Vincent Vita promoted to Senior Physical Security Program Manager for Amazon
Previously, Vincent was the Regional Loss Prevention Manager - Logistics for the retailer, and has worked there since 2014. He's held a variety of different roles for Best Buy before working at Amazon including Assistant Store Manager (Merchandising, Sales, Inventory), District LP Manager for Service & Logistics, Senior Lean Initiative Manager/Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Supply Chain Project Manager, and Area AP Manager. Congratulations Vincent!

Submit Your New Corporate Hires/Promotions or New Position

7-Eleven General Counsel to Keynote RILA's 2018 Retail Asset Protection Conference
​Today, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) announced Rankin Gasaway, 7-Eleven's senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary, will be the keynote speaker at the 2018 Retail Asset Protection Conference. The conference, held April 29 - May 2 at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, serves as the premier event for retail asset protection professionals to network, learn, and share new and creative solutions for the industry's most complex challenges.

In addition, RILA will present the (R)Tech AP Innovation Awards at the conference. The Awards recognize innovative companies developing game-changing technology for the retail asset protection community. Award finalists are selected by a group of AP technology experts and will have the opportunity to give pitches to attendees and showcase their solutions during the Expo Experience.

Featured speakers include:

  ● Rankin Gasaway, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, 7-Eleven
  ● Bryan Everett, Chief Operating Officer, Rite Aid Stores
  ● Marc Freedman, Executive Director, Labor Law Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
  ● Robert Perkins, Vice President, Talent Management, Foot Locker
  ● Oscar Arango, Vice President, Assets Protection, Target
  ● Rick Peck, Senior Vice President, The TJX Companies
  ● Quinby Squires, Vice President, Head of Asset Analytics & Insights, CVS Health
  ● Aaron Conant, Co-Founder & Managing Director, eCom Advisory
  ● Mike Robbins, Author & Speaker  rila.org

Magnet Detection Pioneer Alert Systems Selects CONTROLTEK
as Exclusive Regional Partner for North America
CONTROLTEK, the second-largest RF EAS company in the U.S., has partnered with Danish technology innovator Alert Systems, to expand the availability of magnet detectors to U.S. retailers.

"Professional shoplifters, and especially organized retail crime (ORC) groups, have learned to use magnetic detachers to remove EAS tags," said Tom Meehan, CONTROLTEK's Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Information Security Officer. "Probably the best magnet detectors in the world made specifically for retail loss prevention are the Hyperguard and Apparelguard made by Alert Systems, which is why we are especially excited about this new partnership." controltekusa.com

Sekura shortlisted for two US Awards in 2018
The patented BoxGrip SR and the patent-pending SlideTag, by Sekura Global, have both been shortlisted for the Retail Knowledge 2018 North American Fraud Awards. The BoxGrip SR is shortlisted for the "Most Innovative In-store Solution", which recognizes "innovative approaches to an existing, tried and tested solution or genre."

Patented by Sekura Global in the United States, Europe and Australia, the flagship BoxGrip SR is designed to save time and reduce labor costs when compared to standard wrap tags. In independent testing the BoxGrip SR outperformed standard solutions dramatically, saving 59.5% in application and removal time, with the difference in seconds translating to millions of dollars in savings for retailers every year. Read more in today's Vendor Spotlight column below.

Mass Attacks in Public Spaces - 2017
United States Secret Service - National Threat Assessment Center
Between January and December 2017, 28 incidents of mass attacks, during which three or more persons were harmed, were carried out in public places within the United States (see map for locations). These acts violated the safety of the places we work, learn, shop, relax, and otherwise conduct our day-to-day lives. The resulting loss of 147 lives and injury to nearly 700 others had a devastating impact on our nation as a whole.  As the uncertainty they caused continues to ripple through our communities, those charged with ensuring public safety strive to identify methods to prevent these types of attacks. To aid in these efforts, the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) examined these 28 incidents, to identify key themes for enhancing threat assessment and investigative practices. Regardless of whether these attacks were acts of workplace violence, domestic violence, school-based violence, or terrorism, similar themes were observed in the backgrounds of the perpetrators, including:

● Nearly half were motivated by a personal grievance related to a workplace, domestic, or other issue.
● Over half had histories of criminal charges, mental health symptoms, and/or illicit substance use or abuse.
● All had at least one significant stressor within the last five years, and over half had indications of financial instability in that timeframe.
● Over three-quarters made concerning communications and/or elicited concern from others prior to carrying out their attacks. On average, those who did elicit concern caused more harm than those who did not.

These findings, and others in this report, support existing best practices that the U.S. Secret Service has established in the field of threat assessment. They highlight the importance of gathering information on a person's background, behaviors, and situational factors; corroborating the information from multiple sources; assessing the risk the individual poses for violence; and identifying intervention points to mitigate that risk. secretservice.gov

Trump's Hatred Of Amazon Story Making the Rounds in the News


Trump's war on Amazon escalates
POTUS says online giant is putting 'thousands of retailers out of business'
President Donald Trump went after Amazon in a tweet, a day after a report saying he was "obsessed" with the company tanked the online retailer's shares.

"Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

Several states say Amazon and other online retailers should have to collect sales tax, even in states where the companies don't have a physical presence. The Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that states couldn't collect sales taxes gathered by mail-order catalog companies unless the firms had a physical presence in a state. South Dakota and several other states argue that things have changed in the era of Amazon. cnbc.com

Trump may hate Amazon, but there's little he could do to it
The possibility that President Trump wanted to "go after" Amazon caused the retail giant to lose tens of millions of dollars in market value Wednesday, even after the White House downplayed any plans to take action.

But despite Amazon's seemingly inexorable growth - including its build-up in groceries, entertainment and health care - there's very little the president or the federal government could do under current antitrust practices. As for taxes: Amazon already collects state sales tax in all states that have them, though it could be vulnerable to any new tax efforts.

While the White House downplayed the report, Trump himself tweeted Thursday that he has long had concerns about Amazon. usatoday.com

Amazon Loses $53 Billion in Market Value After Trump reportedly 'threatened' the online giant

Trump Is 'Obsessed' With Amazon Because He Wants to Crush the Washington Post

Good Bye Toys R Us - Hate to see you go
Hundreds of LP Executives Impacted
Over the years literally hundreds of Loss Prevention executives have worked there and we'd estimate there's over a hundred right now being impacted. With a number having spent the majority of their careers there. For those executives it's going to be a different life for them.

Those executives have a rough path in front of them, with the LP job market probably being the slowest in history. More on that Monday in our 2017 Senior LP Jobs report and series on 'Where have all the jobs gone' articles.

Many of us have grown up with the Toys R Us banner being what we all thought to be a staple in life, a store we never even thought would disappear. But the internet coupled with what the private equity groups have done to a number of retailers, Toys R Us included, is changing the retail landscape faster then anything any of us have ever seen and it will continue for some time in the future, as we haven't equalized yet and a number of retailers will fall before it's over.

It's a shame to see such a staple close down and so many being impacted.

So let's remember these executives and if and when they start calling take the time to offer some help, some advice, or even an interview, because you never know which side of the desk you may end up on. As the old coach for the old NFL team, the Houston Oilers, Bum Phillips once said: There's two types of coaches out there. Those that have been fired and those who are waiting to be fired. That kind of levels the playing field.

So take their calls and if you hear a lead share it with them as we're all in this together. One industry, one team, one obligation - Let's help each other when we can. Just a thought.

Groton, CT: Kohl's LP Supervisor Charged with Stealing $55K
From Store She Oversaw, Making Fraudulent Returns
A woman has been charged with stealing more than $55,000 from the Connecticut store where she oversaw shoplifting prevention. The Norwich Bulletin reports that 37-year-old Janise Gabco-Bowles is charged with theft from the Kohl's in Groton where she worked as a loss prevention supervisor.

Police say she made fraudulent returns and received cash in exchange for items she had never purchased. Investigators say surveillance video of the returns was missing and the system was likely disabled by someone in the loss prevention office.

Gabco-Bowles was fired from the store in December and arrested in January. She is separately charged with shoplifting from grocery store on Christmas Eve. Gabco-Bowles is free on $50,000 bond. nhregister.com

Most Credit Cards to Drop Signature Requirement at Checkout
In hopes of making the checkout process faster, the big four credit card companies are limiting or eliminating policies that require you to sign for your purchases.

Mastercard, Discover, American Express and Visa say that chip technology has advanced anti-fraud measures sufficiently to eliminate the need for signatures. Most of them will initiate policies with limited or no signature requirements starting in April.

"The payments landscape has evolved to the point where we can now eliminate this pain point for our merchants," Jaromir Divilek, executive vice president for Global Network Business at American Express, said in a statement. "Our fraud capabilities have advanced so that signatures are no longer necessary to fight fraud." ecreditdaily.com

Chicago Tribune Op-Ed By City Alderman:
'Late-night businesses have a role in fighting crime'
I was disappointed to read your recent editorial "Too many eyes in the sky," which was dismissive of the ordinance I recently introduced to require retail establishments open overnight to install outdoor and indoor surveillance cameras.

As you correctly state, "it makes good business sense" for businesses to install security cameras. Thankfully, the vast majority of businesses open from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. already employ this best practice. Therefore, this ordinance targets only those retail businesses that are not following best practices and often present a nuisance to their neighborhood.

To suggest that our overburdened Chicago Police Department should be solely responsible for safety is unrealistic and not in keeping with the concept of community policing that the city of Chicago has embraced for decades. Each individual person, institution and business has a stake in public safety. We all need to work cooperatively to effectively fight crime.

Late-night businesses that rely on police instead of taking every reasonable measure to ensure the safety of their employees and customers do our residents and city a disservice. Veteran police officers tell me that many business owners say they don't get cameras because they will get reimbursed by their insurance company for any losses and catching offenders is the CPD's business, not theirs. These officers also say that a great percentage of the good footage that helps them solve crimes and charge offenders comes from private cameras, not government cameras. chicagotribune.com

Family Dollar to pay $45M in gender bias lawsuit settlement
Family Dollar has agreed to pay $45 million to settle a gender bias lawsuit that dates 16 years ago. The Charlotte Observer cites the settlement in a Wednesday report as saying 37,000 female managers of Family Dollar stores allege they were paid less than their male counterparts for doing the same job, a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963. usatoday.com

Hudson's Bay CEO says 'no sacred cows' as retailer looks to shake up business
Following a poorly executed turnaround plan, Hudson's Bay Co. is now looking at shaking up its business under a new leader in a bid to perk up disappointing financial results.

"There are no sacred cows," Helena Foulkes, who took over as HBC's chief executive officer six weeks ago, said on Wednesday. "We're looking at every part of the business to improve performance and everything is on the table."

Now its massive cost cutting and staff reduction efforts -- aimed at generating $350 million of annual savings - have gone awry, forcing the already-challenged retailer to "take a step backwards," Ms. Foulkes said. theglobeandmail.com

New strategies for managing employee injuries
Bringing employees who have been injured back to work and accommodating needs caused by the injury rank high on retailers' lists of human resources concerns. Several recent developments - changes in federal and state laws, new models of operations and evolving requirements from insurers - have added complexity. And the stakes are quite high. Over the last decade, consent decrees and settlements from Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuits have run into the tens of millions. stores.org

CVS Health - Asset Analytics & Insights Product Profitability Strategy Sr Director - job posting removed

Macy's adds Amazon-like lockers

Target, Big Lots and Aldi are just a few companies eyeing Toys 'R' Us properties

Wawa c-stores to hire 5,000 in 2018 across six states

Billionaire toy magnate insists his $1 Billion GoFundMe campaign to save Toys 'R' Us is a not a stunt
 

Sekura shortlisted for two US Awards in 2018

Colchester, UK - The patented BoxGrip SR and the patent-pending SlideTag, by Sekura Global, have both been shortlisted for the Retail Knowledge 2018 North American Fraud Awards.

The BoxGrip SR is shortlisted for the "Most Innovative In-store Solution", which recognizes "innovative approaches to an existing, tried and tested solution or genre."

Patented by Sekura Global in the United States, Europe and Australia, the flagship BoxGrip SR is designed to save time and reduce labor costs when compared to standard wrap tags. In independent testing the BoxGrip SR outperformed standard solutions dramatically, saving 59.5% in application and removal time, with the difference in seconds translating to millions of dollars in savings for retailers every year.

At both RILA and NRF Protect conferences in 2017, the BoxGrip SR became the centerpiece of the Sekura Global booths - inviting attendees to take the "BoxGrip Challenge", competing for great prizes with the fastest application/removal times achieved. From four days of competition, and dozens of entries, the current world record for the BoxGrip Challenge stands at just 10.14 seconds for complete application and removal - held by Ricardo Tijerina from the Hudson Bay Company.

The SlideTag is up for the "Best Newcomer" category, which recognizes "the most exciting new vendor or solution to enter the retail risk and loss prevention arena, supplying any part of the risk and loss prevention industry."

The patent-pending SlideTag is a revolutionary development in security tagging solutions. Chris Napthine, Director of Operations at Sekura Global and SlideTag inventor, said, "the safety-conscious design eliminates a number of health & safety risks, commonly associated with standard pin tagging - a particular benefit for items like children's wear, where the onus of care is more significant - while also making application and removal extremely quick and easy. We developed this bespoke solution specifically to meet the challenges of safety-conscious retailers, who are concerned about protecting staff and customers from harm in their stores. The design features a completely concealed pin, eliminating any risk of pin injury completely, with a needle-fine tip to minimize any damage to fabrics."

Following up from the success of the previous RILA and NRF conference challenge, Sekura Global will be launching the SlideTag Challenge on booth #309 at RILA 2018 - April 29 to May 2, Gaylord Palms Orlando FL.

Join Sekura Global on booth #5 at the Dallas Retail Risk Show on Thursday May 17th 2018 at the Hilton Anatole Dallas, then stay for the awards ceremony afterwards.

Read more here.

How Measuring Security for Risk & ROI Can Empower CISOs
For the vast majority of business decisions, organizations seek metrics-driven proof. Why is cybersecurity the exception?

For the vast majority of business decisions, we seek metrics-driven proof. Why, then, is cybersecurity the exception? Isn't it obvious that continuous measurement and validation of the effectiveness of security controls is critical? Who wouldn't want the visibility to know how effectively their defenses are securing their network, systems, applications, devices, and data?

The CEO Question: "Should I Be Worried?"

Too often, the answer is "I don't know" or even "yes." Although CISOs have a number of key performance indicators to track and measure security activities such as patching, they lack a process or approach that measures the effectiveness of their security solutions. What they need is a continuous measurement approach, with which they can assess their security postures, pinpoint the threats that pose the greatest risk to enterprise operations, and then determine whether existing solutions are delivering sufficient protection.

Supporting this need for ongoing measurement, governments and regulators have produced a number of frameworks - from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), and the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - all with mandates for measuring and monitoring security controls. If you have not yet done so, now is the time to think about the resources you will need to implement a successful continuous monitoring program. It's also incumbent upon security professionals to articulate priorities and justification in terms that business leaders can understand.

Let's Talk about ROI

In looking at cybersecurity from a business perspective, a metrics-supported approach goes a long way in justifying investments. Yet few organizations - only 17%, according to NSS Labs research (NSS Labs 2017 Security Architecture Study, May 2017) - perform ROI calculations of their security controls. Moving forward, calculating ROI and providing relevant metrics will be a must-have in the CISO's toolbox. Without them, security executives may find themselves in the difficult position of explaining that the cause of a data breach was a result of "having had a technology solution for the problem in the budget, but it got cut."

As we move to the future, CISOs and their teams will be asked to incorporate more data science, empirical evidence, and metrics to demonstrate the effectiveness of their security programs. Introducing metrics that account for risk and ROI will empower security leaders to partner effectively with their business counterparts and pave the way for CISOs to have a stronger voice in their organization. darkreading.com

A Smarter Digital Footprint To Authenticate Customer Behavior
"Fraud won't go away, no matter how much technology is put in place," he said. "It's not going to go away, so [companies] have to build systems that are smarter."

These smarter systems need to focus more on who the good users are, providing companies with context regarding any risks they could pose. Developing a strong understanding of the parties involved could provide a more accurate understanding of trust in the digital age, Caldera added.

It's one thing to confirm that a consumer is who he says he is, but it's an entirely different matter to ensure that consumer is authorized to use the account, payments credentials or profile data he is presenting - and to verify that usage is in pursuit of a legitimate business purpose.

Companies need smarter compliance solutions to help them address this wide range of identity verification needs, Caldera said.

Automated solutions can work to verify both company and user identities by running new customers through a layered, real-time KYC check. These security layers are intended to create a more thorough understanding of the customer through a long-term profile.

Building an electronic profile of a customer based on past interactions and experiences can also help relying parties determine customer trustworthiness. Creating what IdentityMind calls an "electronic DNA" (eDNA) profile can offer insights into his or her long-term behavioral changes, thereby helping FIs and merchants assess associated risks.

"From a compliance perspective, it's critical to understand how that user evolves and how that user behaves over time," Caldera explained, adding that knowing the customer only becomes more complicated as business moves across borders. pymnts.com

Amplifying The Power Of Blockchain-What You Need To Know
With the promise of fast and secure end-to-end product traceability, blockchain is easily one of the most energizing-and complex-technological developments of the past few years.
 
How it will change the retail grocery supply chain

Retail grocery is well-suited for enterprise blockchain exploration. Driven by rapidly changing consumer behaviors and attitudes toward food, the industry now requires speedier, real-time data sharing capabilities. Blockchain represents an opportunity for farmers, distributors, processors and retailers to look closer at food traceability and information transparency, which will help them remain relevant in the eyes of consumers. Early solutions from IBM, Microsoft and some startup companies are helping to define how grocery leverages blockchain to harness the increasingly complex nature of the global food supply chain.

For instance, Walmart's well-publicized traceability pilot involving mangoes demonstrated the technology's usefulness in speeding up food recalls. Blockchain was used in tandem with Walmart's established system of traceability based on GS1 Standards. Pallets of mangoes originating from a farm in Mexico were tagged with numeric identifiers. Every time the product made stops throughout the supply chain, their status was updated on the blockchain ledger. After the pilot was completed, Walmart was able to access all relevant traceability information in seconds, compared to what historically would take a week to procure.

How to prepare

Blockchain has tremendous potential, but most predictions put its maturity out three to five years. Now is the time to focus on the most important prerequisite for blockchain-interoperability. The data transmitted on a blockchain needs to be universally accepted and understood by all systems for blockchain to be effective and scale. theshelbyreport.com

Automating Ethics for Cybersecurity
Having a code of ethics and enforcing it are two different things.

Doctors, accountants, and lawyers all operate under a code of ethics, but what about security professionals? Shouldn't they, too? While cybersecurity breaches don't necessarily have the life-and-death consequences of, say, brain surgery, the more vicious cyberattacks can and do cripple livelihoods, often en masse.

A number of IT security organizations do have codes of ethics - SANS, ISSA, and GIAC, for example. They spell out the do's and don'ts that should already be inscribed in the heart of every security professional. Things like, I will not advance private interests at the expense of end users, colleagues, or my employer; I will not abuse my power; and I will obtain permission before probing systems on a network for vulnerabilities.

Don't Regulate - Automate

One of the best ways to implement an ethical framework is to automate it. It's not yet perfect. Today, we benefit from automation of this kind in a wide variety of scenarios. Imagine what automation could do as a means of enforcing "the right thing" in large, complex data centers.

Instead, we entrust the running of these huge IT environments to system administrators, many of whom have been gaming, hacking, and cracking since their early teens. Their tech smarts are beyond reproach, but how many of them have the ethical foundation needed to handle such a responsibility? In some ways, it's like putting a regular motorist behind the wheel of a Formula One racecar. darkreading.com

McAfee Unveils New Global Security Operations Centers

Solution Providers: Have a video or commercial you want to publish? Contact us 

Bad Bots Make Up a Fifth of All Web Traffic
Bad bots are used by competitors, hackers and fraudsters and are the key culprits behind web scraping, brute force attacks, competitive data mining, online fraud, account hijacking, data theft, spam, digital ad fraud and downtime. In 2017, bad bots accounted for 21.8% of all website traffic, a 9.5% increase over the previous year. Good bots increased by 8.7% to make up 20.4% of all website traffic.

According to Distil Networks' fifth annual Bad Bot Report, which details the analysis of hundreds of billions of bad bot requests at the application layer, gambling companies and airlines suffer from higher proportions of bad bot traffic than other industries, with 53.1% and 43.9% of traffic coming from bad bots, respectively. E-commerce, healthcare and ticketing websites meanwhile suffer from highly sophisticated bots, which are difficult to detect. infosecurity-magazine.com

Online traffic to major shopping sites dipped over the holidays
Down 2% in Fourth Quarter of 2017
Online traffic to major shopping websites declined by an average of 2% in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to the same quarter a year earlier, translating to about 117 million fewer shopper visits per month, according to SimilarWeb's Market Intelligence blog.

The most popular of those sites - including those run by Amazon, eBay, and Walmart - each had traffic gains in the 3% to 4% range. Best Buy, whose site finished fifth in overall traffic for the quarter, also saw a gain of about 4% during the period.

Other retailers whose sites finished in the top 10 for most traffic for the quarter included Target, Home Depot, Etsy, Macy's, Lowe's and Kohls, but only Home Depot and Lowe's experienced traffic gains year over year, while the rest of the top 10 experienced declines, according to Similar Web. retaildive.com

Lululemon  Gets a Boost From E-Commerce
The company, which relaunched its website at the end of the third quarter, saw 42% growth in digital sales over the same quarter last year. In the second half of 2018, customers will be able to pick up their online purchases in stores. wsj.com

eBay Leverages AR to Help Ecommerce Shippers Select Boxes

Fresh Thyme Now Delivers From Most of its Stores

Oklahoma Retail Crime Association (OKRCA) Holds March Meeting
Identifies 6 'previously unknown subjects' for retail partners
OKRCA held their March meeting on Wednesday, March 28th at the Total Retail Asset Protection Services (TRAPS) training center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General, Dara Derryberry from the Consumer Protection Unit spoke with the group about regulatory issues facing businesses in the state - and the Attorney General office's efforts to curb the opioid epidemic that is causing many of our theft issues.

Ben Fu, former Tulsa County assistant District Attorney and current candidate for Tulsa County DA, spoke with the group about why he is running for DA and his Smart on Crime proposals.

Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency (TAEMA) Director, Joe Kralicek spoke with the group about business continuity issues, and worked out recovery plans as we go into our busy tornado/flooding season.

During our information sharing period - we were able to identify at least 6 previously unknown subjects for our retail partners - and expanded our information sharing network by 10%.

Holton, KS: Three ORC Thieves arrested; hitting for thousands in high-end electronics in MO, IA, NE, KS
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday three Missourians were arrested in Holton on theft charges. Sheriff Tim Morse said photos of two of the three suspects were made public earlier this week in hopes of identifying them following a separate theft on Sunday. Raven Alexandria Neece, 36, and Joshua Braxton Thigpen, 31, of Ferrelview, Mo., are suspected of two separate thefts at the Holton Walmart. Sheriff Morse said the first theft happened Feb. 9 and the second on March 25.

Police searched the car and found thousands of dollars of high-end electronics believed to have been stolen from Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. The three are also suspected of operating an EBAY business with the stolen merchandise. ksnt.com

Charleston, WV: Man charged after theft spree uses kids to target 9 stores;
$2,000 in merchandise
Police say Donald Abner led a theft team, including two adults and three kids, targeting stores at the Charleston Town Center Mall and Southridge shopping center. Misty Lynn Duvall also faces charges, police say. Officers allege she and the kids helped distract store employees during the thefts. Police say on Tuesday, March 27, Donald Abner Jr., 38, was arrested on charges from an incident earlier in the month. After investigating, police say they found their second suspect -- Duvall. The theft team was able to make off with over $2,000 worth of items, according to police. wsaz.com


Marana, AZ: Convicted serial shoplifter strikes just months after prison release
Using "sophisticated method" to dodge security"
A serial shoplifter is out of prison and back in the stores. They said he's now using a sophisticated method of bypassing store security. He said they arrested him in 2014, and he went to prison for retail theft the following year. Torres said they have surveillance video of him shoplifting three months after his release. In the video Bramlett is seen stealing expensive electronic items. Detectives said he's shoplifted eight times, stealing between $3,000 to $4,000 dollars worth of items. Detective Torres said Bramlett devised a way of taking off the spider wrapping on the items. This way he is able to pass the first line of security. Not only has he stolen electronics, detectives said he has also taken expensive tools. kvoa.com

East Garden City, NY: New Jersey Woman Charged in Sephora Robbery
in Roosevelt Field Mall, police seeking male accomplice
Gianna Sanchez, 19, and an unknown male subject stole goods from Sephora and attempted to flee when confronted by a loss prevention agent. According to Detectives, two subjects, a male and female, entered the Sephora store; they began to select merchandise from the display racks and conceal the items inside a handbag the female subject was carrying. An LP Agent observed both subjects exit the store without paying for the merchandise. When he identified himself and attempted to retrieve the merchandise, the female subject punched the Agent in the face twice and began to scratch him about the face and neck.

The female subject then ran into the parking lot toward a black colored car driven by the male subject. The Agent was able to block the female subject from entering the vehicle, the male subject drove away and Police Officers arrived on scene. It was determined that both subjects were responsible for a prior larceny at the same Sephora on March 10, 2018. longisland.com

Boise, ID: A Boise man faces five burglary counts after police say he was involved in a series of retail thefts
Weir Hoffman, 34, was booked into the Ada County Jail earlier this week. In addition to the burglary charges, Hoffman also faces one count of felony grand theft, one count of felony possession and a misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia. In a follow-up investigation into the retail thefts, Boise Police officers arranged a meeting with a man at his home. "The man had a warrant for grand theft and several burglaries from a Meridian investigation," according to a Boise Police. "BPD officers arranged to meet the man after seeing an advertisement he posted on social media with what was believed to be stolen property. When officers met the man, they confirmed his identity and warrants, and took him into custody. Officers located evidence Hoffman had been involved in several other retail thefts not connected to the Meridian case. kivitv.com


Meriden, CT: Woman charged in theft of more than $2,000 worth of merchandise from Victoria's Secret in Meriden mall
A Stratford woman faces charges after police said she was involved in the theft of more than $2,000 worth of merchandise from Victoria's Secret at the Westfield Meriden mall in November. Deanisha Pierce, 26, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with third-degree larceny. On Nov. 15, 2017, police responded to Victoria's Secret at the Westfield Meriden mall, for a report of shoplifting, according to police. Officers investigating determined a man and two women stole about $2,122 worth of merchandise. myrecordjournal.com

Becker County, MN: Man buys 2 Generators for $1,800 with stolen credit card info over the phone

Glenview, IL: Jewel-Osco Shoplifter busted with $880 in stolen razor blades

Columbus, NE: Columbus Woman's 5th Shoplifting Conviction in past 5 years

Shootings & Deaths

Durham, NC: 2 shot in incident at Durham Walmart
Durham police said two people were injured in a shooting incident at the Walmart on New Hope Commons Drive. Police responded to the shooting call at the Walmart around 3 p.m. Officers were able to obtain a description of a suspect vehicle which was spotted by a Durham County deputy. The driver of the suspect vehicle did not stop for the deputy and led authorities on a brief chase. That chase ended and three people jumped from the vehicle and ran. All three people were apprehended. wkrg.com


Lehigh Valley, PA: Pennsylvania Trooper Shoots, Kills Masked Shoplifting Suspect Outside Walmart
A Pennsylvania state trooper shot and killed a theft suspect who allegedly fired at him first outside a Lehigh Valley Walmart late Wednesday, with the entire incident captured on store surveillance video.

The trooper killed the suspect while returning fire in the parking lot of the store along Mill Creek Road in Allentown after responding to a report of a masked man, state police said.

A witness said he saw a law enforcement officer chasing the man outside the store when he heard the officer yelling for the man to stop. He then heard a series of shots. A Glock handgun allegedly belonging to the suspect was recovered in his lap. nbcphiladelphia.com

Olivehurst, CA: Man killed, gunman injured in attempted murder-suicide at Tower Mart & Dollar General
A man was killed and a gunman was critically injured after an apparent attempted murder-suicide Wednesday afternoon at an Olivehurst store, the Yuba County Sheriff's Office said. The incident began around 12:20 p.m. at the Tower Mart gas station parking lot on McGowan Parkway when the gunman opened fire on the victim, the sheriff's office said. The victim then ran to the nearby Dollar General as the gunman continued to fire at him. The sheriff's office said the victim ran through the store, went out the back and then collapsed from his gunshot wounds. kcra.com

Allentown, PA: Walmart Evacuated After Report of Shots Fired, no reports of injury

Jefferson County, MO: Pawn Shop owner Will Not be Charged in fatal shooting of attempted Armed Robber

Robberies & Thefts

Memphis, TN: Robber dressed as Walgreen's employee locks woman
in garbage chute
A man dressed like a Walgreen's associate robbed the Summer Avenue location of thousands of dollars after allegedly stuffing a real employee in the garbage chute. The incident happened on March 23 at the store on Summer Avenue near Perkins. The employee said the man was waiting for her inside the stocking area of the business. When she got close enough, he came out of hiding, put a gun to the back of her head and demanded her cellphone and the keys to the safe. He grabbed the keys out of her pocket and then locked her inside the garbage chute. Surveillance video showed the suspect then unlocking the safe, grabbing approximately $6,400 in cash and then returning to the garbage chute to let the employee out. He then left though a back exit. wreg.com

Columbus, OH: Man arrested and charged with robbing Macy's and pointing gun at employees
The Delaware County Grand Jury returned a six-count indictment against an 18-year-old man was, who officers, arrested for robbing a store inside of Polaris Fashion Place last week. The incident happened on March 24 around noon inside of Macy's. "Loss prevention officers reported a male fled the store with merchandise suspected to be stolen," said Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O'Brien. "They were able to provide the license plate number of the suspect vehicle and let police know the man pointed a gun at them in his attempt to flee." abc6onyourside.com

Jacksonville, FL: Jewelry store co-owner charged with grand theft, fraud - $100K in jewelry disappears
The co-owner of Crown Jewelers was arrested Monday on six counts of grand theft and one count of fraud. According to the arrest warrant, Alessandro Jiminez, 34, accepted five Rolex watches and one ring from clients to either sell or repair. The warrant states all six pieces of jewelry, with an estimated value of about $100,000, disappeared from 2014 to 2017. news4jax.com

NY Man Charged Conspiring to Rob FedEx Truck Transporting Diamonds in Manhattan's Diamond District
ROGERS conspired to rob a Federal Express truck in Manhattan while the truck was transporting diamonds and other precious stones on behalf of various merchants in Manhattan's diamond district. ROGERS planned to administer near-lethal dosages of a veterinary tranquilizer to the truck's operator, and steal the truck and its contents.

ROGERS's arrest came after he sought the assistance of an undercover NYPD detective to help him kill an associate he believed might reveal the details of the robbery. justice.gov

UK: Plymouth, England: Burglar steals $4,000 from Pawn shop, attempting to sell to another Pawn Shop fails
A burglar has been jailed for smashing his way into a pawnbrokers and stealing a huge haul of valuables - which he then got his friends to try and sell. Prolific offender Luke Tobin, aged 32, took jewelry, mobile phones and other electrical items from a branch of SOS Quick Cash. He then roped in other people to try and sell the loot at other shops. The suspect, Luke Tobin has 32 convictions for 45 offences. plymouthherald.co.uk

Conyers, GA: Kay Jewelers Armed Robber to spend next 10 years in prison
A Lawrenceville man who was recently convicted of armed robbery in federal court will spend the next decade in prison for the crime. Cephos Leyon Jamal White, 30, of Lawrenceville and Sandrika Denise Sears, also known as Nubian Monae, 22, of Decatur, both pleaded guilty earlier this year to robbing a Kay Jewelers in Conyers in April 2017. The pair was arrested by the FBI and Conyers Police Department officers last July. "White robbed four jewelry stores at gunpoint, tied the employees up and stole jewelry worth more than $1 million," said U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak. "The cooperation between federal and local law enforcement ended this crime spree and brought him to justice." gwinnettdailypost.com

Sacramento, CA: Jamba Juice Armed Robber sentenced to 25 years for shooting K9

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Mentorships: What You Need to Know, What You Need to Ask
 

The Most Frequently Asked Questions About Mentoring, Answered
Mentoring is a critical aspect of how people get ahead, or move into new industries in today's professional world. Mentoring programs can help develop employees' skills and create excellence in the workplace, but where do you start? Here are the FAQs and answers. Multiple mentors

Chasing Down a Mentor to Help You Grow? Be Ready to Answer These 4 Questions
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This 1 Type of Mentor Will Help You Stay Motivated When Nobody Else Can
The more mentors you have, the more varied guidance you'll receive, and you may acquire new skill sets. But, you definitely want to have an extreme mentor in your board of mentors. Here's how this type of mentor can really make an impact in your life. Stay strong even during the toughest of times

40 Questions to Ask a Mentor
As time goes on in our lives, things start to lose their luster, or don't energize us as much as they used to. The same can also apply to mentor relationships; even if you feel like the mentorship may have run its course, don't write it off yet. Here's the questions you can ask to find new material to discuss and re-invigorate your discussions. Have them tell you a story

Managing your career upwards requires a vision of where you want to go and how you're going to get there. Other than personal performance, one of the primary factors is who you know and how you develop those relationships. Everything you read talks about managing relationships around you in your current role, but the real key is the relationships you have outside your role or your company and not just in the LP community but with successful operators outside your current scope. If you expect to truly excel in your career, you've got to expand your contacts and develop them as you would the operator beside you. Obviously, this can be difficult and slow to progress. But give it some thought for the new year and set some goals of meeting new executives and expanding your circle. Because one person, one contact, can make a difference and you never know who that might be.

Just a Thought,
Gus

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