The Future of America Sounds the Alarm Over ORC
WSJ 'Future View': The New Rise of Organized Shoplifting

Students discuss retail theft, criminal prosecution and low-trust public spaces.

Editor's note: In this Future View, students discuss retail theft and shoplifting.

Time for a Public Reckoning on Theft

Rampant larceny in America's major cities is a symptom of a political culture that demonizes police officers and turns a blind eye to nonviolent crime. The cities facing the most acute struggles with theft have largely ceased to prosecute misdemeanor crimes in an effort to reduce prison populations and pursue criminal-justice reform. Public prosecutors must consider the consequences of empowering criminals to pursue illegal schemes with impunity. -Matthew Maslenko, University of Oregon, advertising

Have a Little Faith

When prosecutors fail to enforce the law, there is no deterrent to committing crimes. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg didn't even wait for the sun to set on his first day in office before sending a message to criminals, especially shoplifters, that they could get away with their crimes. New York police can still arrest shoplifters, but Mr. Bragg won't prosecute them. Why fill out all the paperwork with an arrest when you know the crime will go uncharged? The problem is found in many Democrat-run cities across the country. -Jack Harkin, University of Notre Dame, law

Consumerism Is the Problem

American shoplifting is nothing new. In our era of consumerism, when increased levels of customer trust yield higher profit margins, America's appetite for spending has resulted in the proliferation of organized shoplifting rings. -Icewarya Loganathan, Baylor University, management

We Need New Leadership

Rebuilding trust in our society happens from the top down. Only a dramatic change in leadership can reunite Americans and get them to once again feel the government has their backs. Then theft can more easily return to lower levels. -Aman Majmudar, University of Chicago, law, letters and society wsj.com
 

Is ORC Putting the Modern Store Concept Under Threat of Extinction
As retail theft forces shop merchandising back to the 1920s, is the modern store concept under threat?

Retailers need a multifaceted approach to overcome theft and shrinkage and ensure a secure and enjoyable shopping experience for all.

Theft and shrinkage of goods is one of the enduring problems faced by retailers globally. Recent months have seen a spate of news stories about more eye-catching crimes, including daytime flash mob robberies. As a result, retailers are grappling with heightened concerns about how to improve security in and around their stores.

Locking or removing merchandise from the shop floor

One way of doing this is to lock up or remove the merchandise from the shop floor. Walgreens is currently experimenting with new store formats such as its recently opened 'digital-first' experimental store in Chicago, with minimal merchandise in its physical aisles.

Using technology to counter security concerns

Retailers are now increasingly turning towards technology to address some of the security challenges to their assets. Advanced surveillance systems and AI powered analytics are becoming commonplace, such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology used for accurate inventory tracking. Australian supermarket chain Coles is adopting more modern technology solutions to combat store theft, including overhead cameras, trolley locks, smart gates, and fog machines. Tesco is investing heavily in security including bodycams for its workers, after physical assaults on them rose by a third this year. Autonomous robots and drones are now being employed by retailers such as BJ's, Lowe's, and IKEA to monitor everything from tracking inventory, patrolling parking lots, and ensuring the safety of stores, customers and employees.

The downside impact on customer service and sales

While the countermeasures to theft no doubt help to minimize losses, they can also have a significant impact on customer service and the shopping experience. Heightened security measures can create an atmosphere of distrust, making genuine customers feel scrutinized. globaldata.com


13 California Counties Begin Seeing New ORC Funding
Some Northern California district attorneys receive funding to fight ORC
In a new crackdown on organized retail crime, some Northern California district attorneys are now getting new tools to root out the criminal enterprises. That includes Placer County, where District Attorney Morgan Gire says organized retail crime cases in his office have risen 67 percent in a single year.

"What's changed in the last 10 years is I think the brazenness of it, the determination on the part of the thieves to continue doing it over and over again," Gire said. Now, Gire's office has been awarded $2 million from the state to hire a new prosecutor, investigator and crime analyst all dedicated to organized retail theft.

The state is awarding local district attorneys new funding to fight back. Placer is one of 13 counties to receive the new retail theft money. Other local district attorney offices include Sacramento, Stanislaus and Yolo Counties.

Gus Murphy lives in Placer County and has helped coordinate retail theft abatement meetings after he found retailers felt like giving up on reporting the crimes. "In Placer County, we still prosecute all thieves," Gire said.

These heinous high-profile crimes are now getting a renewed focus from local district attorneys seeking justice and more closed cases. Gire said he plans to fill his new positions immediately. The state funding will last for at least the next four years. cbsnews.com


Memphis: Top Robbery & ORC Hotspot
Crime is up more than 20% from 2022, MPD says
Crimes in Memphis were up 23.8% through the first three quarters of 2023, according to Memphis Police Department data. The seven crimes that make up MPD's "part-one" distinction are aggravated assault, auto theft, burglary, larceny, rape, robbery (including carjacking) and homicide.

Through Sept. 30, auto thefts were up 76% compared to the same point in 2022. This year, there were 12,230 auto thefts, compared to the 6,963 auto thefts at the same point in 2022.

Homicides - which include murders, justifiable homicides and negligent manslaughter - are up 30%, with 266 homicides so far this year compared to 205 in 2022. Murders are up 33%; there have been 241 through Sept. 30 compared to 181 at the same point last year.

Aggravated assaults were up 6% as of Sept. 30, with 5,724 this year compared to 5,398 last year, according to MPD data.

Burglaries also were up through the first three quarters: Business burglaries are up 42.2%, with 1,758; non-residential burglaries are up 34.3%, with 552; and residential burglaries are up 4.1%, with 2,811.

As of Sept. 30, there were 79 interstate shootings, according to MPD data. There were 92 interstate shootings in 2022 and 121 in 2021. dailymemphian.com


Memphis Faces 'Crime Crisis
Like a weed, crime needs to be addressed at the root
Many city residents agree that there is a "crime crisis" in Memphis. But many also believe that the issue of crime can't be tackled without addressing root causes, like poverty, and environmental factors, like blight, that facilitate it.

Data from the Shelby County Crime Commission, a nonprofit focused on crime prevention, shows that the overall crime rate in Shelby County is up 13.8% in 2023 compared to last year. Major violent crime is up 4.9% compared to last year, and major property crime is up 35.1%. Participants from each neighborhood all listed poverty and blight as crime-related issues.  dailymemphian.com

   RELATED: Despite break-ins, Bartlett says no to accordion-style security gates


Podcast: Behind the Shoplifting Panic
Retailers are locking up merchandise and closing stores nationwide, citing an explosion in organized theft. Could their losses be attributable to more than just shoplifting?

Retail theft a major issue; check security seals on meds, food, beauty products

How Sacramento businesses are finding answers to retail theft

Being Aware of Social Issues That May Impact Stores, Malls & Shopping Centers
Especially those in college areas & towns

As the Conflict Continues How Far do the Protests Go - The Weekend is Here
Israeli military says troops carried out hourslong ground raid into Gaza before an expected wider incursion
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli troops and tanks launched an hours long ground raid into northern Gaza overnight into Thursday, the military said, striking several militant targets in order to "prepare the battlefield" before a widely expected ground invasion after more than two weeks of devastating airstrikes. pbs.org


UC Berkeley students walk out of class, call for cease-fire in Gaza
Waving placards and filling the air with cheers, hundreds of students walked out of their classes at UC Berkeley on Wednesday to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and an end to military support for Israel.

The rally was part of a nationwide protest organized for 100 colleges by groups including the Arab Resource and Organizing Center and, locally, campus groups including Bears for Palestine and Law Students for Justice in Palestine. Several faculty members also joined the walkout for the afternoon protest, including Hatem Bazian, an ethnic studies professor who urged the crowd to support an end to Israeli control of Palestine. sfchronicle.com


NYC public school students brandish antisemitic signs, call for Israel to be eradicated
Hundreds of NYU students held their own separate pro-Palestinian rally in the park, which was also part of a nationwide walkout over the war in Israel in the wake of the Hamas terror attack that killed some 1,400.

A group of New York City public school students ditched class with a teacher Wednesday to take part in a pro-Palestinian rally - where the youngsters waved deeply antisemitic signs suggesting the world needs to be "clean" of Jews. nypost.com

College groups across U.S. stage 'walkout' protesting U.S. military funding to Israel


Here's Another Reason to Be Aware & Audit What You Don't See

"Weak Corporate Governance" Leads to Reputation Impact in $$ $1.3B to be precise
UK Retailer & Fashion Brands - Boohoo Faces £100m ($120m) lawsuit over modern slavery breaches
Boohoo is facing a £100m lawsuit from some of its investors after allegations of modern slavery wiped over £1bn from the business' value.

The fashion retailer is being targeted by City lawyers looking for compensation for the group's shareholders who suffered steep losses following claims of forced labour in Boohoo's UK factories

The allegations were first reported by The Sunday Times in 2020 before verified in an independent review by barrister Alison Levitt KC.

Levitt found that "allegations about poor working conditions and low rates of pay in many Leicester factories are not merely well-founded but substantially true".

She added: "Boohoo's monitoring of its Leicester supply chain was inadequate and this was attributable to weak corporate governance."

The fashion retailer is understood to have instructed lawyers at Herbert Smith Freehills to ward off any potential litigation, which could involve some 100 institutional investors.

The modern slavery revelations saw Boohoo dropped from several retailers' websites and wiped around $1.3B U.S. off its market value.

The boohoo group is a stellar portfolio of 13 leading British fashion brands


USPS significantly ramps up payouts for those who help convict mail thieves
The U.S. Postal Service will offer up to $250,000 to individuals who provide information that leads to an arrest and conviction of those who assault USPS employees as the agency looks to ramp up its efforts to combat rising mail-related crime. The rewards offered for six separate crime categories will increase between two and 10 times existing payouts, USPS officials announced on Wednesday, calling the boosts necessary to combat the increased rates of robberies and assaults of postal employees and property. The officials touted preliminary results from the efforts USPS began implementing earlier this year to make the mail and letter carriers less vulnerable to crime, though those programs are still in their early phases. From May to September, the inspection service launched a targeted campaign using a "strategic hyperlocal approach" that focused on mail crime in San Francisco, Chicago and three cities in Ohio. The areas were selected due to the "significant threats from organized postal crime" each faced, according to Brendan Donahue, the USPIS assistant postal inspector in charge, and the campaigns involved several different agencies. That led to 700 investigative actions and 600 arrests, including 109 for robbery and 530 for mail theft.  govexec.com


For the Flyers - We couldn't resist: Gives 'Flying Out West' a whole new meaning

Psychedelic Legalization & Decriminalization Tracker
Oregon & Colorado Trying to Legalize & Oakland & Washington Reducing Illegality

Off-duty Bay Area Pilot Joseph Emerson took psychedelic mushrooms before trying to crash flight, court doc says
Emerson, 44, was being held Monday on 83 counts each of attempted murder and reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft, according to the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in Oregon, where the plane landed safely after Emerson was removed from the cockpit. He was off-duty on Sunday and riding in an extra "jump seat" in the cockpit of Horizon Air flight 2059, an Embraer 175 that left Everett, Washington, at 5:23 p.m. headed for San Francisco.  msn.com

Editor's Note: Those regional flights can be more challenging.  
 

Another Dollar General Settlement
Dollar General must pay $1 million after charging customers too much at checkout

Dollar General is paying $1 million in a settlement with the state of Ohio.

Dollar General has reached a $1 million settlement with the state of Ohio after an investigation suggested that the chain had charged customers more for some items at checkout than on-the-shelf prices. businessinsider.com


BuyBuy Baby plots brick-and-mortar return; opening 11 stores

Why holiday spending is going to the dogs

U.S. economy glows red hot with a 4.9% GDP reading for the third quarter
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Director of Safety & Security job posted for Natural Grocers in Lakewood, CO
The Director of Safety and Security is responsible for protecting the assets of the stores and the company through the Corporate Safety and Loss Prevention Programs including design and implementation of safety, inventory, and asset recovery programs including internal and external theft reduction programs, safe store and SSC practices, and analysis of opportunities in Natural Grocers regarding risk management and asset loss. indeed.com
 

Chicago, IL: Thieves use SUV to smash into high-end sneaker store in $70K theft
Thieves used an SUV as a battering ram to break into a high-end sneaker store overnight in the Tri-Taylor neighborhood. Police said five to six people in an SUV crashed through the front door and security gate of Flee Club near Taylor Street and Oakley Boulevard around 4:30 a.m. The burglars then stole merchandise from inside the store and got into several waiting cars to flee the scene, leaving the SUV behind. Flee Club co-owner Darris Kelly said it's not the first break-in at the store. In April 2022, the owners told CBS 2 News they had been hit by burglars five times in the past two years, including twice in a two-week span. They moved to Tri-Taylor three years ago after multiple robberies at their West Side location. "Just tired of it. I'm just trying to make a living," he said. "I'm really going to have to think if I want to open back up. It's just like, how many times can you get hit?"  cbsnews.com


Spokane, WA: 2 Arrested during Auto Dealership burglary of 8 cars
Spokane Police have arrested two suspects and identified another in connection to the burglary at a car dealership in north Spokane. Police say eight vehicles were stolen from the lot after a thief climbed through the dealership's roof and took multiple sets of keys early Tuesday morning. By the early afternoon, Spokane Police say they had located four of the stolen cars in a north Spokane apartment complex. Police then arrested 19-year-old Fran Anunar, who is charged with eight counts of vehicle theft and one count of commercial burglary. On Wednesday, police arrested 20-year-old Heran Linfield for possession of a stolen vehicle, residential burglary, obstructing a law enforcement officer, and an outstanding warrant for possession of a stolen vehicle. Police have also identified a third suspect in the thefts and requested charges on the woman. SPD has recovered all but one of the stolen vehicles, and the investigation is ongoing. Police added that Anunar is a three-time convicted felon, and Linfield has one prior felony conviction.  youtube.com


St Louis, MO: Woman allegedly stole $21K from area Target stores
A theft from the Target store in Washington last month was not an isolated incident, but part of an extensive crime spree, according to the Washington Police Department. A woman accused of using sophisticated methods to steal tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise over the course of dozens of incidents at Target locations throughout the St. Louis region is facing a felony charge in Franklin County after allegedly stealing items valued at more than $800 from the Washington store in late September. On Sept. 28, Rachel Marting, of St. Louis, entered the Target store in Washington and then left the store without paying for $865.90 worth of merchandise, including a breast pump, electronics and Legos, at approximately 8:24 p.m., according to a probable cause statement for her arrest. Marting allegedly used a magnetic key to disable the security wrap on some of the items she stole and paid for various food items at the self-checkout despite stealing other items. "She scanned a bar code that was on her hand for an Elvie breast pump accessory instead of the actual breast pump itself," according to the probable cause statement. Target's loss prevention department identified Marting as a suspect in additional thefts after she was apprehended at a different Target location. Target has identified losses of $21,134.03 over the course of 66 incidents throughout the St. Louis area that the company attributes to Marting, according to the statement. Marting has two prior convictions for stealing or related offenses in St. Charles County, one from last year and one from May of this year. She now faces a felony stealing charge in Franklin County.  emissourian.com


Update: Second of two men convicted in Autozone thefts
The second of two men involved in a scheme to steal and then sell auto parts from Austin's Autozone store has been sentenced. Jeremiah Coal Beaman, 24, was sentenced to two years supervised probation Wednesday in Mower County District Court for felony theft. He was also fined $400. Beaman is the second of two individuals accused in the case. Christopher David Simmons, 41, was sentenced to three years supervised probation in August of this year, also for felony theft. Simmons was also ordered to pay $57,000 in restitution. Both men had a second count of felony theft dismissed. The duo were charged in February of this year and accused of stealing inventory worth $57,326.27 stretching back to November of 2022. Autozone's director of Loss Prevention observed Beaman loading his truck with parts, valued at just under $1,000, on Feb. 8, and after being confronted told the director that he had been recruited by Simmons to take part in the scheme. Beaman also said that Simmons threatened to blame the operation on him if Beaman said anything. A search of Beaman's home turned up items valued at $2,010.77. Later, when Simmons was arrested, he admitted that from February 2022 to October of 2022, they were stealing items and making approximately $100-$200 a week. Then, starting in October, the same operation was increased to $500-$1,000 a week.  austindailyherald.com


St Louis, MO: Smash-and-grab thief hits 8 south St. Louis businesses
St. Louis Police are investigating several overnight break-ins at businesses in south St. Louis. First Alert 4 has been informed of eight businesses being damaged. The affected businesses have varying degrees of damage to their buildings. The Circle K's front door was rammed and pushed in with broken glass strewn everywhere. At the South Public Supermarket, the front doors were struck and severely damaged but it does not appear the suspects made entry into the business. Police detectives are scouring surveillance camera video to identify the man responsible for a string of smash-and-grab burglaries overnight in south St. Louis.  kmov.com


Solon, OH: Dozens of Halloween costumes stolen from Spirit store
Solon police need your help in identifying at least four women accused of stealing dozens of Halloween costumes from a local store last week. Store surveillance cameras were rolling as the four women entered the Spirit Halloween store in Solon around 4 p.m. Wednesday. Video shows the women walking around and start filling their baskets with items. Solon Police say the suspects managed to get away with at least 50 costumes. "A lot of people pay their hard earned money to buy costumes and enjoy the holiday," said Lt. William Vajdich with the Solon Police Department. Witnesses outside told police they saw the women driving away in a brown Ford Edge SUV.  fox8.com


Nova Scotia, Canada: Cape Breton Regional Police prevent 12 thefts, recover $2,500 in stolen merchandise
The project was part of a national campaign with the Retail Council of Canada Taskforce on Loss Prevention.
 

NRF has declared Oct. 26 as Fight Retail Crime Day

 A day of action to unite the retail community to advocate
for solutions in combating organized retail crime.