Progressive Manhattan DA Announces Crackdown on Sale of Stolen Goods
D.A. Bragg And Senator Hoylman Announce Legislation To Crack Down On Sale Of Stolen Goods Online
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., and Senator Brad Hoylman today announced the introduction of new legislation (S. 8836), which would create penalties for online marketplaces and third-party sellers that foster the sale of stolen goods.

The bill, introduced during National Small Business Week, would protect smaller retailers by creating a new class A misdemeanor offense for those who host, advertise, or assist the sale of stolen goods. While penalties exist for possessing stolen goods, there is no specific law in New York State that targets facilitating the sale of these items online. Creating these new penalties will push companies - including large companies such as Facebook, Instagram and Amazon, where stolen goods often end up - to take further steps to safeguard their platforms and allow law enforcement to target the ringleaders of these schemes. It will also create a further disincentive for sellers to put stolen goods up for sale online.

"It has never been easier to sell stolen products online - it is time we address this seemingly open spigot of marketplaces that freely sell these goods without consequences. This legislation would encourage major companies to implement more safeguards, deter future illegal activity and protect small businesses. I thank Senator Hoylman for his commitment to addressing the impacts of retail theft and partnering with us to find new and creative ways to enhance public safety," said District Attorney Bragg.

"The online marketplace for stolen goods is booming, and we intend to do something about it. Many innocent consumers are purchasing illegal products and don't even know it. A booming market means more organized shoplifting, which is terrorizing retail business in my district. Our legislation (S.8836) would force third-party sellers, like Facebook and Amazon, to enact better safeguards to prevent these exchanges from occurring on their platforms. I thank District Attorney Bragg for partnering with us to protect small businesses and hold sellers of illegal goods accountable," said Senator Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan).

This legislation is one component of D.A. Bragg's efforts to combat retail theft and support local businesses. In addition to regularly meeting with retail and business owners, In January, the Office formed the "Manhattan Small Business Alliance" to reduce shoplifting and commercial robberies in partnership with small business leaders in every neighborhood of Manhattan. manhattanda.org

Calif. AG Candidates Take on Props 47 & 57 Amid Crime Spike
What the Attorney General Candidates Are Saying About Props 47 and 57

Without question, the public feels crime has increased in California in the past few years and many tie this spike in lawlessness to the passage of Propositions 47 and 57.

Prop 47, sold as the "Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act," recategorized many felonies as misdemeanors, one of the most notable of these being related to shoplifting. Being able to steal up to $950 per day and face - very very maybe - only a misdemeanor charge has been directly tied to increased theft, shockingly prevalent "smash and grab" organized looting, and the sight of robbers bringing calculators in drug stores to make sure they stay under the limit.

Prop 57 dramatically reduced sentences for those already incarcerated and had led to the "early" release of thousands of criminals back into the populace.

Both have led the state to a point that the one of the top - if not the absolute top - issues Californian's say they are worried about is crime - hence today's question:

Propositions 47 and 57 have unquestionably changed California's criminal justice landscape. Did you support their passage and, if so, would you take the same stand today? And, as Attorney General, how would you either expand or attempt to limit their impacts?

Eric Early: I never supported Propositions 47 and 57. Proposition 47 was sold to voters based on a complete lie, as "The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act." Thanks to Proposition 47, we can now steal up to $950 at a shot and nothing happens (misdemeanors are rarely if ever prosecuted). And also thanks to Proposition 47, drug treatment incentives for drug abusers were done away with. Thanks to Proposition 57, good time credits have been terribly watered down such that felons are released long before their sentences expire.

Nathan Hochman: I opposed Props 47 and 57. Prop 47, which was sold to Californians as the "Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act" by the Attorney General at that time in charge of the ballot title and summary, should have been titled the opposite.

Anne Marie Schubert: Prop 47 was the biggest con job in California history, and I would support a repeal. The correlation between Prop 47 and the rise in crime is undeniable and as data shows, "non-violent" theft and drug crimes often lead to violent crimes. I support fixing the failures of Proposition 57-the early releases of violent criminals from prison. californiaglobe.com

America's Historic Gun Violence Epidemic
U.S. gun homicides reached highest level in 25 years during Covid pandemic

The U.S. homicide rate from gun violence rose 35% in the first year of the pandemic to the highest level since 1994, according to the CDC.

Gun homicides in the U.S. reached their highest level in more than 25 years during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Homicides from guns rose 35% during the first year of the pandemic to the highest level since 1994, according to a CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report published Tuesday. The homicide rate from firearms increased to 6.1 per 100,000 people in 2020 compared with 4.6 per 100,000 in 2019.

Excluding suicides, more than 19,000 people were killed by guns in 2020 compared with more than 14,000 the year prior, according to the CDC report. Homicides from gun violence increased among people of every age, in most racial groups, for men and women, in cities and in rural areas, and in every region of the nation.

While the study did not investigate the reasons for the dramatic increase in firearm homicides, the CDC said the pandemic may have played a role by disrupting social services, schools, work and housing as well as the increase in social isolation.

The pandemic resulted in millions of people losing their jobs, with the unemployment rate hitting 14.7% at the height of the crisis in April 2020. The economic downturn hit minority communities, particularly Black Americans, especially hard. It was also a year of historic social unrest, with the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer leading to nationwide protests. cnbc.com

Crime Wave is Hampering the COVID Comeback in Big Cities
How the crime rate is preventing some US cities from the 'return to normal'

Concerns about US crime rates rising in the pandemic were countered with the idea that a 'return to normal' would deter criminal activity. But in some cities, crime is preventing a return to normal.

As cities try to go back to the hustle and bustle of pre-pandemic life, one hurdle remains: crime. Crime rates have spiked across the nation since the onset of the pandemic, and many downtown areas are still struggling to quell crime and bring people back in.

"We always assumed once people go back to work, once kids go back to school, things are going to be better and we'll see the crime that will go down," said Christopher Herrmann, an assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "That's certainly not what we're seeing."

The FBI last year reported a nearly 30% increase in murders in 2020, the largest single-year increase since the bureau started keeping records. And violent crimes went up over 5% during the first year of the pandemic.

Cities across the country - from New York to Chicago to Milwaukee to Los Angeles - have seen significant spikes in crime since the onset of the pandemic and the problem doesn't seem to be getting any better, Herrmann said.

In Seattle, the uptick in violent crimes in the downtown area has kept some workers from going back to the office and has impacted businesses.

Tackling crime

There's "no one simple solution" to combating crime in the U.S., Herrmann said. As local leaders try to draw people to downtown areas, the increased foot traffic could serve as a crime deterrent.

Sagan hasn't closed up the downtown bakery permanently yet, but she's not sure what it will take for her to open the location again. She said, though, she'd like to see "a solid policy from the government that is consistent and reasonable" to combat crime. news.yahoo.com

Crime, Not COVID, Preventing NYC's Full Comeback
NYC could face 'long-term decline' of workers returning to offices over crime
An advocate for large New York City employers warned Sunday that the Big Apple could see a "long-term decline" of workers commuting to Manhattan's office buildings if crime isn't reduced. Under 40% of Manhattan office workers currently go to their desks on an average week day, according to Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit group representing local business leaders.

The head of the group, Kathryn Wylde, in an appearance on WABC aired Sunday, assigned blame for the low office attendance to "the public safety problem" and concerns surrounding homelessness, rather than the city's increasing COVID-19 positivity rates.

"There's no mystery here. No matter what employers do to encourage [their employees to return to the office], ... if we can't solve the public safety problem," she explained, "if we can't do that, we are going to see a long-term decline in the presence of folks who are willing to take the subway and come back to the office."

According to the NYPD, major crimes were up 34.2% overall in April - a trend caused by jumps in felony assaults, robberies, burglaries and thefts - even as gun violence fell.

Wylde, citing a Partnership for New York City report set to be released Monday, said that about 39% of Manhattan workers come to the office on the average weekday, while cautioning that "most" desk jockeys in the boroughs are only in the office about three days a week. Those numbers represent a steep decline compared to pre-pandemic days, when Wylde said more than 80% of the employers the business group surveyed required their staff to be in the office five days a week.

City Hall projected in budget documents released last month that it expects at least 20% of the five boroughs' office space will remain empty through at least 2026. While she has encouraged employers to bring staff back to their offices, Gov. Kathy Hochul recently said the coronavirus pandemic may have likely killed the traditional five-day work commute.

Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly called for New Yorkers to get back to their desks, quipping that, "You can't stay home in your pajamas all day," and saying it was instrumental to the city's economic recovery from the pandemic. nypost.com

   RELATED: Crime rates keeping workers out of NYC offices not COVID

Shoplifting Hitting Retailers Worldwide
Supermarkets say shoplifting spike across Melbourne contributing to grocery bills
While data suggests shoplifting dropped in recent years, experts say there is clearly a correlation between increasing cost of living expenses and theft numbers.

Retail Theft Not A Big Factor In Darien, IL Crime Stats: Chief

US: 83.7M Cases - 1M Dead - 81M Recovered
Worldwide: 518.5M Cases - 6.2M Dead - 473.4M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 356   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 766
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COVID Cases Continue to Rise

Cases Rising - But Severity Is Not
Covid-19 Cases Rise in Parts of U.S. With High Vaccination Rates
Some of the places that have avoided the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, including Puerto Rico and Northern New England states, are coping with elevated cases and hospitalizations as the latest highly contagious iterations of the virus circulate.

Most counties in Vermont, as well as a growing number in Maine and southern New England, now have community Covid-19 levels categorized as "high" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on case and hospitalization trends. Puerto Rico recently has had the highest rate of newly reported Covid-19 cases in the U.S., along with climbing hospitalizations.

Some of these places, including Puerto Rico and Vermont, have below-average rates of prior infections, recent CDC data show. Epidemiologists and health officials believe immunity from vaccines and heavy exposure to the virus at the national level may be limiting severe illness from the latest subvariants. The New England region and Puerto Rico have among the highest vaccination rates in the U.S. wsj.com

Retail Impact of China's COVID Lockdown Policies
Beijing's zero-COVID policy disrupts corporate outlook

COVID's spread in China comes as the rest of the world sees the pandemic fading.

Why it matters: Prevention measures like lockdowns of major cities are a double whammy for companies that rely on China for production as well as consumer demand. Axios wrote last month about how that could hurt global growth. Now companies are sharing specifics.

What's new: Under Armour and Adidas, which both source from China, reported huge declines in quarterly sales in their business in China. Starbucks said it was suspending its fiscal 2022 outlook due to the lockdowns in the country. And Apple warned last month that the lockdowns would limit sales growth due to both supplier and consumer constraints.

State of play: A new Omicron variant caused a spike in COVID cases in China starting in March, prompting the country's officials to partially or fully lock down major cities including Shanghai, which has been in lockdown for six weeks.

What they're saying: Under Armour CFO David Bergman told analysts that revenue in the company's Asia Pacific region has been affected not only by inbound shipping delays, but also by "significant reductions in retail traffic" due to restricted store hours and closures.

What to watch: Expect more companies to warn of similar impacts as earnings season continues. axios.com

No Appetite for Reinstating Mask Mandates
The bar for reimposing mask mandates is getting higher and higher
New York City raised its coronavirus alert level last week in response to rising cases, triggering a recommendation - but not a requirement - that people wear masks in public indoor settings. In Philadelphia, officials reimposed a mask mandate last month after cases rose, only to scrap the rule four days after it took effect.

The decisions by the Democratic-run cities illustrate how mask mandates are falling out of favor with American public health authorities in the third year of the pandemic and the bar to bring them back is getting higher, even in places where the requirements were long embraced as a proven way to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

"They are responding to the public," said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. "People are really fed up with all of these restrictions."

The shift away from mask mandates in blue cities and states has been months in the making, and they are not coming back even as cases of the highly transmissible BA. 2 coronavirus variant rise. washingtonpost.com

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Mall Security-Shooting Lawsuit
Family of mall security guard files claim against local agencies after mall shooting
The family of a second victim of October's shooting at Boise Towne Square Mall filed a claim for $500,000 in damages with multiple state and local agencies last month.

On April 23rd, slain mall security guard Jo Acker's father Robert Acker, mother Crystal Clause, and three-year-old daughter Everay Acker filed a claim against the Idaho State Police, the Ada County Sheriff's Office, the Boise Police Department, the Meridian Police Department, Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts, and several other state and local entities over the death of Roberto Arguelles in the October 25 shooting.

The claim alleges that the conduct of the agencies named resulted in Acker's death. Acker was on shift at her job as a security guard patrolling the mall when shooter Jacob Bergquist confronted her with multiple weapons, including a handgun. The claim said Bergquist had a conversation with Acker before she turned away, and Bergquist shot and killed her. Berquist then started firing around the mall, also killing Arguelles and injuring four others. Bergquist was shot on the scene by Boise Police Officers.

This claim follows an investigation by Occupational Safety and Health Administration into Professional Security Consultants LLC, the security company responsible for patrolling Boise Towne Square Mall and Acker's employer. The investigation found the company "repeatedly exposed its employees" to workplace hazards by not addressing potential risks of gun violence, a news release from the U.S. Department of Labor said last week.

The claim pointed to several reports from the Idaho Statesman detailing Bergquist's history of run-ins with law enforcement for carrying weapons and the "heightened risk that he presented to the community." This includes him being banned from a Walmart in Meridian for violating store policy by open carrying inside. boisedev.com

No Longer a Deal-Breaker in This Labor Market
Employing Individuals with Criminal Records
Companies are understandably concerned about the safety of their workers and customers as well as their own assets and public image. But today, many employers are finding that the best approach to hiring individuals with criminal backgrounds is not so different from the hiring approach they use for everyone else: to evaluate each candidate on his or her merits.

That doesn't mean throwing caution to the wind and forgoing background checks. Rather, it's about giving candidates with criminal backgrounds a chance to be included in the selection process, carefully assessing the nature of their crimes and the time since conviction against the requirements of the job and balancing overall risks against potential rewards.

Not everyone with a criminal record is a career criminal. Many people with a record have made a single mistake, and, for millions, that mistake was possession of marijuana or driving under the influence. For others, it was shoplifting, passing a bad check or having an argument that turned into a physical fight. When such crimes are not habitual the individual is often more vigilant in remaining on the right side of the law.

Many employers have had very positive results from giving people with records a second chance. Johns Hopkins Medicine has hired hundreds of people with records, many for critical jobs involving patient care. When it conducted a multiyear audit of accidents and other major negative events involving employees, it found that not even one had been caused by an employee with a record.

This is not unusual. Other employers have reported that people with records often are so grateful for a chance that they are the most dedicated employees in the company and among those with the best retention rates. shrm.org

Retail's Union Wave Continues
Workers at a Target Store in Virginia File for Union Vote
Workers at a Target store in Christiansburg, Virginia, filed paperwork Tuesday with federal labor regulators to hold a union election, joining a wave of union organizing at other retailers around the country.

Workers at the store, which employs about 100, are seeing their pay not keeping pace with surging costs for basics like food and rent, said Adam Ryan, who has been working at the Christiansburg store for five years and founded Target Workers Unite in 2019. He also noted employees feel like they are having to do too many tasks, from filling online orders to unloading trucks.

Ryan said he is hoping for other stores to join in, noting that Target workers are watching labor organizing at other companies. The Minneapolis-based company has about 350,000 employees.

The Target workers filing comes as nearly 60 Starbucks locations around the country have voted to unionize. The fledgling Amazon Labor Union scored a victory last month at an Amazon warehouse on New York City's Staten Island, becoming the first U.S. Amazon warehouse to be unionized. But Amazon workers in a later election in a nearby facility rejected a union bid. usnews.com

Walmart is #1 Choice for Everyday Shopping
The retailer consumers shop most for everyday items is...

Consumers have a clear favorite retailer when it comes to purchasing everyday items.

According to the new "Pulse of the American Consumer" survey from Engine Insights, a leading 65% of surveyed consumers visit Walmart to make everyday purchases. This was more than 20 percentage points higher than the second-most popular retailer for everyday items, Amazon (43%). Rounding out the top five were Dollar Tree (34%), Dollar General (31%), and Target (30%). chainstoreage.com

LPF Announces LPC & LPQ Professionals for April
The Loss Prevention Foundation would like to recognize and congratulate the following individuals who successfully completed all of the requirements set forth by the board of directors to be LPQualified (LPQ) and/or LPCertified (LPC). View Full List Here

Ikea to invest more than $3B in stores

Inflation eased in April, but Consumer prices are still climbing rapidly

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Pandemic Shopper Tracking?
Canadians' trips to liquor stores, pharmacies tracked via phones during pandemic
Canadians' movements, including trips to the liquor store and pharmacy, were closely tracked via their mobile phones without their knowledge during the COVID-19 pandemic, a report sent to a parliamentary committee shows.

Outbreak intelligence analysts BlueDot prepared reports using anonymized data for the Public Health Agency of Canada to help it understand travel patterns during the pandemic. The federal government provided one of these reports to the House of Commons ethics committee as it probed the collection and use of mobile phone data by the public health agency.

The report reveals the agency was able to view a detailed snapshot of people's behaviour, including visits to the grocery store, gatherings with family and friends, time spent at home and trips to other towns and provinces.

MPs on the ethics committee expressed surprise at how much detail the report contained, even as all identifying information was stripped out.

The committee on Wednesday released a report on its overall probe into the agency's collection of phone data during the pandemic. It concluded the government should tell Canadians if it collects data about their movements and allow them to opt out.

The Public Health Agency said it took safeguarding Canadians' privacy very seriously and the analysis on Canadians' movements it received "is not about following individuals' trips to a specific location, but rather in understanding whether the number of visits to specific locations have increased or decreased over time."

"For example, point-of-interest data from BlueDot identifies the number of visits to grocery stores, parks, liquor stores and hospitals," a spokesman said. "All we receive is the location of the point of interest and the number of visits for a specific day." cp24.com

Post-COVID Bookstore Boom in Canada?
Canadian authors, booksellers optimistic as industry rebounds after COVID-19 setbacks
While 2020 was a "catastrophic" year for many small bookstores, there are signs of a rebound. While every store is different, he said his chain "roared back" in 2021, surpassing its 2019 sales despite pandemic challenges and the near-collapse of the market for book categories such as travel.

Statistics Canada found that total book sales in Canada declined by 7.7 per cent from 2018 to 2020 - a phenomenon it chalked up in a February report to "the nationwide closure of bookstores during the early months of the pandemic, as well as the capacity limits at bookstores after they were allowed to open and consumer hesitancy to go to public places."

While the numbers for last year weren't published, Statistics Canada suggested in its report that there was a growth in retail book sales in 2021, as the restrictions on other entertainment options led more people to take up reading. globalnews.ca

What new Omicron variants in Ontario and Canada mean for the future of the pandemic
BA.2.12.1 is spreading rapidly. BA.4 and BA.5 are in South Africa. "The easiest path for the virus is for Omicron just to continue to improve upon itself."

Eased COVID-19 restrictions fuel spike in irregular Canada-U.S. migration
 

Dalton, GA: Dalton Police Department Investigating $3000 Ulta thefts
The Dalton Police Department is asking for the public's help to identify a woman who shoplifted cologne and perfume worth more than $3,000 from a local store. The thefts happened across two separate days. A young man who was with the suspect is considered a person of interest in the case. Both were recorded by store surveillance.

The incidents happened on Thursday and Friday at the Ulta store at 1310 W. Walnut Ave. On Thursday, the female suspect entered the store shortly before 1 p.m. and began to walk around the store browsing shelves and taking items. While this was taking place, the young male who entered the store at approximately the same time appeared to be distracting store employees from what the suspect was doing. The suspect was able to get away with 14 bottles of designer colognes and perfumes including multiple bottles of Dolce & Gabanna and Gucci products. The stolen products were valued at $,1086.

The next day, the female suspect returned to the store alone, still traveling in the blue Mitsbubishi vehicle. This time, the suspect was able to shoplift more than 30 bottles of colognes and perfumes valued at a total of $2,186.99. chattanoogan.com

Inside Edition: Smash-and-Grab Crooks Targeting Designer Eyewear
Smash and grab thieves are now targeting eyeglass shops. Some brazen robbers struck during daytime hours in Alexandria, Virginia. They smashed display cases and stole $20,000 worth of frames, as shocked employees yelled at them to leave. At another eyewear shop, in Arlington, Virginia, thieves calmly checked out designer merchandise before making their move ... and making off with $60,000 worth of eyeglasses. youtube.com

San Francisco, CA: Boba tea shop was cover for 'massive global' theft operation
San Francisco's Quickly chain is known for its boba tea and popcorn chicken. But authorities say thieves also saw the store's Larkin Street location as a place to offload stolen laptops and iPhones. That was until Tuesday, when investigators with the San Francisco district attorney's office announced they had recovered hundreds of stolen electronics and arrested the boba shop owner's husband, Quoc Le, as part of a crackdown on a rash of thieves stealing valuables out of cars. Le's wife has not been charged, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "We know that the operation we have uncovered ... is a massive global operation, shipping across the United States and across the world," San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said Tuesday at a news conference. washingtonpost.com

Dane County, WI: Sheriff's Office investigating $2,500 cigarette theft from Deerfield gas station

Fenton, MI: Police arrest Flint woman for retail fraud, recovering $2000 in merchandise

Park City, UT: Thief snags $900 worth of merchandise from Coach outlet store

Overland Park, KS: Overland Park Police searching for two in high-end fragrances theft

Fort Myers, FL: Woman wanted for Family Dollar theft