Retail LP Alert:

Calif. About to Pass Workplace Violence - Active Shooter - Shoplifting Bill
Bill to Stop Employees Confronting Shoplifters Passed by California Senate

CA Senator Cortese's Bill 553 to Prevent Workplace Violence Clears Key Assembly Committee

The Assembly Judiciary Committee passed legislation on Wednesday that helps keep employees safe at work. SB 553 by Senator Dave Cortese would establish a new baseline of workplace violence prevention standards.

"California must do everything needed to protect workers and the public, including retail customers," said Senator Cortese (D-San Jose). "SB 553 will give workers the training and knowledge on how to respond to workplace violence. The bill is targeted at the types of violent outbreaks that have spiked in recent years, and it refers at-risk workers toward behavioral health support to prevent tragedy."

SB 553 creates six enforceable protections for employees; they are listed below.

Under SB 553, workers would be provided with workplace violence prevention standards.

Among other provisions, SB 553 states the need for shoplifter training, acknowledging that certain work environments may require security personnel. Businesses would have the discretion to decide what the training would involve. The bill does not require businesses to make any purchases, including safety equipment like security cameras and flood lights.

A Must Read - 8 Requirements


New York Modifies No-Bail

NY Judges Can Consider Criminal Histories & Repeat Offenders in Setting Bail
NY Gov. Hochul blames Cuomo, Albany for bail mess and insists she fixed it, claims NYC is safe again
Gov. Hochul on Sunday blamed the state's soft-on-crime bail-reform mess on former boss Andrew Cuomo and Albany pols, claiming she "held the budget up" this year to fix it.

Hochul said she has been fighting to reverse the controversial 2019 bail measures - while adding that the Big Apple is bouncing back from a post-pandemic crime wave to become one of the country's safest big cities, even as New Yorkers flee the state.

"People say they're going to leave our state because it's not safe. Tell me the city you're going to, and I can guarantee we have a safer crime rate than you have in those cities: Miami, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, even Salt Lake City and Austin."

A survey earlier this year found that nearly one-third of New Yorkers want to leave the Empire State when they retire, with crime cited as the main reason - which many critics blame on criminal-justice reforms.

The reforms have been tweaked three times since, most recently this year when Hochul worked out a compromise with the legislature to allow bail to be set in more cases, in part by adding more gun crimes to bail-eligible cases and allowing jurists to consider criminal histories and other factors in determining whether to set bail.

"Now, here's what has to happen," she said. "The judges now have to look at the power that has been returned to them. Look at whether this is someone who has been a repeat offender causing harm." nypost.com

New York - Philadelphia - San Francisco
Politicians - Press - Residents Call Out Failed No-Prosecution Progressive Policies

NYC Progressive DA Continues to Take Heat
The crime victim numbers are soaring and Alvin Bragg is to blame

Say hello to Alvin Bragg's latest victims.

The first would be Scotty Enoe, 46, a CVS drug-store employee from Brooklyn taken into police custody after allegedly knifing a shoplifter to death during a fight Thursday morning.

Another is the decedent, 50-year-old Charles Brito - a vagrant with 14 shoplifting busts so far this year, and heaven only knows how many times he got away with the goods.

And a third is New York itself, once again scarred by Manhattan DA Bragg's hunt-and-peck approach to the penal code.

Shoplifting is beneath his attention, don't you know - so toothpaste is behind plexiglass panels all across the borough and serial boosters are peddling stolen property to bodegas and flea markets.

It's not only Bragg, of course; he's just the face of a progressive plague that treats so-called petty crime as an inconvenience that must be endured as a matter of social justice.

You know how it is - muscular law enforcement comes with "disparate impact," so don't go there.

One problem with this approach - and there are many - is that over time (and not much time) petty crime mutates.

A junkie occasionally boosting pints of ice cream for resale becomes a shoplifting wave that shutters big-box drug retailers across the city and sharply raises prices in the stores that remain.

Violence in public places has become endemic in urban New York since Albany progressives rewrote the state's penal law in 2018 - and only a fool would be surprised by a violent reaction.

But here are more questions: How many shoplifting arrests should it take before a thief is seen as a threat not just to the Gatorade display, but to a civil society?

Is 14 enough? nypost.com


Philly DA Points the finger at city police for a rise in retail thefts
Krasner asked council for additional $7 million to tackle rise in retail theft & carjackings
District Attorney Larry Krasner said he doesn't understand why there isn't more prosecution of retail thefts. Multiple Wawa stores have closed in recent months, but Kranser said that's not due to increasing theft.

He said stores are not using private security or stopping people for minor thefts and asked, "why some of them would take videos of people leaving rather than stop them." He said police cannot go after retail theft when they don't have the personnel to deal with the crime that is going on in retail establishments.

"We have no stores, there's no place for us to shop. That leads me to believe they are repeat offenders, they need to be charged, I'm sorry I just don't get it," Councilmember James Harrity said. whyy.org

Editor's Note: The nations first Progressive DA throws his policies blame back on police for not arresting shoplifters. After a few years of Krasner's no-prosecution policy for low-level crimes, including shoplifting, the police just gave up even trying.

Finally after all of the coverage of Philadelphia crime and with the increased media attention on ORC, Krasner is back tracking. It's about time. However, let's see the performance and results.

Might be a good time for the various LP teams to refresh their relationships with both the police and even the prosecutors office. Obviously with one or two company LP representatives. Time to rebuild those relationship. Just my thoughts. -Gus Downing


Everything Starts at the Top - Reinforcing the S.F. Crackdown
CA. Gov. Newsom wants S.F. to enforce the 'damn laws.' What does that mean?
"I can't take it anymore," Gov. Gavin Newsom recently said of rampant open-air drug dealing and property crime in San Francisco.

The problem, he suggested, was not one of lenient laws but of lenient prosecution. "There are plenty of laws on the books, and it'd be nice to see some of these damn laws enforced for a change."

As proof of the crackdown operation's success thus far, the governor's office noted that since May 1, California Highway Patrol officers had made 115 felony and misdemeanor arrests and seized more than 8 kilos of fentanyl in the Tenderloin and surrounding areas.

Newsom's contorted comments illuminate the linguistic games of Twister that many Democrats find themselves playing on the issue of criminal justice.

Yet, as violent crime in California reaches levels not seen in more than a decade, officials are under increasing pressure to act. sfchronicle.com
 

In Case You Missed It Friday: Progressive Prosecutor's 2.0

We all know how 1.0 Went
New Progressive Low-Level Retail Theft Intervention Project

As big cities continue to deal with the consequences of the big 5 Progressive DA's, we're now going to have five more in smaller cities with a scaled down version of the no-prosecution program. Article links below:

Innovative Program Addresses Retail Theft
The Association of Prosecuting Attorneys Launches Innovative Pilot Program to
Address Low-Level Retail Theft and Increase Public Safety

Five Sites Selected to Pilot Intervention Program

How the Progressive DA Movement Was Funded
George Soros spent $40M getting lefty district attorneys elected all over the country


Click here to read the articles


Virginia County Sees 40% Surge in Shoplifting Under Soros Prosecutor

Some 75% of Shoppers Fear Price Hikes Due to Rising Theft
 

APD's '90 Operation' is "Curbing Retail Crime"
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller: 'The safety and well-being of our residents is our top priority'
"The safety and well-being of our residents is our top priority, and we know that retail crime is an issue that hurts everyone, from business owners to shoppers and transit riders," Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said in the press release. "We are not turning a blind eye to theft in Albuquerque, and we are going to target the individuals committing these crimes and show our community that we have their back."

The city will install additional surveillance cameras, and operations targeting retail crime will continue, the release said.

To provide immediate relief, APD is conducting what it calls a "90 operation" targeting violent and retail crime. Since the operation began on June 10, the department has seen 32 felony warrants cleared, 15 misdemeanor warrants cleared, over 20 arrests, including 15 felony arrests, and 19 criminal trespass citations, the release said.

The New Mexico Organized Retail Crime Association (NMORCA) said in a statement for the release that recent efforts to curb retail crime are having a positive impact. "We are grateful to APD for their leadership and for their proactive efforts to combat retail crime in our community. The many arrests, warrants, and recoveries made by the Albuquerque Police Department in recent months are proof that APD takes the retail community's concerns seriously. The relationship between retailers and law enforcement is vital to creating a safer, more prosperous New Mexico for the future, and APD plays a critical role in the mechanism for success," NMORCA said. newmexicosun.com


The National Police Narrative - Well Put
Keeping neighborhoods safe - and police officers in uniform
The death of George Floyd was tragic in nearly every way imaginable. Not only did an officer take the life of a citizen he was sworn to protect, the resulting protests caused a law enforcement staffing crisis of historic proportions. Since summer 2020, a major increase in violent crime threatens to upend some 25 years of crime reduction successes across the nation.

There is a very real need for reform in our criminal justice system. Unfortunately, many of the protest movements that emerged from Floyd's death have done more harm than good. Protests don't always mean progress.

Over the past three years, my organization, MovementForward, Inc. (MFI), has become the largest police-community collaboration in the US. In May, we hosted the first-ever national training conference for police officers specifically aimed at building bridges between communities and their local police forces. Over 800 officers from all 50 states attended and demonstrated their commitment to collaborative approaches to crime reduction.

Police departments are struggling. Each month I meet with dozens of law enforcement officials - all of them describing the difficulties in filling academy classes and retaining their existing force. The reason is simple. The animus and political posturing directed at their profession has made a career in law enforcement untenable. The post-Floyd "defund the police" movement only made things worse - particularly in the most vulnerable communities. Not content with demands to squeeze police departments of resources, the activists have targeted the supply - discouraging and disparaging new recruits. That effort is strategic, but also dubious. It's also impacting justice.

Long before Floyd's death, the tenor of this public discourse had already turned accusatory and graceless. It also lacked any acknowledgement that most officers are genuine civil servants guided by moral and legal principles. Such demagogy is affecting officer morale, with 68% believing that social justice rallies are motivated by anti-police bias, 86% saying their jobs have become much more difficult, and 93% reporting that they are increasingly concerned about their own safety, according to research by Pew. Demoralized and dejected, far too many officers are retiring, resigning and retreating on the job, no longer certain how to engage with the public.

Progress requires a well-coordinated strategy that generates dialogue and produces productive outcomes. Progress relative to policing requires a clear understanding that law enforcement is an essential partner in creating safe and equitable communities. These are the principles that should anchor effective engagement between law enforcement and the communities they serve. nypost.com

Dollar General Hasn't Paid Over 80% of OSHA Safety Fines
Will OSHA take additional enforcement actions or file criminal charges against the retailer?

Dollar General has racked up $21M in OSHA penalties since 2017. It's paid $4M.

The retailer discounts the importance of in-store safety, the regulatory agency says, and was named a severe violator this fall.

OSHA has recently intensified its focus on discount retailer Dollar General. The regulatory agency has repeatedly cited the company for allowing the same types of safety violations to persist in its stores for more than half a decade.

The problem has become so pervasive that OSHA announced in October that it added Dollar General to its Severe Violator Enforcement Program. Employers in the program "have demonstrated indifference" to OSHA policies or regulators by committing willful or repeated violations.

Inspectors have repeatedly cited the discount retailer, which has more than 19,000 stores and 175,000 employees, for similar violations at locations across the county.

The violations are typically related to backroom storage and merchandise clutter that block aisles, emergency exits, fire extinguishers and electrical panels. Regulators have also cited the company for stacking boxes or merchandise high and haphazardly, which could result in employees or customers being injured by falling items.

Although none of the reports Retail Dive found involved fatalities, the incidents appear to validate the concerns of OSHA and some local officials, who have ordered shutdowns of Dollar General stores in North Carolina due to fire safety code violations.

OSHA said in a June 2 announcement that Tennessee-based Dollar General faces more than $21 million in penalties assessed since 2017. But in response to an inquiry from Retail Dive last month, an OSHA spokesperson said Dollar General has paid just $4 million. Comparatively, on June 1, the company reported its Q1 sales rose nearly 7% to $9.3 billion, up from $8.8 billion the year prior.

OSHA can take additional enforcement actions if fines go unpaid, according to Lee Marchessault, president of Workplace Safety Solutions, a Vermont-based consulting firm. Marchessault told Retail Dive in emailed comments that OSHA can file criminal charges if a business refuses to pay fines.

Retail safety matters to investors, customers

While the company has not specifically disclosed to the public what it's doing to address safety issues, Dollar General shareholders on May 31 voted to create an independent audit into worker safety. Frontline workers and labor advocates describe the decision as a victory and a step toward accountability for one of America's largest retailers.

"Dollar General has a responsibility to provide a safe working environment for its employees, and it now has clear support from its shareholders to do this," Mary Beth Gallagher, director of engagement at Domini Impact Investments, said in a statement after the vote. Domini is a Dollar General shareholder. retaildive.com


Another Retailer Slapped with OSHA Fines
TJ Maxx 'Took Immediate Steps' After OSHA Inspection

TJ Maxx is looking at nearly $67,000 in fines for failing to provide clear exitways.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspected the off-price retailer's Reynoldsburg, Ohio, store in May and issued a $66,960 fine on June 15 because the location had inaccessible exits.

TJ Maxx was previously cited for violating this OSHA standard at Bessemer, Ala. and Bastrop, Texas stores.

OSHA requires businesses to have clear exit routes that are free from obstruction and don't go through lockable areas, such as a bathroom, or lead to a dead end. The May inspection found items in the path of the exit door and a space just 27 inches wide for workers to escape through, in violation of exit routes and emergency planning standard 1910.37(a)(3).

While the filing doesn't go into much detail, exit route violations include instances in which danger isn't minimized, when workers must leave via a high-hazard area, when an exit is obstructed, or when an exit isn't properly marked or lit, according to OSHA's website.

TJ Maxx said it worked quickly to "correct" the safety issues after OSHA's inspection. yahoo.com


In Case You Missed It
Mastermind of $10M Amazon fraud scheme sentenced to 16 years in federal prison

ATLANTA - Kayricka Wortham has been sentenced for stealing more than $9.4 million from Amazon.com while employed as a manager for the company. Seven individuals, including Wortham, have now been charged in connection with the scheme.

"The defendant abused her position of trust at Amazon to steal nearly $10 million from the company based on a brazen fraud scheme involving fake vendors and fictitious invoices," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. "She then committed new crimes while on bond, even creating a fake dismissal document purporting to be from the court and that included the forged signature of the Chief U.S. District Judge, all for the purpose of misleading a franchising company about the status of her criminal charges. Her prison sentence recognizes the magnitude of her fraud and serves to protect the integrity of our courts and justice system."

"The Secret Service takes cases of fraud extremely seriously," said Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service's Atlanta Field Office Steven R. Baisel. "This individual stole millions from a business that employed her - exploiting not only their trust, but our nation's financial systems. Thanks to the hard work of our partners in the U.S. Attorney's office, her sentence reflects the seriousness of her crimes and sends a message that this kind of fraudulent activity will not be tolerated."

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Kayricka Wortham abused her position at Amazon to submit more than $10 million in fictitious invoices for fake vendors, causing Amazon to pay approximately $9.4 million to Wortham and her co-conspirators. justice.gov

   Click here to read the D&D Daily's Special Report on the Amazon case


DMP Ownership Takes Controlling Stake in iENSO to Develop World-Class Video Security Technology

Digital Monitoring Products® Inc. (DMP®), the world's leading manufacturer of security solutions, announces a strategic investment in iENSO Inc, the world's leading developer and supplier of intelligent and connected embedded vision platforms. The combination of iENSO's video expertise and DMP's extensive record of innovation, quality and customer service in the security industry positions DMP for growth in the rapidly expanding commercial and residential video security market. dmp.com


Lawmakers grill failed retailer Bed Bath & Beyond over allegedly denying severance
The company spent billions in stock buybacks even as it headed toward bankruptcy, the lawmakers said. The retailer filed for bankruptcy in April and began closing stores and laying off workers.

U.S. grocery retail to grow 6% this year

BuyBuy Baby stores likely closing after no buyers step forward

Extreme heat wave bound for Phoenix and Southwest could be worst ever
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Asset Protection Manager - Southwest/Southeast job posted for Lululemon
The Asset Protection Manager will be critical to the success of the most complex and important business unit at lululemon. The Asset Protection Manager will help designing and leading North America field asset protection initiatives, and Asset Protection Specialist teams, that focus on protecting our people and assets in assigned areas, maintaining a safe and secure environment for guests, while educating store teams on ways to minimize safety or security related incidents. careers.lululemon.com
 

Last week's #1 article --

Stockton, CA., Retailer Closing Due to Shoplifting and Crime

FTC Warning - A New Third Party Audit Point?
The FTC's biggest AI enforcement tool? Forcing companies to delete their algorithms
Algorithm disgorgement requires companies to remove products built on data they shouldn't have used in the first place.

While lawmakers in Congress and policymakers around the world debate how they should establish guardrails for a rapidly expanding artificial intelligence industry, the Federal Trade Commission already has a powerful enforcement tool in place: algorithm disgorgement.

Also referred to as model deletion, the enforcement strategy requires companies to delete products built on data they shouldn't have used in the first place. For instance, if the commission finds that a company trained a large language model on improperly obtained data, then it will have to delete all the information along with the products developed from the ill-gotten data.

Most recently, the commission proposed a pair of settlements with Amazon that required it to delete ill-gotten data. The agency's order over privacy violations from Amazon's Ring required the security camera company to delete data products, including algorithms, from videos it unlawfully reviewed. In another settlement with Amazon, the FTC ordered the tech giant to delete children's data, geolocation data and other voice recordings it obtained in an alleged violation of federal children's privacy law.

FTC officials called the enforcement action against Amazon a warning to other companies that may be mishandling user data in a race to build their models. "Machine learning is no excuse to break the law," FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya. cyberscoop.com


How to Get a True View of Cyber Risk

Perspectives from the general counsel and chief information security officer can help determine your security strategy.

One of the most important elements in ensuring data is kept safe is sometimes underemphasized: a strong and productive relationship between the general counsel (GC) and the chief information security officer (CISO).

Fortifying this relationship can enable quick and efficient handling of cyber incidents, which will inevitably arise. A strong GC-CISO duo can also circumvent subtle pressures to present a positive but potentially inaccurate perspective to the board of directors and ensure board members have a realistic understanding of the company's cyber risk.

The GC brings a holistic view of the organization the CISO may lack. Typically, a GC has more regular conversations with upper management and a better grasp of the organization's values, culture and priorities than a CISO.

"Cybersecurity is no different from physical security," says Anthony J. Ferrante, a senior managing director and global head of cybersecurity at Washington, D.C.-based FTI Consulting, one of the world's top business advisory firms. "It is risk management, and the general counsel should absolutely be spearheading the efforts to drive how the organization looks at, understands, evaluates and addresses risk. In other words, cybersecurity should be viewed in the same light as the traditional risk that falls within the purview of general counsel."

At the same time, the CISO can help the GC understand the nuances and technical aspects of cyber risk. Working together, the CISO and the GC can hone a cybersecurity strategy that meshes with the organization's risk appetite and priorities. wsj.com


DDoS Attacks Worldwide Increased by 115.1%
Global rise in DDoS attacks threatens digital infrastructure
In 2022, the total number of DDoS attacks worldwide increased by 115.1% over the amount observed in 2021, according to Nexusguard.

The data also showed that cyber attackers continued to alter their threat vectors by targeting the application platforms, online databases, and cloud-based storage systems within ISPs.

This resulted in a significantly greater impact globally as organizations continue to move more of their workloads to the cloud.

Number of DDoS attacks worldwide

While the overall number of DDoS attacks did more than double, the maximum size of 361.9 gigabits per second (Gbps) represented a 48.2% decrease over those measured in 2021. Average attack size also shrank by 22.4%.

The majority of DDoS threats (85.6%) in 2022 were single-vector attacks, which is almost identical to the percentage seen in 2021. UDP- (user datagram protocol) based and TCP- (transmission control protocol) based attacks were the most popular attacks by type, accounting for 72.5% and 23.0% respectively.

AI-powered DDoS attack vectors

IoTs can be helpful for users and prevent DDoS attacks. However, this is only sometimes the case for IoT devices. They have large attack surfaces and often overlook security principles in their designs. Some widgets have let attackers log in. Users may need help changing their IDs sometimes.

As the world celebrated the rise of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, hacker equality continued to invest in the same functionality. Hackers, along with global organizations, recruit AI and ML engineers. Often hackers and international organizations are competitors for the same talent pool. helpnetsecurity.com


Using AI to Speed Up Security Response Times
Rubrik, Microsoft partner to leverage generative AI for faster incident response

The collaboration will integrate Rubrik Security Cloud with Microsoft Sentinel and Azure OpenAI Service.

A collaboration between Microsoft and data management and security firm Rubrik will let enterprise customers use generative AI and natural language processing to speed up security response times during cyberattacks and data breaches.

The two companies will integrate Rubrik Security Cloud with Microsoft Sentinel and Azure OpenAI Service, which will help organizations prioritize alerts and conduct faster investigations, according to an announcement Wednesday.

The collaboration comes at a critical time for security operations teams. Cybersecurity departments have been dealing with a rise in zero-day vulnerabilities and ransomware threats as the industry grapples with a shortage of qualified workers. cybersecuritydive.com


BreachForums replacement emerges as forum for criminal hackers to trade their spoils
The new version of BreachForums is active, growing and facilitating illicit trade in the most sensitive information about millions of individuals and hundreds of organizations around the world.


How to cultivate a culture of continuous cybersecurity improvement

Fileless attacks increase 1,400%

Santa Clara, CA: Bay Area sunglasses thief stole nearly $140,000 worth of merchandise from various Macy's stores
In a social media post Friday morning, Santa Clara police Santa Clara, CA: Bay Area sunglasses thief stole nearly $140,000 worth of merchandise from various Macy's stores. After getting the bright idea to steal sunglasses from the same San Jose department store two days in a row, a man was arrested on suspicion of grand theft after taking home nearly $140,000 worth of merchandise from several Macy's locations throughout the Bay Area, according to authorities. detailed two alleged theft incidents at the Macy's Men's store in San Jose's Westfield Valley Fair Mall in early June. A suspect, then-unknown, took high-end designer sunglasses from the store on consecutive days, totaling some $7,851 in losses. Santa Clara detectives assigned to the case found out that the same suspect was accused of similar crimes at other Macy's stores in Alameda County, Contra Costa County, San Mateo County and may have been linked to thefts in Santa Cruz County. The suspect was then identified with help of other agencies.  mercurynews.com


Fairfax County, VA: Men accused of stealing $37,000 worth of merchandise in Virginia
Police said two men face charges after officers found tens of thousands of dollars worth of stolen items in a car and hotel room. The Fairfax County Police Department said an officer who was working at Springfield Mall on July 1 spotted two men wanted for a previous theft. At the time the officer saw them, the men had a number of bags of merchandise with them. When police moved towards them, the men ran, but officers were able to take them into custody. The police got search warrants for the men's car and their hotel room. During the searches, they found devices used to move security tags from merchandise and 15 large bags filled with stolen items from Fairfax County and a neighboring area.  wric.com


Memphis, TN: Police looking for suspect of $10,000 credit card fraud case
Memphis police said they were notified in May of a man that impersonated an employee with Allied Universal Security. They now are looking for a suspect of credit card fraud who met employees and exchanged invalid gas cards for cards that were valid. This suspect took those cards and made large fuel purchases, according to the Memphis Police Department (MPD). The amount of the theft was over $10,000, according to MPD.  localmemphis.com


Gwinnett County, GA: Manager pushed out of the way while trying to stop 2 suspects stealing $2,600 from Bass Pro Shop
Two men are on the run after officials say they stole high-valued merchandise from a local sporting goods store. Gwinnett County police said on July 2, two men entered the Bass Pro Shop on Sugarloaf Parkway. While in the store, officials said the suspects grabbed four items valued at over $2,636 and bypassed the cash register. According to the surveillance video, the store manager tried to stop the suspects from leaving but was pushed out of the way.  news.yahoo.com


Hopkinsville, KY: Police Investigating $5,000 Cologne Theft from Ulta

Wayne County, NY: Man steals $4,200 in merch from Game Craze in Macedon, causes thousands more in damage to store

El Dorado Hills, CA: El Dorado Hills Police arrest 2 on ORC Charges

Columbus, OH: Men accused of stealing $800 worth of candy from east Columbus store

Brooklyn, NY: Police Search For Armed Suspects In $700 Robbery At Jimmy Jazz Store