Walgreens Prototype Store Records No Robberies or Burglaries Since July 2023
Walgreens converted one of its most burglary- and robbery-plagued locations in downtown Chicago into a high-tech prototype store last year

How Walgreens' Innovative New Store Design Enhances Asset Protection

Exec shares learnings from digital-focused location in Chicago

When Walgreens converted one of its most burglary- and robbery-plagued locations in downtown Chicago into a high-tech prototype store last year, the company knew it was the perfect place to try something new. The store, located in the city's South Loop neighborhood, was a prime target for crime, but it was also situated in a heavy-foot traffic area and served a neighborhood with unique health care needs.

Mark Bunyan, asset protection lead director for the pharmacy company, shared at this week's Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) Retail Asset Protection Conference how the company made the conversion, how it has been enhanced by asset protection principles, and how Walgreens plans to move forward with the prototype.

Prior to last summer, Walgreens Store #7179 was considered a Security Level 4 with heavy product protection and on-site security services from off-duty law enforcement officials. Everything from diapers and skincare to toilet paper and laundry detergent was being lifted from the store, and it was a frequent victim of organized retail crime.

Asset Protection Considerations

While taking the majority of product off the retail floor inherently leads to better asset protection, Bunyan shared other considerations that went into the design of the South Loop store. Shelf sizes were significantly reduced, which means less product on the shelf that can be shoplifted, but also allows for less labor to keep an eye on and stock shelves.

Mulling the Results

While results from the new store prototype are mixed, Walgreens plans to stay the course with the unique nature of the omnichannel-focused location. On the upside, there have been no robberies or burglaries since July 2023, workplace violence and criminal activity incidents are down 85%, and the location has been able to do away with outside security services.

Moving forward, Bunyan said Walgreens plans to install product protection in certain areas of the South Loop store, and the company is also keeping a close eye on the mix of products it offers in its grab-and-go aisles. The store is also poised to become a hub location for the company's e-commerce ordering option, and stockroom and labor efficiencies will be further considered.  progressivegrocer.com


Will 2024 Break Records for Most ORC Takedowns in California?
Newsom touts California's efforts to crack down on retail theft
State law enforcement officials have released data surrounding the organized retail crime crackdown taking place across California in 2024.

According to a release from Gov. Gavin Newsom's office, as of Wednesday, 474 people have been arrested and 160,041 stolen items recovered from 185 investigations by the CHP's Organized Retail Crime Task Force since January.

The value of the stolen goods is estimated to be nearly $4.2 million, which equates to nearly half of all the stolen goods recovered by the task force in 2023, officials said.

At the current rate, this year's enforcement actions are set to "outpace" previous years, the governor's office added.

"California will continue to lead more takedowns and make more arrests to keep our communities safe," Newsom said in a statement. "It is through the coordinated efforts of our law enforcement partners that the state can keep shutting the door on this unacceptable crime."

Since its inception in 2019, the organized task force has been involved in nearly 2,500 investigations which have led to the arrest of more than 2,500 suspects and the recovery of over 770,000 stolen items worth approximately $42.3 million, state officials said. ktla.com


Major Property Crime is still up 14.3% over 2022 & up 26.6% over 2021
Overall crime rate down in Memphis for first quarter
Overall crime was down 13.9% for the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period the year before, the commission reported.

While the overall rate did drop year-over-year, it was 5.5% higher than first quarter 2022 and 13.9% higher than first quarter 2021.

From Jan. 1 to March 31, the major violent crime rate dropped 10.4%, and major property crime dropped 22.1%.

• Murders: -5.7%
• Aggravated Assaults: -8.4%
• Robberies: -16.3%
• Rapes: -30.3%

First-quarter major property crime fell in the following categories:

• Burglaries: -16.9%
• Vehicle thefts: -33.2%
• Other felony thefts: -17.4%

While the major property crime rate, at 1,626.6 per 100,000, improved year-over-year, it's 14.3% higher than 2022 and 26.6% higher than 2021. dailymemphian.com


Florida's New Retail Crime Crackdown Law Makes More Headlines
'Florida is a law-and-order state, and our policies combating organized retail theft are another shining example of how we are leading the nation'

New Florida law increases penalties for organized retail theft, porch piracy
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 549, which lowers the threshold value for third-degree felony theft. The governor added that retail theft results in skyrocketing customer prices because businesses need to recoup their losses.

DeSantis said that the recent phenomenon of stores locking away certain goods to prevent them from being stolen is demoralizing for customers. They said it is not good for quality of life. He further noted that the behavior of thieves shows contempt for the law.

"Florida is a law-and-order state, and our policies combating organized retail theft are another shining example of how we are leading the nation," said Attorney General Ashley Moody. "Grateful for Gov. DeSantis signing this important piece of legislation into law, as well as for the work of Representative Rommel and Senator Trumbull this session to keep building a stronger, safer Florida."

According to DeSantis, Florida has seen a decline in retail theft over the last four years and added that he thinks it's because people know that Florida is not a state a thief would want to "try that" in.

"You see stores closing down in other parts of the United States, whether that's Target closing nine stores in Portland and Seattle, Walmart closing stores in Chicago, Nordstrom closing stores in San Francisco, that is a direct result of the lack of commitment to the rule of law and holding criminals accountable," DeSantis said.

DeSantis stated that is not what will happen in Florida and that the new legislation will ensure that retailers can continue operating their businesses and criminals are held accountable.  lakerlutznews.com


#GetToughOnRetailCrime Campaign Picks Up Steam in the UK
BRC demands tougher stance from PCC to combat retail crime

The BRC is also calling for a standalone offence of assault on a retail worker.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has urged a more stringent approach from the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) to combat the rising tide of retail crime.

The move comes ahead of the PCC elections on 2 May 2024. In line with its campaign called #GetToughOnRetailCrime, the trade association seeks commitment from candidates to prioritise retail crime in their policing plans.

The BRC is also calling for a standalone offence of assault on a retail worker, and tracking the data on its use. It urged PCC candidates to allocate appropriate resources to address retail crime in their region.

The call from the BRC comes with its latest crime survey indicating that incidents of violence and abuse against retail staff surged to more than 1,300 per day in the fiscal year 2022 to 2023. This marks a stark rise from 870 incidents per day in the previous year.

Theft has also become a pressing concern, with reported losses doubling to £1.8bn in 2024, equating to 45,000 incidents daily.  In 2023, retailers invested a record £1.2bn in crime prevention measures.

In April 2024 Opal, the UK National Police Chiefs' Council intelligence unit on serious organised acquisitive retail crime, launched training to combat retail crime. retail-insight-network.com


Sensible Anti-Theft Policies - Or Bias?
Retail chains are taking steps to fight theft. This professor compares some measures to redlining
Kathleen Kennedy, an associate professor of practice in the Norton School of Human Ecology at University of Arizona: I believe we have a form of redlining happening in retail. ... And by redlining, I mean geographic areas, store trade areas that are being treated differently because of the demographics of that service area. Product categories that appeal to particular shoppers that may be locked up because of who they appeal to and a guess that they're going to be high theft categories. Once they're locked up, they're no longer high theft categories.

So I give you a simple example. I think that young shoppers, teens and young adults products that appeal to them more likely are going to be locked up. So you can see some biases in what's going on.

What is difficult to prove as an outsider or a researcher is, is this fair or unfair? If I can say that. Is this being done based upon what's happening with that specific product, or is it being done in a way that probably is not best for society, meaning this product will appeal to this type of shopper and therefore this type of shopper tends to be a shoplifter? Therefore, we're going to lock it up.

And we did see a documented case of this with Black hair care products. I think as a society, we should probably look at some of the things that are happening in terms of retail operations that are equivalent to restrictions that happened in banking with redlining mortgages. fronterasdesk.org


More Muscle for Calif's Retail Crime Fight as Speaker, Legislators, Unveil New Bills

New Orleans area officials advocate for better gun control following mass shooting
 

TikTok Beating Competition at Customer Retention
TikTok is better at keeping shoppers than rivals Temu and Shein, new data shows

TikTok is retaining customers on its e-commerce platform, Shop, better than some of its rivals.

TikTok seems to be doing a good job of getting customers to make multiple purchases on its new shopping platform, Shop, according to data from Earnest Analytics.

Earnest, which tracks credit-and-debit-card transactions, found that around 27% of TikTok shoppers came back to make another purchase after five months of their first buy. On this measure, TikTok Shop outperformed other e-commerce platforms, including Temu, Shein, and Etsy, as well as fellow social-commerce channels Whatnot, Flip, and Instagram Checkout. It also performed better than Walmart.

Amazon was the only e-commerce platform that beat TikTok Shop in Earnest's dataset, which looked at customer-retention data between January 2022 and February 2024. That company saw around 36% of shoppers return after five months of their first purchase.

About one in 10 US households have made a TikTok Shop purchase since September, when the platform rolled out in the US, per Earnest's analysis. businessinsider.com

Tigard, OR: Four arrested in organized retail theft mission in Tigard
Four people are facing charges after Tigard Police interrupted a suspected organized retail theft at a local shopping center and were able to recover nearly $10,000 worth of stolen merchandise, according to Tigard Police. On Monday at about 2 p.m., loss prevention employees at a store on southwest Washington Square Road contacted police to say a person was stealing merchandise. Detectives responded and found that the person was part of a four-person crew associated with organized retail theft and had been stealing merchandise and committing false returns. One of the suspects ran from police and hid in the back of a van in the parking lot. Police responded and blocked in the van. The man originally did not comply with the officer's commands to come out, and after several minutes he did exit the van but repeatedly reached for his waistband, and a K9 and foam 40mm round were used to take him safely into custody. Investigators found that the group came to the area from Seattle and detectives believe they committed similar crimes at another location in Portland at about noon before coming to Tigard. All four are facing charges of first-degree theft, attempted theft, and second-degree theft.  kptv.com


Collier County, FL: Update: 3 Fort Lauderdale men arrested for armed robbery at North Naples retail store
Deputies have identified three men from Fort Lauderdale accused of stealing from a North Naples store and pepper spraying employees and leading deputies on a chase. The Collier County Sheriff's Office said the Broward County men robbed a department store at Waterside Shops on Tuesday and then fled from deputies during rush hour on Tuesday. Deputies responded to a report of a group of men stealing purses from the Saks Fifth Avenue at 5395 U.S. 41 North. Michael Lawrence Knight, 27; Harmon Brown, 32; and Keion Jamaal Payne, 31, fled the store and pepper-sprayed employees who tried to stop them from leaving. They got into a white BMW SUV and headed east onto Pine Ridge Road, and deputies found them at Golden Gate Parkway and Livingston Road, heading toward Interstate 75.  winknews.com


Los Angeles, CA: Thieves armed with stun gun hit 2 retail shops in Southern California
Police are investigating two separate retail robberies involving three suspects, one of whom was armed with a stun gun, authorities announced Wednesday. The first robbery occurred on April 5 just before 2:30 p.m. at a retail shop in the 4000 block of South Main Street near the Historic South-Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department. One man and two women entered the store and began selecting merchandise. The trio was confronted by an employee as they attempted to leave the store without paying. That's when police say the male suspect, identified as 35-year-old L.A. resident Antwaun Pollard, threatened store employees with the stun gun before fleeing with the merchandise. "Officers were able to locate and arrest the male suspect with the assistance of Loss Prevention, however, the two female suspects eluded capture and the taser was not recovered," police said.
Five days later, on April 10, at around 2:10 p.m., two female suspects walked into another retail shop just one and a half miles away in the 3200 block of South Central Avenue and committed a nearly identical theft. When they were confronted by employees as they attempted to leave the store without paying for the merchandise, police say one of the women was armed with a stun gun as they fled the scene.  ktla.com


Tyrone, PA: Teen arrested at school after Vape store burglary in Tyrone
More than $1,000 in vapes was stolen from a convenience store in Tyrone and police said a 16-year-old suspect was arrested when he showed up at school. Tyrone police said they were called around 5:21 a.m. on April 16 to Tyrone Convenience Store at the corner of Adams Avenue and W. 20th Street for a possible burglary. They said a witness reported seeing a younger male and a smashed window. Officers said they also received a call from the alarm company reporting someone possibly got into the store. The witness gave police a detailed description of the suspect and he was identified as a 16-year-old whom police said they were familiar with due to previous dealings. An employee of the store arrived and told officers that $1,120 worth of vapes were stolen and it was all caught on camera, police said. The video then confirmed the teen's identity. The teen was detained when he got to school by Tyrone school police. He was then taken into custody by Tyrone police. Police said the 40 stolen vapes were recovered.  wtaj.com


Vero Beach, FL: Two men from Miami arrested after fail attempt to steal thousands in merchandise from Burlington
Two men are behind bars in Indian River County after trying to steal thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from the Burlington in Vero Beach. Investigators with the Indian River County Sheriff's Office say two men, 34-year-old Adrian Hernandez and 48-year-old Nelson Alonso, were caught trying to steal merchandise from the Burlington on State Road 60. Deputies say Alonso surrendered, but Hernandez tried to run away. Deputies eventually used a Taser to get Hernandez to stop. Investigators say both of the men came up from Miami for the sole purpose of stealing items from Burlington and the sheriff says the duo could have chosen this location because of State Road 60's proximity to I-95, where the sheriff says the men could have been headed. Both men are in jail with no bond for these theft charges.  wpbf.com


Guelph, Ontario, Canada: Shoplifting suspects try to use Alarm Jammer in theft at Guelph store
Two people tried to throw a wrench into security measures during a theft at a north-end Guelph business, police say. Guelph police were called to a business on Woodlawn Road West Tuesday afternoon. Investigators say a loss prevention officer noticed a man and a woman taking items such as medication, fragrances and toiletries and putting them into backpacks. They say the pair were about to leave the store without paying for the merchandise when the male suspect dropped something on the way out. It was later determined to be a jammer device that prevents anti-theft alarms from being set off. Officers located the pair and they were arrested. Over $3,200 in stolen merchandise was recovered. Investigators allege the pair were also involved in a similar theft at the same store in March where more than $4,400 worth of items were stolen. A man and a woman, both 25 years of age and from Maple, are facing charges and will have future court dates.  globalnews.ca


Rocklin police arrest Target theft suspect with $600,000 worth of stolen merchandise