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The Great Debate Over Walmart's Possible Theft Closures
The Big Question: Why is Walmart Closing Its Portland Stores?
Walmart's planned closure of its last two stores within Portland's city limits later this month has drawn national coverage amid speculation that it may be due to rampant shoplifting.

The discount giant closes a handful of underperforming stores across states each year and the two were part of 15 announced for 2023. Walmart has said that each closure involves numerous factors.

The closures come after Walmart CEO Doug McMillon commented on CNBC last December that shoplifting spikes across the U.S. could lead to store closures and price increases. Portland has seen a surge in homicides and other crimes, including shoplifting, and the spread of homeless camps following moves by the city in 2020 to temporarily reduce police funding after months of politically-charged protests.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on social media about Walmart's Portland closings, "This is what happens when cities refuse to enforce the rule of law."

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, retorted, "The retail industry is changing and retail theft is a national issue," while pointing to recent Walmart closures in Texas.

An article in the Oregonian cited a number of other potential factors leading to the exits, including the city's high taxes, cultural mismatches that Walmart has also faced in other cities, and inflationary/macroeconomic pressures.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData's retail division, believes local competition from Fred Meyer and independents played a role. He told the Oregonian, "Walmart typically needs to be where they can be a big player and capture all the shares."

Portland's population slid 1.7 percent in 2021 after decades of growth and other businesses have closed in recent years amid the city's social problems. Last week, Cracker Barrel announced plans to close its three stores in the Portland area, saying it was "unable to overcome the impact of the pandemic." retailwire.com


LA Shoplifting Hits Highest Level Since 2010
Shoplifting crimes in LA are on the rise
While new Los Angeles Police Department statistics show that violent crime is down, shoplifting has steeply increased. In January 2023, there were 805 shoplifting reports in the city of Los Angeles, which was the highest monthly total since at least 2010.

Since August 2022, shoplifting has been steadily rising, with most of the crimes happening in department stores and clothing stores.

Downtown Los Angeles has really been hit hard. Mahboobeh Roozbehani and her husband own Santee Beauty Center in the Fashion District, and over the last 30 years of business there, shoplifting has recently really gotten out of hand they say.

Roozbehani said just last week, $1,000 worth of hair clippers were stolen. "We put two of the most expensive hair-cutting combos in front of him. And the minute my husband look away, he grabbed them and he ran out of the shop," said Roozbehani of the theft.

The losses and safety concerns have caused some of the downtown LA shops to band together, and look out for one another, and closing at the same time, so no one is a lone target. "It is like a group help so the minute they close, I close so we don't stay the last person," said Roozbehani.

Canoga Park followed downtown Los Angeles with 448 incidents reported in 2022.

Although not defined as a violent crime, shoplifting crimes can still be dangerous. It's classified as petty theft if stolen merchandise is less than $950. When the value exceeds $950, the crime is classified as grand theft and can be prosecuted as either a misdemeanor or a felony. cbsnews.com


The Vicious Cycle of America's Gun Violence Epidemic
Why the mass shooting cycle remains predictable and permanent

So long as D.C. remains gridlocked, this cycle of gun violence remains sad, predictable and permanent.

Most states, including Tennessee, still don't have a red flag (also known as extreme risk) law, according to a database maintained by the activist group Everytown for Gun Safety.

Laws are not going to catch every shooter

Red flag laws failed to identify the shooter who targeted Black Americans at a Buffalo grocery store last May. A red flag law in Indiana failed to identify the shooter who killed eight people at a FedEx facility in 2021. The law has since been tweaked.

Everytown for Gun Safety notes that mass shooters often find their way around ownership restrictions, despite prior warning signs.

Many states are expanding access to firearms

Part of the country thinks the answer is fewer guns, while another part wants to see more guns everywhere to take down deranged shooters. In many states, including Tennessee, policymakers continue to make laws more permissive.

New national laws are less likely

After the shooting in Nashville, Republican leaders on Capitol Hill dismissed immediate calls to reconsider an assault weapons ban to curb the number of AR-15 rifles - which was one of the weapons the Nashville suspect used during Monday's shooting. cnn.com

   RELATED: After Nashville shooting, GOP lawmakers call gun action 'premature'


New York's Heated Debate Over Bail Continues
NY Assembly proposes bail reform tweaks ahead of budget deadline: report
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) has reportedly floated tweaks to bail reform despite publicly resisting them ahead of the April 1 state budget deadline.

Under the proposed changes, judges would no longer have to give criminal defendants the "least restrictive" conditions ahead of their trials - at least for some crimes - Politico New York revealed Wednesday.

"If true, it's a very big deal: Heastie is telling the progressives to be quiet while he changes a law they fought for," political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said.

The compromise was offered at a Tuesday night meeting between the Assembly, state Senate and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has proposed to remove that legal standard for all bail-eligible offenses, according to the political magazine.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Post following the bombshell Politico report that the Assembly had made an offer on bail without elaborating on the details.

But another source privy inside the Assembly said Heastie told his Democratic supermajority that any progress on bail could only be measured in "inches" days after City & State NY reported his reps walked out of a meeting with Hochul administration officials over bail last weekend.

"[It's] highly unlikely that the Assembly will suddenly flip flop on decades of strongly held beliefs about criminal justice reform, which means it's very likely that if the reports are true there is nuance in the Assembly's position," an Albany insider told The Post.

Assembly Democrats have defended bail reform in recent weeks while noting that while crime has risen in New York since progressive laws took effect in 2020, it has also increased in states with relatively lax limits on cash bail. nypost.com


Progressives Have Been Blocking Changes to NY's Bail Law
Op-Ed: New Yorkers want thugs to face bail, but progressives won't listen
New York's hard-left legislative caucus is not only dead wrong on the issues - it's utterly disconnected from voters, even its own.  For proof, look no further than the latest statewide Siena College poll on Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposal to allow judges more discretion on setting bail for dangerous crooks.

Seventy-two percent of New Yorkers statewide support the move. And it's 76% of Democrats, who clocked in higher than independents and even Republicans on backing the change. Support is at least above 60% across every single demographic category: rich, poor, black, white, Hispanic, male, female.

The same poll shows that almost all New Yorkers, some 92%, consider crime a very or somewhat serious problem statewide. And that's one more drumbeat in a year-plus trend of voters topping 90% on the question. Question is, are the left-wingers in Albany listening? Absolutely not.

The staff of Speaker Carl Heastie reportedly walked out of budget negotiations over the weekend because of Hochul's insistence on including the proposal, even though (as The Post reports today) the voters in the Speaker's own district support it by a very clear majority.

Major kudos to the gov for sticking to her guns here. The people of New York are with her on this, overwhelmingly - those pesky voters she and Heastie (and Senate capos Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Mike Gianaris and every other crime-loving elected) ultimately answer to.

If pushing the budget talks into overtime is the only way to win this fight, that's just more reason to say: the later, the better. nypost.com

   RELATED: Albany may finally be exercising some common sense on bail reform


Nashville Shooter Planned to Target a Local Mall
Police believe Nashville school shooter had other targets, including a local mall
The shooter who opened fire at a private Christian school in Nashville, killing three children and three adults on Monday, may have had other targets, including a local mall, Nashville Police Chief John Drake said on "CBS Mornings."

"We strongly believe there was going to be some other targets, including maybe family members, and one of the malls here in Nashville," Drake said. "And that just did not happen." Police have identified the shooter as Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old from Nashville, who officials said was armed with at least two assault-style weapons and a handgun.

Drake said a search of the shooter's home turned up two additional weapons, "and I believe some more maps pertaining to maybe some thinking about some other incidents."

Hale was fatally shot by police at The Covenant School in the city's affluent Green Hills neighborhood, authorities said. The shooter had attended the school, "and had some history there," Drake said.

"What detectives have said so far is there's possibly some resentment for having to go to that school," the police chief said.

Drake said authorities believe the shooting was "targeted and planned." He said authorities found a booklet that detailed the entry point into the school, the weapons the shooter used and the clothing that the shooter wore during the attack. cbsnews.com
 

2022 violent crime rate trends 'historically high,' police tell Asheville leaders
 
Prichard Police Chief: Violent crimes task force in the works

Digital Advertising Inside Retail Stores
Why the Physical Store is the Next Profitable Digital Advertising Frontier

By Tony D'Onofrio, CEO - TD Insights LLC

In a previous CEO role, I was on a mission to transition physical security infrastructures into smart highly visual advertising delivery platforms. The rationale is similar to what happening with CCTV video technologies. In 2021, we crossed over 1 billion video cameras installed around the world.

Originally designed as a safety technology to monitor the launch of V-2 rockets in World War II and later taking more prominent roles as security devices, many of today's CCTV cameras are now data gathering eyes. Coupled with Artificial Intelligence and Edge Computing and renamed as Computer Vision, the CCTV camera is a key transformational technology improving many industries including retail.

Look up or the side of shelves in multiple retail formats, and in most modern retail stores you will see yourself on in-store Public View Monitors (PVMs) which were designed to increase visual deterrence against theft. Those same video monitors along with multiple other strategic locations inside the physical store are the perfect location to now add cloud-based digital advertising. Concurrently many of these screens can perform their security functions when needed, but more importantly they can also actually generate revenue for the retail chain through advertising.

PVMs are only the beginning of what is possible with digital advertising inside retail stores. There are multiple other strategic locations, including exits, point-of-sale, self-checkout, in-aisles, end-caps, on shelves, etc. where the digital advertising revolution is possible to substantially improve profitability.

Read Tony D'Onofrio's full article here


Ex-Starbucks CEO Fights Back Against Union-Busting Allegations
Bernie Sanders grills ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz about alleged union busting

Sen. Bernie Sanders grilled former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz during a U.S. Senate panel about the company's compliance with federal labor law.

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on Wednesday faced a volley of tough questions from Sen. Bernie Sanders about the coffee chain's alleged union busting.

Sanders, a pro-union independent representing Vermont, has been putting pressure on Starbucks for more than a year to recognize the union and negotiate contracts with unionized cafes. He chairs the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which conducted the panel.

During the hearing on Wednesday, Sanders said that the coffee chain has engaged in the "most aggressive and illegal union-busting campaign in the modern history of our country." He also accused the company of stalling on collective bargaining agreements, betting that workers will give up and leave the coffee chain.

Nearly 300 Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize under Starbucks Workers United, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board. In total, the union has made more than 500 complaints of unfair labor practices related to Starbucks with the federal labor board. Judges have found that the company has broken federal labor law 130 times. (Starbucks has filed roughly 100 of its own complaints against the union.)

None of the unionized stores have agreed on a contract yet with Starbucks. An NLRB lawyer reportedly said Tuesday that the company's refusal to bargain over Zoom was illegal.

In response, Schultz defended Starbucks' approach to its negotiations, maintaining that a direct relationship with workers is what is best for the company. He also denied multiple times that the company ever broke federal labor law and said his focus during his time as interim CEO was 99% on operations, not battling the union. cnbc.com


Macy's Post-Pandemic Shift: Rethinking the Labor Force & Leaning Into Tech
Macy's chief stores officer on how the department store is rethinking its labor force

The department store is responding to the changing role of stores by putting more tech tools in its associates' hands.

Macy's has responded to the changing role of stores and store employees by revamping its approach to training and workforce development and putting more tech tools in associates' hands.

Marc Mastronardi, the company's chief stores officer, said those shifts, like many others in retail, happened during and after the pandemic. Mastronardi said Macy's has changed how it thinks about developing its labor force. The company now focuses on two tracks: customer-facing front-of-house roles and its backroom operational side of the workforce.

The change, Mastronardi said, offers flexibility and empowerment for both the company's workforce and the customers they serve. "We've actually changed a lot of hands-on training and changed the training from being a point in time to being all the time."

In short, Mastronardi said, Macy's recognized "that if you're going to make a trip to the store, it's got to be because you want a really enjoyable experience." That perspective is what helped the company frame those elements as focus areas for creating good in-store experiences.

Another tech-based initiative is a pilot program where a widget on the website will pop up and ask e-commerce customers if they'd like to engage with a digital stylist. The digital stylist is an in-store associate who can engage with the customer in real time to build them a personalized digital storefront with product recommendations.  retaildive.com


Post-Pandemic Friction Between Workers & Their Employers
A Crisis of Talent or Leadership?

What employers need to understand about trust in today's changing workforce landscape.

In recent years, this idea of a so-called talent crisis-driven largely by the notions of the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting-has forced companies to take a hard look at how they manage their labor force. Talent shortages, the prevalence of remote work and the rise of the gig economy have all shifted the power between employees and employers, such that employees feel more empowered to shape when and how they work. In turn, companies have had to find ways to strike a balance between their needs and the needs of employees to attract and retain talent.

But, consider for a moment, that the crisis isn't really one of talent. Rather, it's one of leadership. We're also seeing fragility in the relationship between leaders and employees, especially with regards to trust. All of this is unfolding as we seek out a consensus on what the new normal should look like.

At the height of the pandemic, patience, understanding and empathy guided our actions and our decisions. Yet now that we have moved past the emergency response phase of the pandemic, those who are eager to return to normal are facing resistance from those who prefer the flexibility and accommodations introduced to the workplace during the pandemic. And those safety experts-once so important to COVID-19 organizational strategy-are now being cast aside by some leaders. Taking into account these factors and anecdotes from around the business world, it's evident the desire to return to work pre-COVID is pitting the wishes of management against the wishes of workers. ehstoday.com


Retail Sales Projected to Remain Strong
NRF Forecasts 2023 Retail Sales to Grow Between 4% and 6%
WASHINGTON - The National Retail Federation today issued its annual forecast, anticipating that retail sales will grow between 4% and 6% in 2023. In total, NRF projects that retail sales will reach between $5.13 trillion and $5.23 trillion this year.

"In just the last three years, the retail industry has experienced growth that would normally take almost a decade by pre-pandemic standards," NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. "While we expect growth to moderate in the year ahead, it will remain positive as retail sales stabilize to more historical levels. Retailers are prepared to serve consumers in the current economic environment by offering a range of products at affordable prices with great shopping experiences."

The 2023 figure compares with 7% annual growth to $4.9 trillion in 2022. The 2023 forecast is above the pre-pandemic, average annual retail sales growth rate of 3.6%. nrf.com


Belk had the highest traffic rise of any department store chain in 2022
Belk, the regional department store chain that recapitalized its business with a one-day Chapter 11 filing in 2021, recovered to become the segment's traffic growth leader in 2022.

Aside from a two-week period last August, the North Carolina-based chain with some 300 stores across 16 states posted higher traffic increases than the baseline for the entire department store category last year, according to an analysis by cell data traffic-tracker Placer.ai.

Belk traffic rose by 60% last April compared to a department store average of 23%. In the final shopping week of holiday season, when average store visits rose by 100%, Belk's increase shot to 140%. chainstoreage.com


Four retailers closing shop doors for good including major department store

Bloomingdale's CEO to replace Macy's chief Jeff Gennette next year

Tech Leaders Sound the Alarm Over 'Out-of-Control' AI
In Sudden Alarm, Tech Doyens Call for a Pause on ChatGPT

Tech luminaries, renowned scientists, and Elon Musk warn of an "out-of-control race" to develop and deploy ever-more-powerful AI systems.

An open letter signed by hundreds of prominent artificial intelligence experts, tech entrepreneurs, and scientists calls for a pause on the development and testing of AI technologies more powerful than OpenAI's language model GPT-4 so that the risks it may pose can be properly studied.

It warns that language models like GPT-4 can already compete with humans at a growing range of tasks and could be used to automate jobs and spread misinformation. The letter also raises the distant prospect of AI systems that could replace humans and remake civilization.

"We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 (including the currently-being-trained GPT-5)," states the letter, whose signatories include Yoshua Bengio, a professor at the University of Montreal considered a pioneer of modern AI, historian Yuval Noah Harari, Skype cofounder Jaan Tallinn, and Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

The letter, which was written by the Future of Life Institute, an organization focused on technological risks to humanity, adds that the pause should be "public and verifiable," and should involve all those working on advanced AI models like GPT-4. It does not suggest how a halt on development could be verified, but adds that "if such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium," something that seems unlikely to happen within six months.

The signatories seemingly include people from numerous tech companies that are building advanced language models, including Microsoft and Google.

The letter comes as AI systems make increasingly bold and impressive leaps. GPT-4 was only announced two weeks ago, but its capabilities have stirred up considerable enthusiasm and a fair amount of concern. The language model, which is available via ChatGPT, OpenAI's popular chatbot, scores highly on many academic tests, and can correctly solve tricky questions that are generally thought to require more advanced intelligence than AI systems have previously demonstrated. Yet GPT-4 also makes plenty of trivial, logical mistakes. And, like its predecessors, it sometimes "hallucinates" incorrect information, betrays ingrained societal biases, and can be prompted to say hateful or potentially harmful things. wired.com


Biden Administration Calls for 5% Increase in Cybersecurity Funding
CISA director: Cutting agency's budget would return it to 'pre-SolarWinds world'

Director Jen Easterly said that if the agency's proposed budget for FY 2024 dropped to pre-2022 totals, it would put the nation at risk.

Pointing to the growing cybersecurity threat from China and the need to better safeguard U.S. critical infrastructure, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly defended the administration's request to increase her agency's funding by around 5% over last year to $3.1 billion.

The agency plans on prioritizing its work with state and local partners and smaller critical infrastructure operators that need more federal support to shore up cybersecurity defenses, Easterly told House Appropriation members during a Tuesday morning hearing. Any reduction in funding, she said, would "severely negatively impact" the work the agency has been doing with those stakeholders.

Furthermore, she said, if the agency's budget falls below 2022 totals of around $2.6 billion or if the agency has to cut back on its regional partnerships, it would "put us back in a pre-SolarWinds world where we'll lose that visibility that we've developed and that's harmful to our security as a nation."

A significant portion of the funding for CISA in President Biden's fiscal 2024 budget - or about $100 million - would go toward implementing the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act, which requires certain critical infrastructure operators to reports cyberattacks to the agency within 72 hours and ransomware payments within 24 hours. A rule making notice for the act is expect next March and full implementation of the law in September 2025.

Hiring is also a major priority for the agency. Easterly said that CISA is on track to hire more than 600 people by the end of the year.

The director also had a series of sober warnings on some of the emerging and current threats facing the nation. She called out machine learning, social apps such as TikTok and a Chinese-invasion of Taiwan as growing concerns the agency is monitoring. She warned that China is paying close attention to U.S. involvement in Ukraine and could consider a retaliatory cyberattack against American critical infrastructure if the U.S. were to get involved in any future Taiwan conflict. cyberscoop.com


Cybersecurity Sector Facing Funding Headwinds
Cybersecurity Investment Outlook Grim as Funding Activity Sharply Declines

Security analysts expect little improvement until at least the second half of the year.

Financial activity in the cybersecurity industry declined sharply in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, and analysts tracking the sector expect little improvement until at least the second half of the year.

And meanwhile, next quarter in fact might be the slowest for cybersecurity startup funding in years, at least one researcher predicts.

"Conservatism and expectations for continued headwinds throughout 2023 were the recurring themes across the public cybersecurity company annual earnings calls held throughout the first quarter," says Eric McAlpine, founder and managing partner at Momentum Cyber. "[Strategic decision makers] are approaching the rest of the year with great caution and that has downstream impact for everyone else in the ecosystem."

The cautionary tone comes amid lingering fears of a broad economic recession, falling stock prices and huge layoffs at technology giants such as Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Tesla. Though analyst firms such as IDC expect cybersecurity spending to increase 12.1% in 2023 to $219 billion, there are some fears that inflation and rising technology costs could dent the gains organizations are hoping to get from the increased spending. darkreading.com


Trojan-Rigged Tor Browser Bundle Drops Malware
Attackers are targeting cryptocurrency accounts belonging to users in Russia and more than 50 other countries.

Best practices for protecting AWS RDS and other cloud databases

Exchange Online will soon start blocking emails from old, vulnerable on-prem servers

New York, NY: 7 teens attack workers in flash robbery at Manhattan dollar store
Seven teens attacked workers during a flash robbery at a Manhattan dollar store this week, police said. The NYPD released surveillance images Wednesday of the seven suspects- four males and three females who are all believed to be in their teens. The group walked into 99 Cent Jackpot at 108 E. 116th Street in East Harlem just before 11 a.m. Sunday and started stealing items off shelves en masse, police said. Two employees-a 55-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman-tried to stop the teens from leaving the store with the stolen merchandise, leading to a heated argument. The teens grew "irate" and attacked the workers, punching and kicking them repeatedly, police said. The teen mob fled the store with an undetermined amount of stolen goods, according to police. EMS transported the two victims to NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem. The male employee had a laceration above his left eye, while the female employee suffered a head injury and a laceration to her mouth. Both victims were treated for their injuries and later released from the hospital. Earlier this month, police put out images of suspects wanted in another Manhattan flash robbery in which a 7-Eleven worker in NoMad was beaten with a "wet floor" sign by a group of six shoplifters.  audacy.com


Clayton, NC: Verizon Store Robbery Suspects Arrested
Clayton Police have arrested two suspects they say robbed the Verizon store at 13024 US Highway 70 Business West. Police Chief Greg Tart said the robbery was reported at 7:56pm Tuesday. Upon arrival, officers learned two sususpects entered the store and forced the clerk to open a safe containing several electronic devices. The suspects removed the items and fled the store. Investigators were later able to identify the suspects as Paul Zackary Odom, age 32, of Axis Deer Lane, Garner, NC and Thomas Howard Powell, age 31, of Atlas Drive, Charlotte, NC. Clayton Police, with assistance from Garner Police, executed a search warrant at 134 Axis Deer Lane, Garner. Approximately 68 phones, tablets, and other electronic items were seized as well as several firearms. One of the firearms had previously been reported stolen in Concord, NC, Chief Tart said.  jocoreport.com


Macedon, NY: $67,000 worth of dirt bikes stolen from Power Sports shop
Police are investigating a burglary at a motorsports store in Wayne County early Wednesday morning. The Macedon Police Department responded to Filer's PowerSports on State Route 31 around 7 a.m. for the initial report. Officers say they found a garage door that had been smashed open, but did not find anyone inside the building. Investigators determined several people broke into the shop between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. that morning, and took roughly $67,000 worth of motorbikes. "Right now, we're counting nine dirt bikes, $7,500 to $8,000 in value each," said Shaun Mauger, the sales manager at Filer's Powersports. "They went for big names. Yamaha, Suzuki, they knew what they were going for." No suspects are in custody. Police are asking nearby homeowners and businesses to review any surveillance video they may have for suspicious activity from that morning.  13wham.com


Vancouver, BC Canada: Vancouver police arrest more than 200, recover almost $80K in stolen goods in shoplifting crackdown, 'Project Barcode'
During a three-week operation focused on repeat and violent shoplifters, the Vancouver Police Department says it arrested more than 200 people and recovered almost $80,000 in stolen goods. Project Barcode, which ran from Feb. 15 to March 10, involved officers waiting outside participating stores, while staff watched for known and new shoplifters. If a shoplifter tried to leave, staff would notify the officer, who would take the shoplifter to custody. In total, 28 retailers participated in the project, resulting in 217 arrests, 47 of which involved repeat offenders. Police say 24 weapons were also seized.

Staff Sgt. Mario Mastropieri says Vancouver continues to see an alarming trend of repeat offenders and shoplifters using violence. According to police, 2022 saw a more-than-30 per cent increase in shoplifting crimes compared to 2021. "Everyone's safety is a priority for us ... and everyone deserves to feel safe in Vancouver," he said. "And that includes the thousands of small business owners and their employees." VPD says Project Barcode allowed officers to easily apprehend shoplifters and minimize the violence staff could potentially face when attempting to stop people.

Tony Hunt, general manager of loss prevention at London Drugs, which participated in the project, says retail workers face alarming numbers of abuse and violence across the country. "While there are important business elements of this ... this is most urgently a people issue," said Hunt. "Our industry, our employees and our customers need more support to ensure safety."  cbc.ca


Portland, ME: Police searching for 4 suspects in $18,000 Lowe's theft
Portland police are searching for four men who crashed an SUV on Brighton Avenue on Tuesday morning after allegedly stealing more than $18,000 worth of merchandise from two Lowe's stores. After hearing reports that a White Toyota 4Runner with Pennsylvania license plates had been linked to the theft of more than $10,000 worth of merchandise at Lowe's in Brunswick on Tuesday morning, Portland police said officers spotted the vehicle at a second Lowe's on Brighton Avenue just after 10:30 a.m. Five suspects allegedly returned to the SUV with about $8,600 in stolen merchandise and police attempted to stop them. After fleeing "at a high rate of speed" for less than a minute, the vehicle crashed into two vehicles and stopped near the intersection of Brighton Avenue and Machigonne Street, police said. All five suspects ran off. One was captured by police and taken into custody. Their identities have not been released and it's not clear if they've been charged. A police K9 unit from Scarborough was called to help track the other suspects. One person who was injured in the crash when his vehicle was struck by the suspects' SUV was taken to Maine Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. pressherald.com


Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake City Police take serial theft suspect into custody
Officers with the Salt Lake City Police Department safely took a serial theft suspect into custody Tuesday as he was traveling through Salt Lake City International Airport. The 30-year-old man is accused of allegedly stealing roughly $4,100 from a store inside the airport. Using surveillance video and ticketing information, police found that on Feb. 15, the suspect walked into the Salt Lake City Dufrey Shopping Store and allegedly stole seven boxes of perfume. According to store employees, the loss was valued at roughly $1,250. On March 14, the suspect, who has been identified as Alai H. Harb entered the same store and allegedly took 13 boxes of perfume and a pair of sunglasses. Police say employees valued the loss at roughly $2,000. On March 26, the suspect allegedly took seven boxes of fragrance for women and men. This loss was valued at $900 by store employees. According to police, in all three alleged incidents, Harb was a ticketed and confirmed airline passenger. On Tuesday, SLCPD received information that Harb would be traveling through the airport. Officers with the SLCPD's Airport Division coordinated an arrest plan. Harb was taken into custody without incident or disruption to airport operations, according to a SLCPD news release.   kslnewsradio.com


Olympia, WA: Police find over $3,500 worth of stolen merchandise after Olympia arrest
Police found over $3,500 worth of stolen merchandise after making an arrest in Olympia. On Wednesday, the Olympia Police Department tweeted that officers found a stolen car driving in a parking lot last week. According to police, the driver tried to escape and unsuccessfully hit a patrol car. They were arrested for assault and having a stolen car. When searching the car, officers found $3,604 worth of merchandise stolen from local stores earlier that day. The stolen items were returned to the stores.  kiro7.com


Gillette, WY: Preliminary hearing set for man accused of felony shoplifting at Walmart
Steven Dillion is charged with one felony and two misdemeanors for theft with intent to deprive following his March 25 arrest at Walmart after he was recognized by store loss prevention personnel as the suspect in multiple shoplifting incidents, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case. On the day of his arrest, Dillion reportedly attempted to leave the store with $311 in groceries that he didn't pay for and ran from a store employee before being stopped by a Gillette Police officer outside, the affidavit states. While talking with the officer, Dillion was identified as the suspect in multiple shoplifting incidents between December 2022 and March 2023. Between those dates, Dillion reportedly stole $1,605 in merchandise from Walmart and attempted to steal an additional $550 but was stopped by store staff, according to the affidavit. During his interview, Dillion reportedly admitted to the thefts and attempted thefts, stating he took items because "times are tough," the affidavit states.   county17.com


Clearfield County, PA: Man pleads guilty in theft ring targeting Walmart
An Altoona man accused of being involved with a theft ring targeting Walmart stores pleaded guilty Monday in Clearfield County. John Wayne Setser, 32, was originally charged with felony conspiracy, retail theft and receiving stolen property in relation to thefts at the Clearfield Walmart. After he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor retail theft, he was sentenced by Judge Paul E. Cherry to 60 days to one year in jail with three years' concurrent probation. He has been incarcerated since his Dec. 14 arrest. He must also pay over $1,900 in restitution. Previously, Tammi Marie Koch, 37, also of Altoona, was arrested after she returned to the Clearfield Walmart in December.  altoonamirror.com