A Battle Well-Fought in the Never-Ending ORC War

The ORC Numbers - The New Norm

The 20% Increase in Cases May Keep Increasing

While our Q1 2019 ORC Report showed the highest number of cases ever in the first quarter (432 ORC cases), we can't necessarily attribute that to any increase in activity whatsoever actually. So please be careful using the number with senior management because odds are the numbers may keep growing.

The steady increase in state ORC laws is probably just starting to have an impact on the number of cases being reported and prosecuted across the nation.

All the work that's been done over the last 10 to 15 years by the retailers, law enforcement, trade associations and ORCA's is truly starting to pay off finally. With virtually every state in the U.S. and Canada now being fully educated and aware of the ORC epidemic impacting retailers and how its various connections to the overall criminal activity in society necessitates public law enforcement's efforts.

DA's and Law Enforcement agencies across North America have, in our opinion, been well educated by the tireless efforts of so many dedicated retail LP executives and law enforcement personnel that we're only now starting to see the numbers that more truly reflect the activity.

Interestingly enough, we're also seeing a steady decrease in average case value over the last three years. Which when coupled with the increased cases means it's being identified and stopped faster and more often. Thus pointing to the impact the laws, awareness, technology, and investigative focus and quality is having.

All of which is a direct result of thousands of individuals, probably numbering over 50,000, when considering just five years of ORCA attendees, being involved in the battle.

A number of key individuals, too many to list, have played a huge role in spearheading and facilitating the collaborative effort with law enforcement. Really, probably representing the first and biggest public-private law enforcement collaborative effort in retail history, if not law enforcement's history as well. One that's now being copied in cybersecurity and a number of other industries.

The effort has been monumental and everyone should be proud that the laws and efforts are starting to produce results even in the face of this decriminalization trend. Because the reality is that ORC is fueled, driven and connected to global and local organized crime.

With the other trends we saw in Q1 being well reported on over the years, the four we feel warrant being called out are:

1) Philadelphia popping up for the first time in the Top 5 Cities as the #1 city.
2) Houston continues to lead in virtually every retail criminal category year after year.
3) The 60% men / 40% women breakdown of suspects seems to remain fixed.
4) The EMV roll-out and counterfeit credit cards had a major impact on the nation's retailers, with the big counterfeit credit card cases driven by international organized crime gangs pushing right up to the EMV roll-out.

The ORC effort has come a long way over the last 15 years, and all of you deserve to be recognized for a job well done. However, the war continues and everyone must remain vigilant in their effort, as North America's retailers are counting on all of you to help keep the stores safe.
 

Recap: 6th Annual Genetec Retail Leadership Summit

Over 40 attendees from more than 20 of North America's largest retailers and quick serve restaurants gathered in Denver for the 6th annual Genetec Retail Leadership Summit on Thursday, May 9.

In addition to hearing presentations from Leaders in QSR, Department Store and Fashion Retail. The event featured a keynote speech from Dr. Adrian Beck on the research and risks associated with Self Checkout (SCO).

The day's agenda also included discussions on Genetec's New Visual Pattern Recognition Platform, Key Analytic Partnership Integrations and the Roadmap to the fully "Connected Store" of the future.

Genetec Annual Retail Leadership Summits are user driven, open dialogues between our Genetec users and Genetec on industry trends, new innovation and how to increase productivity with their Genetec unified platform.

Chris Holbert - Director Supply Chain Loss Prevention & Safety - Ross Stores

Lenny Smith Sr. Director LP & Corporate Security - Skechers

David Walker Sr. Systems Engineer - Papa John's

Retail Industry Will Improve Over Next Yr.
Retail's 'survival of the fittest' will cull the weak, Moody's says
Competitive pressures and financial instability are thinning out the retail herd while larger, healthier companies are poised to grab market share. That's the premise of a new report from Moody's.

Moody's analysts refer to the failure of companies throughout the retail world as a "shake out of chronic underperformers." But that does not mean the industry as a whole is in decline.

Over the next year, the analysts expect the ratio of upgrades to downgrades to improve as larger retailers with healthy balance sheets take more market share from their weaker competitors.

Yet there are slices of the industry that are performing well, bringing in strong income and expanding footprints and capabilities. Among them, Moody's analysts pointed to warehouse clubs, discounters, dollar stores, off-price retailers and e-tailers as "particularly strong." retaildive.com

Oakland considers banning public facial recognition use
As San Francisco police amendments accepted
Oakland may not be far behind San Francisco in banning facial biometrics use by city departments, GovTech reports. The Oakland Public Safety Committee will consider a proposal to include a facial recognition ban with new city rules for surveillance technology later this month.

Berkeley, Palo Alto, and Santa Clara County have also all put restrictions on surveillance technology procurement, according to GovTech.

San Francisco votes on an ordinance introduced in January, which local police have been rallying opposition to, next week. The San Francisco Police Department has submitted amendments to the ordinance in that city, some of which an aide to ordinance sponsor Aaron Peskin says have been included. San Francisco Police Department spokesperson David Stevenson told GovTech. "We welcome safeguards to protect those rights while balancing the needs that protect the residents, visitors and businesses of San Francisco."

A handful of police departments in the U.S. are known to use facial recognition, including in Washington County, Oregon, where police have reportedly used AWS Rekognition to try to identify dead bodies and people in suspect sketches. biometricupdate.com

ReposiTrak® Backed by the Federation of Wholesalers Distributors as Food Safety and Compliance Platform for the UK
The arrangement validates ReposiTrak as the preferred supplier compliance management platform for the UK food wholesale and distribution sector, and includes the development an industry standard for compliance and food safety similar to the ReposiTrak network in the US that is currently more than 80,000 supply chain connections. businesswire.com

UK: Employers Can Discipline Workers Before a Criminal Investigation Ends
The United Kingdom (U.K.) Court of Appeal recently confirmed that employers usually can conduct internal investigations and disciplinary procedures when an employee is also subject to related criminal proceedings.

If a worker is suspected of misconduct that could amount to a criminal offense, the employer will need to decide if it should carry out its own internal investigation and disciplinary procedures concurrently with the criminal investigation or wait for the latter to conclude first.

Employees nevertheless still may contest discipline conducted at the same time as criminal proceedings. shrm.org

Society For HR is Posting Measles Outbreak Info
How to Respond to the Spread of Measles in the Workplace
Employers and educators are cooperating with health departments to fight the spread of measles, now at its highest number of cases in one year since 1994: 764.

Once an employer learns someone in the workplace has measles, it should immediately send the worker home and tell him or her not to return until cleared by a physician or other qualified health care provider, said Robin Shea, an attorney with Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The employer should then notify the local health department and follow its recommended actions, said Howard Mavity, an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Atlanta. The company may want to inform workers where and when employees might have been exposed. If employees were possibly exposed, the employer may wish to encourage them to verify vaccination or past-exposure status, directing those who are pregnant or immunocompromised to consult with their physicians, he said. shrm.org

Editor's Note: Given the hot spots and the fact that one case could have a major impact on a small store and even cause it to have to close for a few days, LP needs to be aware of the risks. Especially with HR being alerted nationwide, as LP is in the stores more than HR. Just a thought - Gus Downing

Formerly Incarcerated Are an Overlooked Source of Talent
With millions of U.S. jobs going unfilled, employers looking for workers would be wise to expand their recruiting and hiring efforts to include people with criminal records. That message was driven home during a session at the recent 31st Annual Forum on Workplace Inclusion, held in Minneapolis.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a leader in the effort to provide second chances to people with criminal backgrounds. SHRM created a pledge that more than 800 employers have signed, promising to give a second chance to qualified people with criminal records. The Getting Talent Back to Work website gives employers resources to learn about and recruit from this large group of potential talent.

The idea of recruiting and hiring people with criminal backgrounds-known as second-chance hiring-is gaining traction among policymakers, said business community leaders and worker advocates who spoke at the recent SHRM 2019 Employment Law & Legislative Conference. shrm.org

Editor's Note: With the labor shortage impacting retailers nationwide and the pressure to fill store jobs this trend is growing and LP should be involved in the processes.

A nationwide issue: Tray loss prevention bill passes Texas state house
The American Bakers Association (ABA) worked with the Texas state legislature to buoy a bill that would criminalize the theft of bakers' private property - mainly baking trays co-opted and sold as recycled plastic abroad. bakeryandsnacks.com

ASIS Classroom Program
Implementing Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) 24-25 June 2019 ET
Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) is a strategic security program management approach that ties an organization's security practice to its mission and goals using globally established and accepted risk management principles. In this two-day course, you will explore the philosophy of ESRM, learn how to implement or transition to an ESRM-based security organization, and participate in practical exercises designed to help you develop and present security solutions with an ESRM approach. Earn up to 14 CPE Credits  asisonline.org

Sycamore Partners Offers to Buy Chico's

CVS Pharmacy Completes Rollout of Time Delay Safes in All of Its Minnesota Pharmacies; totaling 140 stores

Boynton Beach, FL: ASIS Palm Beach Chapter honors Sgt. Grigorian as Police Officer of the Year


Quarterly Results
Canadian Tire Q1 comp's up 7.1%, sales up sales up 7.4%
   SportCheck comp's up 3.4%, sales up 2.8%
   Mark's comp's up 4.9%, sales up 3.4%

Tapestry's Q1 net sales up 1%
   Coach comp's up 1%, net sales down 0.4%
   Kate Spade comp's up down 3%, net sales 4.5%

 

CLEAR Celebrates 10 Years

Taking a CLEAR Approach to Greater Success Against Retail Crime

Steering CLEAR
Ben Dugan, President
Rich Rossman, Vice President

Ben, by the time this newsletter is published, you will be named as the next president of C.L.E.A.R. You will be the first retailer ever to be elected to that post. Were you surprised by the Board's decision? 
I was very honored, but not surprised. The whole idea of CLEAR is for law enforcement and retailers to work on equal footing to address retail crime on a national level. I am excited to be working with such a talented group of individuals that participate on our board and the nearly 4,000 property crime investigators that make up our membership." My vision goes far beyond just investigations and into aiding the communities where our police officers serve and the retailers do business.

What can we expect at the 10th Annual CLEAR Conference in San Diego on October 28 -30, 2019? 
This year's conference is truly going to be something special. We are putting the top Property Crimes Detectives together with the sharpest Corporate Investigators in the country to address retail crime on a national level. This year we dedicated full days on the agenda to discuss Preventing and Investigating Retail Violent Crime and Complex ORC / Fraud Investigations. The final day will cover Business Continuity and Public / Private partnerships in times of crises by representatives from F.E.M.A. We have a very impressive lineup of experts on the agenda. Read more here

10 Year Thoughts: Past, Present & Future
By Jason Davies, Vice President

As a founding member of CLEAR, I envisioned that the coalition we created would unite private industry on a national level to combat ORC together, which had been a significant opportunity and struggle in years past. Along with our law enforcement counterparts, we saw an opportunity to make a difference and increase the return on investment for our companies and agencies. We understood that to accomplish this, we needed to provide best in class training and a venue to not only learn but more importantly, network and share real-world experiences with the experts.

Needless to say, we have seen the working relationships between retail and law enforcement change dramatically in the last 10 years and it's definitely been for the better. Never have we had such a trusting and productive working relationship as we do today. I see this as a by-product of all the hard work and efforts of our CLEAR board of directors, trainers and of course our members in the field. Read more here