U.S. cities, business owners, residents and visitors here are dealing with a rash of thefts, burglaries and car break-ins.

Among the 25 largest U.S. cities, San Francisco has had the highest property-crime rate in four of the most recent six years for which data is available, bucking the long-term national decline in such crimes that began in the 1990s. Property crimes declined in San Francisco during the first year of the pandemic, but rose 13% in 2021. Burglaries in the city are at their highest levels since the mid-1990s. There were 20,663 thefts from vehicles last year-almost 57 a day-a 39% increase from the prior year, although still below the record of 31,398 in 2017, according to the police.

Smashed storefronts are so common that the city launched a program to fix them with public money. Car owners leave notes declaring there is nothing of value in their vehicles, or leave their windows open to save themselves from broken glass. Videos of shoplifters hauling goods out of drugstores such as Walgreens have gone viral, and a smash-and-grab robbery by 20 to 40 people at a Louis Vuitton store last November made the national news.

Owners of small businesses say the costs of security and repairs are eating into profits already diminished by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the Castro, the neighborhood where Cliff's is located, shops have recorded nearly 100 instances of smashed windows and doors that cost $170,000 to repair since the beginning of 2020, according to the neighborhood's merchant association.

Criminologists say San Francisco's high density of retail stores and its mix of tourists, commuters and wealthy residents have made it an inviting target for thieves. Locals point to a host of other factors that may be exacerbating the problem, including the tactics of the police and prosecutors, statewide changes intended to reduce the number of people behind bars, and the city's dual crises of drug use and homelessness. There has been no end of finger-pointing.

Despite the city's long history of progressive politics, some business owners and residents are demanding that political leaders shift to a more law-and-order approach.

Some former police officials and business owners blame District Attorney Boudin's focus on keeping people who commit small-scale crimes out of prison. Others point the finger at the police, who cleared just 6% of the city's property crimes in 2020, more than 8 percentage points lower than the national average. wsj.com

LA & SF DAs Facing Recalls - Voters Have Had Enough
'Crime Tourism' Is Now a Thing in California?

Voters just might be ready to reject lawlessness and disorder.

It seems that California is now attracting an entirely new category of vacationers.

Sid Garcia reports for KABC-TV in Los Angeles:

Law enforcement agencies call it "crime tourism" -- groups of thieves from South America traveling to California to burglarize homes...

They're able to easily obtain tourist visas to travel to California by applying online. Once they have a visa they land at LAX and start their crime spree.

Residents in one Camarillo neighborhood say they're well aware of the South American burglary crews that have been targeting their community and the surrounding areas.

"Several of my friends have been hit repeatedly," Camarillo resident John McGrath said... According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, last year alone, they handled 100 cases involving crews from South America.

Of course California's permissive politicians have enabled lots of homegrown criminals, too. Readers may recall Ms. Yu's informative report last year in which she interviewed a local expert who memorably assessed the safety measures at a San Francisco supermarket:

I think that they're not very good because I've personally been able to shoplift here with relative ease.

This column recently asked if San Francisco had become the most intolerant place in America given the city government's bizarre refusal to do business with most U.S. states. A number of readers argued that city officials were in fact extremely tolerant because they have been permitting all manner of crimes and misdemeanors to be committed against the citizenry. This seems especially true when it comes to theft.  Continue Reading

Mayor London Breed is taking on San Francisco's far left. Can she prevail?
Up for reelection in 2023, Breed received national attention when she didn't mince words as she declared a state of emergency in the Tenderloin district, beset by overdose deaths, open-air drug dealing, violence and homeless encampments.

"It's time that the reign of criminals who are destroying our city, it is time for it to come to an end. And it comes to an end when we take the steps to be more aggressive with law enforcement. More aggressive with the changes in our policies. And less tolerant of all the bull- that has destroyed our city," she said in December.

In a break with liberals who have called for defunding law enforcement, Breed's emergency declaration allowed her to quickly increase police budgets and bypass city bureaucracy to ramp up services to addicts and mentally ill people who are living on the streets. (About one out of every 100 residents of the city is homeless, according to data from the federal government.) The declaration just expired, and some question whether it had a tangible impact.

After a series of smash-and-grab robberies late last year at luxury stores in San Francisco and other cities in California, police presence in Union Square noticeably increased. An armed guard stands sentry at the entrance of a Louis Vuitton store that was looted, and Macy's glass storefront remains partly covered with plywood.

Breed has repeatedly said that she is "unapologetic" and has rebuked white progressives such as Boudin - who is facing a June recall - as not understanding what it is like to be poor and a minority in San Francisco. latimes.com

Head of Minneapolis police oversight commission resigns, renewing criticism of city's civilian review
Abigail Cerra, chair of the Police Conduct Oversight Commission, said a combination of passivity and active resistance within the city made the work futile.

The head of the Minneapolis police oversight commission has resigned, expressing frustration with internal city politics and bureaucracy she said prevents the board from changing police practices. startribune.com

New York City can't recover without the state reversing bail 'reform'
It's delusional to think that New York City will ever recover without restoring public safety, and that means undoing the disastrous legislation that continues to force judges to let dangerous repeat offenders right back onto the street.

29 people were shot in the Big Apple this past weekend alone. Though we've seemingly reached the end of the pandemic, most major crimes are still trending upward compared with two years ago.

The stats are not surprising. They are the result of several years of reckless, anti-police policies from the state and city governments. Albany's bail reform turned our jails into revolving doors; judges can't even consider how dangerous a criminal is. Elected officials have spewed anti-police rhetoric; our cops are demoralized, demonized and don't even have qualified immunity anymore.

The result: New Yorkers are getting smeared with feces, stabbed or hit on the head with a hammer on their way to work.

Mayor Eric Adams is trying to turn the tide, but he can't do it without state lawmakers fixing their mistakes. nypost.com

"We Don't Want Spring Break Here"
Miami Beach Announces Curfew After Spring Break Shootings
"We can't endure this anymore, we just simply can't,'' said Mayor Dan Gelber. "This isn't your father's, your mother's spring break. This is something totally different."

Faced with an onslaught of spring break revelers, Miami Beach officials declared a state of emergency on Monday and announced a curfew for the city's South Beach area after two shootings over the weekend that left five people wounded.

Mayor Dan Gelber said the shootings came during a period when "tens of thousands of people" descend upon the city, creating an unwanted "young party-hard crowd."

"We can't endure this anymore, we just simply can't," Mr. Gelber said, adding that 371 police officers had been deployed over the weekend. "This isn't your father's, your mother's spring break. This is something totally different. We don't ask for spring break, we don't promote it, we don't encourage it, we just endure it, and frankly it's something we don't want to endure."

City commissioners will meet on Tuesday to finalize the curfew, which runs from 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. this Thursday through Monday. The curfew applies to a specific area in South Beach with many bars and restaurants.

Since spring break began in mid-February, nine officers have been injured in various episodes, Chief Clements said, adding that 37 firearms had been confiscated over the last three days. He said there had been an increase in weapons seized, noting there had been 100 so far this year, compared with 85 by this time last year.

Last year, the city also adopted a state of emergency, enabling it to enact a curfew during spring break to try to diminish crowds.

"We haven't been able to figure out how to stop spring break from coming," Mr. Gelber said. "We don't want spring break here, but they keep coming." nytimes.com

Dangerous new form of gas theft on the rise as prices surge

The pros and cons of body-worn cameras: Do they help or hinder de-escalation strategies?
Body-worn cameras have grown in popularity significantly with law enforcement and private security officers in recent years, as major developments in surveillance technology has provided a greater number of options. In an exclusive article for IFSEC Global, Working the Doors assesses how the use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) has grown, their pros and cons, and whether or not their use aids security workers in the de-escalation of potentially violent situations, or actually exacerbates things.

Body-worn cameras: How they can help

Body-worn cameras are a rapidly growing market. According to Market Research Future, BWCs constituted a $444 million global market in 2020, with estimates projecting a rise to around $1.5bn by 2025. It seems reasonable to assume, based on these projections, that the world will be seeing more BWCs in the immediate future. ifsecglobal.com

Southern Calif. grocery workers prepare for a strike: 'We've walked through hell'
Grocery workers across Southern California began voting Monday on whether to authorize a strike against Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions in an effort to pressure the companies to raise wages.

More than 47,000 workers at 500 stores are eligible to vote over five days, with the result expected to be announced Sunday.

A three-year contract between the United Food and Commercial Workers and Kroger, the parent company of Ralphs, and Albertsons, which owns Vons and Pavilions, expired March 6.

Talks between the union's seven locals and the companies stalled two weeks ago. A strike authorization vote does not necessarily result in a strike. It gives union leaders the right to call a strike if an agreement cannot be reached. latimes.com

Build employees' confidence that leaders will do the right thing
Only 4 in 10 Employees Report Unethical Behavior -- Here's How to Fix It
A recent Gallup analysis shows that only 40% of employees with knowledge of unethical behavior actually report it -- a rate seven percentage points lower than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Historically, our research shows that employees overwhelmingly plan to report unethical behavior. In fact, a 2020 survey revealed that nine in 10 employees said they would report unethical behavior at work if they saw it in the future. But right now, only four in 10 actually do.

The gap between employees who say they will report and those who actually report is largest among individual contributors, but it holds true across people and project managers and even executive leaders.

Why it matters: Your organization may have its values on the wall or in the employee handbook, but that's no guarantee against unethical behavior and the silent observers who let it go unchallenged. Employees may be holding back information that could affect your brand, your likelihood of litigation and your employees' trust.

How Leaders Can Boost Ethics Reporting

Gallup has found one critical thing leaders can do to increase the rate that employees report unethical behavior: Build employees' confidence that leaders will do the right thing.

When employees strongly agree that, if they raised a concern about ethics or integrity, their employer would do what is right, their rate of reporting is 24 points higher than that of employees who do not strongly agree their employer would do what is right if they raised a concern. gallup.com

Walmart Fire Under OSHA Investigation
As workers process Plainfield Walmart fire, IOSHA opens inspection
State regulators tapped with ensuring worker safety have opened an inquiry into a massive workplace fire that consumed a Walmart fulfillment center in Plainfield.

An Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration spokesperson said Thursday that the agency will initiate a safety-compliance inspection after flames engulfed Walmart's IND

In the past five years, the agency has conducted only one inspection at the warehouse site - in response to a complaint in 2017.

"No violations were cited during that inspection and no safety order or penalties were issued," the agency said. indystar.com

Terrifying video shows shoppers fleeing from tornado at Walmart in Texas
Terrifying video captured the moment a tornado ripped through a Walmart parking lot in Texas - as a man yells for terrified shoppers to run into the store to avoid the flying debris.

"Get inside! Get inside! Run! Run! Run!" the man screams at the entrance to the Walmart in Round Rock, a city near Austin, as the twister barreled in Monday evening. "Get away from the windows."

The heart-pounding footage was posted on Twitter by James Watson, an employee at the Walmart store.

A woman also posted images of her bleeding legs after the harrowing experience.

"I JUST GOT DRAGGED ACROSS THE MF WALMART PARKING LOT BY A TORNADO BITCH!!!!!" she wrote. nypost.com

Can Macy's hit the private label bull's-eye?
Hiring former Target designers is a sign the department store is serious about its promise to overhaul its own brands.

Saks Fifth Avenue owner likely front-runner in bid for Kohl's: source

Sephora to roll out mobile POS in select stores


Quarterly Results

G-III Apparel Group Q4 net sales up 42%, FY 2021 net sales up 35%
30 licensed and proprietary brands is anchored by five global power brands: DKNY, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Karl Lagerfeld Paris.

Torrid Q4 comp's up 4.5%, net sales up 5.5%, FY 2021 comp's up 30.5%, net sales up 31.4%

Guess Q4 Fiscal 2022 sales up 23.4%, FY 2022 net sales up 38%

Shoe Carnival Q4 comp's up 17.7%, net sales up 23%, FY 2021 comp's up 35.3%, FY 2021 net sales up 36.2%

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Q4 comps up 10.8%, FY 2021 comp up 22%
   West Elm up 18.3%, FY 2021 up 33.1%
   Pottery Barn up 16.2%, FY 2021 up 23.9%
   Williams Sonoma up 4.5%, FY 2021 up 10.5%

LL Bean 2021 net sales up 14%

Nike Q3 Nike Direct sales up 15%, brand digital sales up 19%, sales up 5%

Dollar General Q4 comp's down 1.4%, net sales up 2.8%, FY 2021 comp's down 2.8%, net sales up 1.4%

Chicago, IL: Burglary crew behind 200 Chicago area Smash-and-Grabs
Cook County prosecutors say a burglary crew is likely behind 200 smash-and-grab thefts in the Chicago area. Although the group has targeted a variety of businesses - bodegas, liquor stores and high-end clothing retailers - their methods remained the same: They smashed glass windows or doors with bricks and stole valuables from inside. "There was a common modus operandi with all the burglaries," an assistant state's attorney said in court Monday of the latest arrest in the crew, 24-year-old Dion Butts. Butts, 24, was arrested Sunday in Hillside and charged in seven of the same burglaries as Tacarre Harper, who was accused in February as the ringleader of the crew. Butts allegedly told police that he and his crew have committed 200 burglaries in the Chicago area. Most of the stolen proceeds in the 10 cases Butts has been charged with came from two burglaries at the high-end Burberry store on the Magnificent Mile on Jan. 4 and Jan. 6, prosecutors said. In both cases, the men allegedly pulled on the door until it opened and then stole clothing and accessories, worth $150,000 total. abc7chicago.com

Hacienda Heights Man Admits Bilking Amazon $1.3M Refund Scam - Will Plead Guilty to Federal Fraud Charge
LOS ANGELES - A third-party seller on Amazon.com Inc. has admitted gaming the online retailer's payment system in a scheme that defrauded the company out of more than $1.3 million.

Ting Hong Yeung, 41, of Hacienda Heights, was charged with wire fraud. Yeung agreed to plead guilty to the felony offense, carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

Yeung operated as an Amazon third-party vendor using business names including "Speedy Checkout," "Special SaleS" and "California Red Trading Inc." After enough time passed to allow his businesses to appear to be reputable vendors, Yeung would list expensive merchandise, such as furniture and home décor, at cut-rate prices to drive a spike in sales. However, instead of shipping purchased items to the customers, Yeung provided Amazon with bogus tracking numbers. When customers complained about not receiving their purchases, Yeung delayed customer refund requests long enough to ensure that Amazon would disburse funds into his businesses' bank accounts. As a result, Yeung collected payment for items that were never shipped and relied on Amazon to issue refunds to his disgruntled customers under its "A-to-z Guarantee."

In some instances, instead of sending customers the products they ordered, Yeung shipped them cheap crystal ornaments, which served the dual purpose of generating tracking numbers that induced Amazon to disburse customer funds and forestalling customer complaints and demands for refunds. Yeung also used Amazon's Buyer-Seller Messaging Service to convince customers that their orders were on their way when, in fact, they were not.

On occasion, Yeung provided goods to his customers that he obtained through his own fraudulent purchases from Amazon, which he made using credit cards in the names of other people and fictitious identities. After the goods were delivered to his customers, Yeung requested refunds for the goods from Amazon. justice.gov

Portland, OR: Over 1000 Pairs Of Stolen 'Yeezy' Sneakers Found In U-Haul
A massive quantity of Yeezy brand sneakers was found in the back of a stolen truck on Saturday night, leading to an arrest. Rupert Crosse, 26, was taken into custody by the Portland Police Bureau's North Precinct on felony charges of aggravated theft and possession of a stolen vehicle, local station KOIN reported. Police say the U-Haul truck full of the Kanye West-designed shoes was stolen sometime earlier in the night. He was booked at Multnomah County Jail following his arrest, but it is unknown if he is still there. First introduced in 2015, Yeezy shoes are produced in collaboration with Adidas and rapper West. Over the years, the brand has also evolved into a broader fashion label, producing shirts, jackets, pants, and more. Yeezy shoes are known to retail for high prices, with Sneaker News reporting that they range between $200 and $585, depending on the model. They also fetch much higher prices on the resale market due to their limited production quantities, as high as $1,500, making them an attractive target for criminals. newsweek.com

Chicago, IL: Thieves bust through security shutters to burglarize small business owners
A crew of thieves was caught on camera stealing armfuls of clothing and shoes from a business on the city's West Side. As CBS 2's Steven Graves reported Friday, retail theft in Chicago has left many business owners are now very frustrated. The owner of the Flee Club consignment store on W. Taylor St. in Tri-Taylor is especially unhappy, as he has now been hit four times. In the latest burglary, the thieves were not satisfied just targeting the main sales area upstairs. They went to the basement and stole shoes in boxes from racks. All this happened even with extra security measures came place. "I'm not a Fortune 500 business like the Mag Mile, so if you hit my store for $40,000, I won't be open tomorrow," said Flee Club owner Darris Kelly. That, of course, is why it's devastating for Kelly to see the damage done to his store. kake.com

Suffolk County, NY: Man Accused Of Stealing $3.3K Worth Of Items From Lake Grove Macy's
An alert was issued by police investigators on Long Island who released a surveillance photo of a man who allegedly stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from a store inside the Smith Haven Mall. Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad detectives are seeking the public's assistance in identifying and locating a suspect who allegedly stole $3,300 worth of clothing from Macy's inside the Lake Grove mall on Monday, March 7. dailyvoice.com

Muskego, WI: Walgreens $700 fragrance theft, 2 sought
Muskego police need help to identify and locate two people wanted in connection with a fragrance theft that happened at Walgreens on Monday evening, March 21. According to police, the two walked behind the unstaffed cosmetics counter at the Walgreens store on Janesville Road and removed the glass doors from the fragrance cabinets before placing about $700 worth of fragrances in a plastic Walgreens bag. fox6now.com

Vernon, CT: Man stole $35,000 of items from Aquarium store
A New Haven man is facing charges in connection with the theft of over $35,000 of equipment from a local aquarium store and $400 from the cash register.