Seattle's New City Attorney Trying to Crack Down
WSJ: Shoplifting as Usual in Seattle

Progressives oppose an effort to prosecute the most prolific thieves.

Ann Davison, Seattle's newly elected city attorney, is learning as she acts on a voter mandate to restore order. Her office ran the numbers and discovered that 118 individuals were responsible for more than 2,400 crimes in Seattle over the past five years. Her effort to crack down on the worst repeat offenders is facing progressive resistance.

At issue is Ms. Davison's proposal to exclude prolific criminals from Seattle's Community Court. In 2019 her predecessor signed an agreement with the Seattle Municipal Court and the Department of Public Defense.

Some two dozen classes of misdemeanor cases now go straight to the Community Court, which releases the accused after referring them to support services and sometimes assigning them a life-skills class or community service.

Theft of up to $750 in a single incident in Seattle is a misdemeanor. Other crimes that go express to Community Court include residential trespassing, possession of tools for burglary or auto theft, and property destruction.

The 2019 agreement includes no eligibility restrictions, so those with serious criminal histories qualify. Seattle criminals get four tries in the Community Court before they flunk out. Each can encompass multiple charges. Repeat offenders see the lack of consequences as an invitation to commit more crimes.

As Ms. Davison seeks to renegotiate the 2019 agreement, she sits across the table from Ms. Khandelwal and Judge Damon Shadid, a progressive who oversees the Seattle Community Court. On April 27, Ms. Davison told the Seattle Municipal Court that negotiations had reached an impasse. Is it any wonder?

Ms. Davison has now asked the Seattle Municipal Court to intervene. The court said in a statement that it was considering her proposal and would work "to identify how to move forward together and create a prioritized plan for people whose needs and issues are not being addressed, and have not been addressed historically, by our criminal justice system."

Here's hoping the court means the victims of crime, not the criminals. wsj.com

Shoplifting Crimes Skyrocketing With Mission St. Target Leading the Way
San Francisco crime rates drastically shifted in the pandemic. These charts show what's happening now
In a recent Bay Area Council poll of registered voters, a majority said the Bay Area was not a safe place to live, an increase from prior years.

This public sentiment could soon drive political change: In a separate poll conducted by the same research firm, nearly 70% of likely S.F. voters said they would vote to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin (June 7), who ran on a platform of lowering the city's jail population and seeking alternatives to harsh sentences for lower-level offenders.

The Chronicle analyzed police incident data through March, comparing 2022 crime rates with the first quarters of the previous four years. While police data can be useful in measuring trends, it's important to note that it measures only reported crimes, and thus may not accurately measure crime in the city.

The data shows that crime shifted dramatically during the pandemic. But now that San Francisco is returning to pre-pandemic behavior, so are its crime rates - a pattern in keeping with statewide trends. 

   Continue Reading & See the Charts Here

Progressive DAs on the Hot Seat as Crime Surges
Why California Wants to Recall Its Most Progressive Prosecutors

Criminal-justice reform takes time, but voters might be running out of patience.

San Francisco and Los Angeles are two of America's most liberal large counties. Democrats dominate their elected offices up and down the ballot. Yet in both places, serious efforts are under way to recall left-leaning district attorneys who have not even completed their first term.

San Francisco's Chesa Boudin and L.A.'s George Gascón each ran for office on confronting structural racial inequities, reducing incarceration, and toughening accountability for law enforcement.

The drives to remove both men have drawn energy from local controversies specific to each city. But the similarities in these twin struggles far outweigh the differences. And those similarities underline the structural challenges confronting the broader push for criminal-justice reform that exploded into massive public protests after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Reformers in cities across the country have made the case that a more equitable system will produce a safer community over time by reducing the number of repeat offenders hardened by excessive incarceration. But the recalls show how vulnerable those arguments are to short-term changes in the crime rate. The successes of Boudin and Gascón's approach-as measured by individuals who are kept out of prison and use the opportunity to stabilize their lives-are inherently much less visible than the failures: offenders who, when given that chance, commit more crimes.

While the impact of Boudin's and Gascón's tenures might take years to assess fairly, both men have been battered by public anxiety about immediate trends in safety and disorder-even if the causes, most experts agree, extend far beyond the policies of the D.A.'s office, and even if crime rates are also increasing in communities with hard-line police chiefs and district attorneys.

"It's almost as if the summer of reckoning in 2020 has never happened," says Lara Bazelon, a University of San Francisco law professor who serves on a commission Boudin established to review possibly wrongful earlier convictions by his office. "People are happy to be progressive and happy to be anti-racist as long as their bike doesn't get stolen, or they don't watch a viral video of a theft at Walgreens. Once that happens, or they feel vulnerable in some way, they throw out the high-minded ideals that made them vote for a reformer." theatlantic.com

California's Crime Exodus
American dream replaced by 'nightmares' for Californians, says AG candidate

GOP candidate Nathan Hochman on the 280,000 Californians who left in 2021

California's residents are fleeing in massive numbers as surging violent crime and rising consumer prices have families packing their bags for safer, more cost-effective communities. Republican candidate for California attorney general, Nathan Hochman, highlighted how the issues plaguing the Golden State have sent many elsewhere.

"I think what's happening is that people used to come to California because it was a state where they pursue their dreams," Hochman told co-host Carley Shimkus. "Now, unfortunately, the nightmares are taking over."

"You have exploding violent and street crime," he continued. "You have homelessness at an all-time high. In fact, we have a quarter of the homeless population in California of the entire nation."

There were 280,000 California residents who left the state in 2021, and already 117,000 just this year according to government data.

"I think what happens is that when people see the atmosphere, the culture around them, particularly in Los Angeles and San Francisco, they see a spiral of lawlessness going on," Hochman said.

Hochman argued rampant crime and lawlessness has individuals voting with their feet ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, as critics blame liberal lawmakers for the surge in violence. "You have... home robberies, smash and grab robberies, train robberies and double-digit rise in violent crimes. That is the toxic mixture for people to leave the state and vote with their feet rather than stay." foxnews.com

Target Parking Lot Shooting Lawsuit: Reckless Police Response?
Osceola deputies used shoplifting suspects as 'human guinea pigs' before shooting, lawyers say
Osceola County deputy sheriffs fired at a car leaving the parking lot of a Target store in Kissimmee, killing 20-year-old Jayden Baez, after they boxed in and struck his black Audi with unmarked vehicles without announcing they were law enforcement, lawyers representing Baez's family told reporters Wednesday.

The deputies involved, he said, were "performing training exercises in a nearby parking lot" prior to the incident and were wearing tactical gear - but not cameras.

Lowe, 19, and 18-year-old Michael Gómez were accused of stealing pizza and packs of Pokémon cards from Target before getting into the Audi Baez was driving. His lawyers say deputies "moved to box them in" in unmarked cars before shooting at the car "without regard for the safety of the occupants or civilians in the area."

The lawyers described Baez and his friends as "human guinea pigs" for the deputies in training, questioning why two deputies who followed Lowe and Gómez on foot didn't stop them before the young men got into the car to leave the area.

"What sane department would not step in, arrest the boys or tell the boys, 'Put it back'?" Yonfa said. "What happened here is the officers let the boys leave the store and let them get into a vehicle. This forces a fight-or-flight situation. This is endangering the public right there." orlandosentinel.com

The Nation's Largest Prosecutor's Office "willing to sacrifice public safety ... to push the narrative about DA Gascon's policies."
L.A. County D.A.'s office under Gascón is at war with itself. How does anything get done?
The office has been roiled by a campaign to recall Gascón that is eagerly supported by most who work there, lawsuits from employees who allege they've been punished for objecting to his policies and a level of distrust that has people on both sides of the feud watching what they say and whom they say it to.

In interviews, more than a dozen prosecutors and defense attorneys - a mix of Gascón allies, die-hard recall supporters and those trying to navigate the office fisticuffs without getting hit - agreed that the bad blood pitting Gascón and his inner circle against hundreds of prosecutors they command is at best a distraction and at worst a serious disruption for an office that files more than 100,000 cases each year.

The disputes over Gascón's policies, some say, are to blame for a staffing shortage in the office. Roughly 120 prosecutors have left since Gascón took office; many bolted soon after he announced the raft of changes he was making on his first day, according to Eric Siddall, vice president of the union representing prosecutors.

In a retort that underscores the hostility running through the office, Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Hatami, one of the faces of the recall movement, insisted that it is Gascón who has shirked his responsibility to public safety and caused daily disagreements between prosecutors and their supervisors. "There's active warfare," Hatami said. latimes.com

Minn. Down 300 Police Officers Since Floyd's Killing & Violent Crime Rising
As warmer weather nears, BCA and State Patrol boosting presence in Minneapolis

The assistance comes as the Minneapolis Police Department copes with a shortage of officers, rising serious crime rates.

Two major state agencies are teaming with Minneapolis police to intensify law enforcement in specific areas of the city as the approach of warmer weather raises concerns of increased crime during what one senior official called "dire and urgent times."

The MPD welcomed the outside help as serious crime surges. Officers have continued to quit en masse in the two years since George Floyd's murder rocked the city and spurred the "defund" debate over whether to remake the police department.

A recent count found the MPD had about 544 officers, some 300 fewer than before Floyd's killing. Many officers have left the force after filing claims of post-traumatic stress disorder, while some have gone to other departments in pursuit of more stability or higher pay. Meanwhile, two of the city's most high-profile crime categories - homicides and carjackings - are trending higher compared with the first four months of 2021.

"Right now, Minneapolis is seeing a significant rise in violent crime, while at the same time its police department is experiencing an unprecedented shortage of officers and investigators," BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement. "The BCA is bringing state resources and expertise to help these communities to meet this urgent need." startribune.com

NYC Crime Wave Sending Police Budget Through the Roof
NYPD overtime projected to surpass allotted budget by $142M+ in 2022 amid 'unprecedented' crime climate
The New York Police Department has blown through $564.2 million in its overtime budget, and is projected to spend $750 million in overtime in all of fiscal year 2022 - far beyond the $607.3 million allocated for the year, according to the city's Independent Budget Office.

"I would guess that this fiscal year, with the violence being up as high as it has been, they've been doing more and more of that violence reduction overtime. It's putting the extra cops out on the streets," said Terence Monahan, who served as the NYPD's Chief of Department - the highest-ranking uniformed police officer - from 2018 to 2021, under Police Commissioners Dermot James O'Neill and Dermot Shea.

So far in 2022, police have grappled with high crime rates and reverberations from changes made in prior years, explained Monahan and Maria "Maki" Haberfeld, chair of the Law and Police Sciences Department at New York City's John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Total crime year-to-date as of May 1 remained high compared to the same time in 2021, with a 41.6% increase, the NYPD's latest crime statistics show. Shootings and murders were down year-to-date and for last month, compared to April 2021, the department said. foxnews.com

Can city and community leaders slow down crime in Memphis?

Review - Refresh - Re-Commit - Re-Engage
Refreshing Whistleblower Processes for the Remote Workplace: Best Practices
At the onset of COVID in 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that over a three-month period, there were a deluge of tips, complaints and possible referrals to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). More recently, the SEC has reported record whistleblower awards. And although the extent to which remote work has contributed to these statistics can be debated, these trends and the continued popularity of remote work create an opportunity for employers to reassess internal reporting processes and their compliance culture.

Employers should have effective and accessible reporting mechanisms, including anonymous reporting, so that remote employees can report concerns of every kind. Factors to consider include:

● Adequate staffing and resources to handle complaints received in a prompt and adequate manner, including documentation of the complaint, response, and closure;

● Ensuring follow up with complaining employees to ensure reporters understand their concerns have been reviewed and addressed;

● Reviewing codes of conduct to ensure consideration of the remote work environment;

● Top-down messaging about important compliance values;

● Reviewing business practices to evaluate compliance gaps and opportunities for misconduct created by remote and hybrid work; and

● Ensuring investigations can be conducted virtually as needed with appropriate privacy and confidentiality safeguards in place.

Creating a culture of trust may be a particular challenge for some companies as they re-engage with workers who have been virtual for two years since the outset of the pandemic. natlawreview.com

Retail's Non-Response to Roe v. Wade Controversy
Corporate America Doesn't Want to Talk Abortion, but It May Have To
Among most Fortune 500 companies, substantive statements were few and far between, whether in support of or opposition to the court's draft opinion on Roe vs. Wade. Now, with the expected demise of the country's landmark abortion law, corporate leaders are confronting the hottest of hot-button issues.

For some major companies that have been known to weigh in on political and social issues, this week has been unusually quiet. Walmart, Disney, Meta, PwC, Salesforce, JPMorgan Chase, ThirdLove, Patagonia, Kroger and Business Roundtable were among the companies and organizations that declined to comment or take a position, or did not respond to requests for comment about whether they plan to make public statements about their stance on abortion. Hobby Lobby, which in 2014 brought a suit to the Supreme Court challenging whether employer-provided health care had to include contraception, made no public statement and did not respond to a request for comment.

Other companies did wade in. United Talent Agency said it would reimburse travel expenses for employees affected by abortion bans. Airbnb said it would ensure its employees "have the resources they need to make choices about their reproductive rights." Levi Strauss & Company, which has said its benefits plan will reimburse employees who have to travel out of state for health care services such as abortions, said abortion was a business issue.

The stakes of making any statement - corporate, or personal as a company leader - are clearly high. nytimes.com

New First Aid Kit Standards Takes Effect Oct. 15
Safety org urges employers to update first aid kits, safety protocols
● Employers should make changes to workplace first aid kits, the International Safety Equipment Association recommended April 18, announcing that its standard for such kits has been approved by the American National Standards Institute. The new standard takes effect Oct. 15.

The new standard adds the inclusion of a foil blanket, adds specificity for tourniquets and provides additional guidance on designated bleeding control kits, according to ISEA. The standard also includes an enhanced workplace hazard assessment, which ISEA described as "a more robust discussion" of potential risks, hazards and a selection of additional first aid supplies needed for a particular application or work environment.

While ISEA and ANSI are not government entities, their standards have been cited by both the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration as well as state occupational safety and health plans when drafting requirements and guidance.

Larger employers, OSHA said, "should determine how many first-aid kits are needed, and if it is appropriate to augment the kits with additional first-aid equipment and supplies."  hrdive.com

This Could Be a Big Hit On LinkedIn
Scraping Public Data from LinkedIn Is Legal - 2nd Appeals Court Ruling
LinkedIn loses long term scraping member profiles legal battle since 2017

Specifically, the court ruled in hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp that global professional networking site LinkedIn could not block San Francisco-based data analytics firm hiQ Labs from accessing publicly visible LinkedIn member profiles in order to analyze and prepare employee attrition reports. shrm.org

Editor's Note: And hiQ then sells the aggregated data back to employers to help predict flight risks and skills footprints.

Once one puts it on the web it becomes publicly available. So, based on how you word your profile you may be viewed as a high flight risk. A view that could have opposing consequences. Good Luck.

As we've been watching this case since 2017 very closely. LinkedIn fought it vigorously and looks like there's no other recourse now. As hiQ is a data science company, informed by public data sources, applied to human capital.

'The Fight Has Just Begun' to Union Amazon
Union vows further organizing despite loss at Staten Island Amazon facility
In a vote of 618 to 380, Amazon workers at a Staten Island, New York, facility rejected forming a union, according to a tally Monday from the National Labor Relations Board. Any objections to the election are due May 9, the agency said by email.

The Amazon Labor Union didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but on Twitter vowed to carry on. "The election has concluded without the union being recognized at LDJ5-sortation center on Staten Island," the group said following the vote count. "The organizing will continue at this facility and beyond. The fight has just begun."

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in an emailed statement: "We're glad that our team at LDJ5 were able to have their voices heard. We look forward to continuing to work directly together as we strive to make every day better for our employees." retaildive.com

Register Now!
IAFCI Annual Spotlight on Fraud Conference
The International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI) Connecticut Chapter annual Spotlight on Fraud Conference is set for June 9-10, 2022 at Mohegan Sun Casino Uncasville, CT. This is a great opportunity to hear about some recent financial crime trends and how to address and prevent them.

Not only retail crime but also cryptocurrency, social media investigations and many more presentations. This is also a great opportunity to network with various branches of federal, state and local law enforcement and the financial investigators industry. Come and hear some awesome presentations.

Conference Agenda | Registration Information

Second Apple Store files for Union election in MD

How to Manage Your Anger at Work

U.S. added 428,000 jobs in April as the labor market remained vibrant

Reading recommendations on risk management: 3 books to add to your reading list

The case for circular fashion: Why retail needs an urgent reckoning


Quarterly Results

Shake Shack Q1 comp's up 35.6%, total sales up 31%

Floor & Decor Holdings Q1 comp's up 14.3%, net sales up 31.4%

Restaurant Brands Inter. Q1 comp's up 8.4%, net sales up 15% (Burger King & Tim Horton's)

Sally Beauty Q2 comp's up 0.2%, net sales down 1.6%

Office Depot Q1 retail division sales down 9%, business division up 9%, total sales basically flat (114 fewer stores, now @ 1,032 stores)
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Senior Director, Security Operations job posted for Expedia.com in Seattle, WA
This position will be a key leader in security and will drive operational security thought leadership throughout Expedia Group. This leader will bring a hunger for staying up-to-date on the latest frameworks and operating models for enterprise security operations, security monitoring, vulnerability management, or threat analysis. The Senior Director will embrace encouraging other leaders to build and run teams that achieve great results. indeed.com

Compliance Director - U.S. and Canadian Exchanges job posted for Crypto.com
Serve as the subject matter expert on cryptocurrency exchange compliance. Ensure that retail and institutional customer onboarding is fully compliant with state and federal Money Services Business regulations, including preparation for upcoming cryptocurrency legislation. Develop strategic partnerships with business, operations, and product colleagues. Make decisions and provide critical analyses on issues that have significant customer impact and company exposure. indeed.com
 

Burglary Crew Committed 180 Burglaries & Stole $4M+
New York Man Involved in Burglary Ring Sentenced to 54 Months in Federal Prison
DOUGLAS NOBLE, 28, of New York, was sentenced to 54 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in the theft of millions of dollars in vehicles, phones, ATMs and other merchandise from numerous locations in Connecticut, New York and elsewhere.

Noble was a member of a theft ring that, between June 2020 and January 2021, primarily burglarized car dealerships and mobile phone stores in Connecticut and New York. From dealerships they stole vehicle key fobs and vehicles, and from mobile phone stores they stole cell phones, electronics and other merchandise. Conspiracy members also stole ATMs from check cashing businesses and burglarized video game stores.

Noble and his co-conspirators often burglarized multiple locations in one night and, on numerous occasions, escaped from police by engaging the police in high-speed chases that had to be terminated for safety reasons. Some of Noble's co-conspirators also possessed firearms.

Members of the theft ring are suspected to have committed more than 180 burglaries and stolen more than $4 million in property.

On February 16, 2021, Noble and three co-conspirators were charged in a 13-count superseding indictment. A fourth co-conspirator was subsequently charged.

Noble was arrested on March 22, 2021. On February 7, 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of stolen property. justice.gov

Talk About Playing Both Sides - "An unrepentant and compulsive fraudster"
"Career Fraudster" Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A Providence man described in court documents as a career with a propensity to engage in obstructive and violent behavior toward law enforcement, was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison for bilking food distributors out of more than $830,000 and for assaulting federal officers. Convicted thirty-four times in various courts.

As reflected in prior court filings and proceedings, Paul Diogenes, a/k/a Paul Dejullio, 50, orchestrated a sophisticated and elaborate scheme in which he used stolen banking information from various businesses and a fictitious catering company to fraudulently obtain $831,572 worth of lobster, sea bass, shrimp, scallops, filet, rib eye steak, and wild boar, most of which he resold to area businesses. In some instances, Diogenes sold the ill-gotten products to the same business whose stolen banking information he used to gain credit from food distributors. justice.gov

Boca Raton, FL: Man stealing vacuums at Walmart causes elderly employee to fall to floor
A man who stole a couple of vacuums last week from a South Florida Walmart is accused of causing an elderly employee to fall to the floor, leading to serious injuries. The incident occurred April 18 at the Walmart at 22100 State Road 7 in unincorporated Boca Raton. According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the thief stole Tineco Pure One X vacuums and made "physical contact" with an elderly female Walmart greeter, causing her and another greeter to fall to the floor. Deputies said the elderly employee sustained fractures to two of her vertebrae, requiring her to undergo high-risk emergency surgery. local10.com

Fairfax County, VA: $20K in eyeglass frames stolen in MyEyeDr
Smash and grab robbery in Alexandria. Over $20,000 worth of MyEyeDr. eyeglass frames were stolen in a smash-and-grab robbery in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County last month, police say. Officers responded to My Eye Dr. on 6307 Richmond Highway on April 19 around 6:22 p.m., according to the Fairfax County Police Dept. Police say four men entered the business and damaged the glass display cases, stealing over $20,000 worth of eyeglass frames. wjla.com

Seattle, WA: Woman charged after using wire cutters to rob T-Mobile store
A woman caught on camera allegedly robbing a West Seattle T-Mobile store was charged with robbery and theft by King County prosecutors on Monday. According to court documents, Jessica Mae Beach is accused of using wire cutters to rob a T-Mobile store of secured merchandise, then presenting a gun when confronted by employees. At around 4:30 p.m. on April 25, Beach entered a T-Mobile store in the 1500 block of Southwest Roxbury Street. As Beach entered the store, an employee saw she had a pair of wire cutters in her hand.

According to court documents, when Beach entered the store, she attempted to cut the wires securing iPhones to their display case. As the employee watched Beach, she told Beach to leave the store. The employee told officers that Beach lifted up her shirt, revealing a black handgun tucked in her waistband. "You better move," Beach said. The employee backed away as Beach continued to attempt to cut off the iPhone. When she was unable to cut the wire, Beach left the store. Approximately 10 minutes later, Beach returned. A second employee watched Beach cut a Samsung S22 Ultra phone from a case, along with three to five smart watches. The second employee tried to approach Beach, but she said, "Do not touch me." The second employee backed away and started to film Beach on his cellphone.

After taking the smart watches, Beach left the store, got into a black Toyota Avalon with no rear license plate, and drove off. According to court documents, the King County Sheriff's Office was responding to an armed robbery at an AT&T store approximately 25 minutes before the T-Mobile incident. The Avalon was eventually stopped after it was involved in a collision at the corner of Southwest 160th Street and 16 Avenue Southwest, where the Avalon also backed into marked a King County patrol car. Beach was identified as the driver, and the Avalon was verified as stolen out of King County. Beach was arrested and booked into King County Jail on investigation of robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle.

According to the court documents, a search of the Avalon yielded the clothing she was wearing during the robbery, along with a black BB gun. Detectives also obtained surveillance video of the AT&T robbery, where Beach is seen wearing the same clothing as the T-Mobile robbery. At the time of her arrest, Beach, 34, had three pending theft cases. Beach has had more than 20 warrants for failing to attend hearings. The state requested bail be set at $100,000. kiro7.com

Memphis, TN: Man accused of using fake identity to buy $140K in cars
A Cordova man has been accused of buying more than $140,000 worth of cars under someone else's name. Police say Marqueze Blackwell went to a couple of dealerships and bought three cars using a fake ID. In July of 2021, Blackwell purchased a 2017 Infiniti QX60 for $29,977. The following month, he bought a 2021 Volkwagen Atlas for $51,275. In October, he purchased a 2022 Kia Stinger for $61,914. In all of these purchases, police say Blackwell used a fake Mississippi drivers license with his picture on it. wreg.com

Niagara Falls, NY: Thieves swipe $20,000 worth of books from Comic / Collectables store

Huntington, NY: Suffolk County Police seeking thieves who stole wire and tools from the Home Depot