RILA, NDAA Store Walk Initiative in the News
Retailers & Law Enforcement Build Upon Anti-Theft Collaboration

More than 100 district attorneys participated in store walkthroughs last year in order to find better ways to tackle retail crime.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) launched the 2024 Store Walk Initiative to tackle organized retail crime, habitual theft and its impact on communities.

The initiative is in its second year and allows the organizations to connect retailers with local prosecutors to facilitate a better understanding of shared challenges, exchange insights and identify ways both parties can collaborate to reduce retail crime and recidivism.

"Organized retail crime is such a complex challenge; while there is no overnight or one-size-fits-all solution, we know collaboration is essential to combatting the problem. A unified response is an effective one, and that's what the Store Walk Initiative is designed to enable," said Lisa LaBruno, RILA senior executive vice president of retail operations. "DA offices and retailers, through newfound relationships, are building stronger, more effective cases that lead to successful prosecutions. Together, we're making meaningful progress toward restoring vibrancy to communities across the U.S."

According to RILA, last year's inaugural Store Walk Initiative led to more than 100 district attorney offices representing cities large and small across the United States to participate in store walks with leading retail asset protection leaders and store management teams. The Initiative has enabled more effective communication and strategic coordination around ORC cases, which have ultimately led to successful prosecutions and crime deterrence.

The Store Walk Initiative is just one aspect of the organizations' ongoing collaborative efforts. The Vibrant Communities Initiative, also launched in 2023, brings together district attorneys, police departments, social service organizations and other stakeholders to increase information sharing, test new technology solutions, and address the underlying social issues driving crime.

Retailers interested in participating in the Store Walk Initiative can learn more about it and register here. csnews.com


The Fate of Prop 47 is on the Ballot in November
Frustrated Californians May Be Ready for a Tougher Approach to Crime

Shoplifting and fentanyl use have tested the patience of California voters, who will decide in November whether to impose stricter laws that would lead to more incarceration.

Deodorant, shampoo and underwear are all under lock and key in many stores in California. Retail clerks are often told to ignore shoplifters, after a handful of store employees who confronted thieves were assaulted or killed. Video clips of smash-and-grab crews snatching armloads of merchandise have gone viral.

Californians of all political stripes have become fed up with the problems plaguing supermarkets and retail stores, not to mention car break-ins and open-air drug use. Some top Democrats, including Mayor London Breed of San Francisco, have joined conservatives in denouncing a cascade of smaller crimes that have contributed to a sense of lawlessness in major cities.

Now the state's lawmakers and voters are weighing what to do.

With public sentiment in the state shifting toward stiffer punishment, California finds itself debating whether to roll back decade-old changes that sharply reduced the state's inmate count and made it a leader in reducing mass incarceration.

A coalition of law enforcement figures, business owners and relatives of fentanyl addicts want to reverse the 2014 ballot measure known as Proposition 47, which reduced penalties for shoplifting and drug possession. That measure has been blamed so often for the state's crime woes that it is among the few past initiatives that residents can identify by number - right up there with Proposition 13, the state's landmark property tax limitation, and Proposition 209, the state's prohibition of affirmative action.

With financial help from the giant retailers Target, Home Depot and Walmart, the coalition has gotten a ballot measure qualified for the November election that would impose harsher punishments for crimes that result in lighter charges or no prosecution today.

The fate of Proposition 47 will be decided by California's nearly 27 million eligible voters in November. Nearly a million people signed a petition to amend Proposition 47 by imposing tougher sentences for shoplifting and drug possession. nytimes.com


Retailers Across the Pond Demand Protection for Shopworkers
Ireland retailers & shopworkers call for greater protection against violence

Retailers and staff in Northern Ireland have joined growing calls for a standalone protection of shopworkers law.

The call comes after the latest recorded crime statistics from the Police Service of Northern Ireland showed shoplifting had more than doubled since the pandemic.

Retail trade union Usdaw and the employers' organisation the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC) have jointly written to minister of justice Naomi Long MLA urging action to protect retail workers from violence and abuse amid a huge increase in incidents in recent years.

Usdaw and the NIRC are seeking Stormont support for a Scottish-style protection of shopworkers' law, which the new Labour government in Westminster included in last week's King's Speech, although that will only apply in England and Wales.

Paddy Lillis, Usdaw general secretary, said: "It is deeply disturbing for our members to see a doubling in theft from shops. Shoplifting has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shopworkers.

"A separate criminal offence will ensure greater visibility and awareness of the scale of the problem, prioritisation and resourcing from the police, certainty from courts, and will send a clear message to members of the public that abuse and attacks against retail workers are wholly unacceptable."  talkingretail.com


Is Oakland Fudging Their Crime Data?
Oakland police refute claims it is distorting massive crime figure drop

Oakland police reported a 33% drop in crime, but not everyone is buying it

The Oakland Police Department (OPD) has shot back against claims that it has been underreporting its crime data, which shows dramatic falls in crime this year compared to 2023.

A report by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Oakland Report claims that OPD is not comparing like with like when reporting its crime figures for Oakland, California, and thus its perceived dip in crime is misleading.

Data released by the OPD in May reported that violent crime rates were down in the first part of the year, with crime down 33% overall. Burglary had dropped 50%, while homicides had fallen by 17%, assaults were down 7% and rapes are down 21%.

The figures were touted by embattled progressive Mayor Sheng Thao, who faces a recall ballot in November due to public safety and economic vitality concerns, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Oakland has faced mounting issues such as housing costs, homelessness and crime in recent years. Last week, dozens of people ransacked a gas station mini-mart near the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, leaving the store destroyed.  foxnews.com


Juveniles Fueling Crime?
Charlotte saw a 300% increase in homicides committed by young people
An updated look at Charlotte's crime trend data on Monday shows the city is still facing an increased number of crimes committed by juveniles. In 2023, there was a historic spike in crimes involving juveniles, according to the police department. That trend continued into 2024.

Among juvenile crimes, 61% of those crimes were committed by repeat juvenile offenders, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Monday as they released crime trends for the first six months of the year.

Among the city's young people, there has been a 300% increase in homicides committed by juvenile suspects. CMPD said 12 young people have been arrested and charged in homicides. Additionally, there has been a 75% increase in homicides with a young person as a victim.

Across all age groups, the total number of homicides was up 36% thus far in 2024, according to CMPD. The police department is investigating 61 homicides compared to 45 in the same period last year. wcnc.com


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Dollar Tree's 'Lengthy History' of Safety Violations
Inspectors found infractions in 59% of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores

Virginia-based Dollar Tree faces new pressures over its history of violations
The problems recorded in one Virginia store were hardly new or unusual for Dollar Tree, whose stores have drawn sanctions from safety inspectors nationwide. The Manassas store was just one of nearly 600 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores and warehouses cited for unsafe and hazardous conditions between 2014 and 2024, according to inspection data from across the country.

The hazards regulators have found at Dollar Tree stores have "become a recurring theme," said Eric S. Harbin, a U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration regional administrator in Dallas, in a June 2023 statement about violations at Texas stores. "The safety conditions that exist at some of these stores create the potential for tragic consequences in an emergency."

Advocates say the overstacked storage rooms, blocked safety exits and rodent and insect infestations create unsafe and unhealthy environments for many of the chain's roughly 200,000 workers.

Federal and state records show that Dollar Tree has a higher percentage of safety inspections that flag violations than retailers of similar size. Inspectors found infractions in 59% of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores they inspected between 2019 and 2023, according to an analysis of federal inspection records by VCIJ. By comparison, among stores inspected in the same five years, regulators cited violations at 49% of Dollar General stores, 42% of Kroger supermarkets and 28% of Walmart stores, according to the analysis.

In announcements of citations against the company, federal regulators have admonished Dollar Tree for its "lengthy history" of failed safety inspections. insidenova.com


Companies Using AI to Charge Different Customers Different Prices?
FTC launches probe into 'surveillance pricing' that it says links cost to customer data
The Federal Trade Commission is launching an investigation into so-called surveillance pricing, seeking more information about how artificial intelligence is used to change pricing rapidly based on data about customer behavior and characteristics.

The FTC says the practice allows companies to charge different customers, different prices.

The agency is serving eight companies with a mandatory request for information - all companies it says advertise their AI and other tech tools along with a trove of customer information to target prices to individual customers.

The list includes Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, Accenture and consulting giant McKinsey. It also includes software firm Task, which counts McDonald's and Starbucks as clients; Revionics, which works with Home Depot,Tractor Supply and grocery chain Hannaford; Bloomreach, which services FreshDirect, Total Wine and Puma; and Pros, which was named Microsoft's internet service vendor of the year this year.

"Firms that harvest Americans' personal data can put people's privacy at risk," FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a news release. "Now firms could be exploiting this vast trove of personal information to charge people higher prices."

Kahn describes surveillance pricing as a "shadowy ecosystem of pricing middlemen." cnbc.com


650+ Store Closures
Rite Aid store closures top 650; 67% of Ohio stores now closed, Michigan 63%; top 3 states still 20% to 24%
Rite Aid's latest 40 planned store closures, revealed in court filings Friday and Monday, bring the chain's total closures to more than 650 - beyond the top of the range most analysts expected when the chain filed in October 2023 for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - and indicate a continued withdrawal from what were previously its fourth and fifth biggest state markets.

The closures bring the total nationwide to 654 - according to an abc27 News analysis on the new filings and Scrapehero data - or 32% of the stores it operated before filing for bankruptcy. Two out of every three Ohio stores will soon have closed. In Pennsylvania, where Rite Aid is headquartered - formerly in Camp Hill, now in Philadelphia - that figure is just one out of five.

In Rite Aid's previous top five markets, it will soon have closed 98 of its 449 (or 22%) of its California stores; 89 of 440 (20%) of its Pennsylvania stores; 58 of 240 (24%) of its New York stores; 147 of 232 (63%) of its Michigan stores; and 123 of 184 (67%) of its Ohio stores. finance.yahoo.com


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RH-ISAC Joins National Task Force for Fraud & Scam Prevention

Led by the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, this trailblazing multi-sector initiative will launch in the fall to combat fraud and build trust in our financial system.

Washington, D.C. - The Aspen Institute Financial Security Program (Aspen FSP) is announcing the formation of a National Task Force for Fraud & Scam Prevention, an initiative that will bring together leading stakeholders from government, law enforcement, private industry, and civil society to develop a nation-wide strategy aimed at helping prevent fraud and scams.

Financial frauds and scams are an increasing threat against Americans' public safety and financial health, with implications for our economy, the U.S. financial system, and national security. Criminals carry out their crimes in multiple venues-over social media, dating sites, job boards, marketplaces, and telephone calls-breaking down trust in our institutions and putting Americans' personal savings at risk. The task force formalizes a network of stakeholders who have a vested interest in making sure that consumers are protected and can restore trust in our financial system.

"The National Task Force for Fraud & Scam Prevention developed out of Aspen FSP's work convening and supporting leaders and institutions committed to building a safe, fair, and inclusive financial system," said Ida Rademacher, vice president at the Aspen Institute and co-executive director of Aspen FSP. "We are excited to work with our partners to increase trust in our financial systems, equip individuals and families with better information and tools, and continue to safely expand services to underserved communities. Together, our work can help keep money in the pockets of hardworking Americans and strengthen households' financial security."

The Task Force will address different aspects of the fraud and scam lifecycle, with a primary focus on prevention. rhisac.org


Change is the Only Constant in Today's Cyber Threat Landscape
The changes in the cyber threat landscape in the last 12 months
When it comes to the cyber threat landscape, change is the only constant: the inevitable interplay between cybercriminals and law enforcement agencies makes it inevitable.

Europol's recently released Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2024 report covers events - law enforcement actions - that happened in the last 12 months (or so) and how the cyber threat landscape shifted because of them.

These actions include the Hive, LockBit and ALPHV/BlackCat takedowns, the takedowns and disruptions of cybercriminal forums, marketplaces and ransomware-delivery botnets, the arrests of dark web vendors, crackdowns on fraudulent investment platforms, and so on.

What changes have these and other events wrought?

According to Europol:

• Ransomware groups have disbanded and reorganised, and it's harder to tell which threat actors are involved with which groups

• Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) providers are competing for affiliates and developers

• Ransomware groups are increasingly going after small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), as less money to invest in cybersecurity makes for easier targets

• Dark web marketplaces have a shorter life span and others - or mirrors - are being set up soon after takeovers by law enforcement and exit scams

• Double extortion models are increasingly common (and even criminals aren't safe from extortion attempts) helpnetsecurity.com


Fallout Continues Following Global IT Outage
CrowdStrike says flawed update was live for 78 minutes

Though CrowdStrike pulled the update, companies across sectors were already dealing with the cascading consequences that required manual remediations.

CrowdStrike's ill-fated update was live for 78 minutes, the company said in new details shared Monday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The defective software update it deployed Friday quickly rendered global IT networks non-operational.

The company reiterated the outages it caused for customers using certain Windows systems was not the result of a cyberattack, and it pointed to remediation information and updates published on its blog. Systems running Falcon on Windows version 7.11 and above that downloaded the updated configuration during those 78 minutes were "susceptible to a system crash," CrowdStrike said. cybersecuritydive.com


CrowdStrike CEO's quick apology stands out in an industry rife with deflection

Google Talks to Acquire Cybersecurity Startup Wiz Fall Apart

• Learn how a unified situational awareness can tackle and optimize the challenges of intrusion management

• Learn how stores can significantly reduce their false alarms and significantly save on operational expenditure and inefficiencies

• Learn how security data can be used beyond security and help store & district managers improve operational efficiency

	Nada Ebeid, Regional Director for Signature Brands - Canada, Genetec
	Mike Hogg, Partner, Core Products Canada