Q&A with Dara Riordan, President of FaceFirst

Employers must comply with several new and existing workplace violence laws in 2024. How do you think facial recognition technology can help them protect employees?

Retailers need proactive tools that make stores safer for employees and customers. California's new law requires employers to have a workplace violence notification system. It also requires employers to investigate and track all threats of violence, including those made on social media.

A FaceFirst client recently received a social media threat of gun violence posted by an unknown individual. Using FaceFirst's investigation tools and a social media image, the retailer formed a threat profile for the man in less than two hours. He had a record of violent crimes against another retailer. FaceFirst match events provided investigators with the precise locations, dates, and times of the man's recent store visits. They reviewed his visits and confirmed he'd had a verbal altercation with an employee. They enrolled the man in their FaceFirst system. When he entered one of the retailer's stores eight days later, FaceFirst matched his face and sent an immediate notification: "Do not approach-call 9-1-1." The man was arrested without incident, though an illegal firearm was found in his car. Authorities issued a chainwide restraining order, and the man has not returned to any of the retailer's stores since.

What are retail executives who use facial recognition technology in their stores telling others about their experiences?

FaceFirst's rapid adoption has been driven by retailers making store safety their top priority. Here's a recent quote from a top 10 retailer: "Before FaceFirst, we had no way to take real-time action during life safety events. We had no true visibility about where, when, and how many times repeat offenders were in our stores. Now, FaceFirst is the cornerstone of our store safety and asset protection program. I don't know of a better tool that helps us be more proactive and mitigate threats in our stores. This technology has advanced so much, and you're going to be way behind the curve without it."

FaceFirst's face matching technology alerts instantly when known threats enter. Our real-time notifications help you keep your valued employees and customers safer. Face matching software lets our clients know who their biggest recidivists are. They can quickly identify ORC rings and build cases to shut them down. Our technology can do in minutes what would take humans days or weeks-if at all-using standard CCTV. FaceFirst lets retailers narrow their scope for efficient threat management.

Based in Austin, Texas, FaceFirst is a global leader in fast, accurate, and scalable face matching systems with high levels of security, privacy, and accountability. Learn more at facefirst.com.

Retailers Need to Use RFID as a Weapon Against Theft
Famous Criminologist Says Retailers Vastly Underuse RFID Technology
If fraud, shoplifting and organized retail crime (ORC) were the only threats that retail executives needed to worry about, that would be hard enough. But theft by employees has risen too, plus cargo theft. Factor in distressing violence in shops - which makes it even harder to attract frontline employees - and the retail industry has itself a $100 billion+ issue.

It's easy to spot the challenges. Much harder to find a solution. This brings us to the topic of RFID, short for radio frequency identification.

High Praise For RFID: "RFID is a vastly underused Loss Prevention solution", says Dr. Read Hayes, considered by many to be the world's leading expert on retail crime. Hayes, a University of Florida Criminologist also leads the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC) - a research center he founded in 2000 with backing from Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Gap, CVS, and other retailers.

Hayes says "RFID gives retailers capabilities they have wanted for decades". The technology makes it easier to identify: a) What has been stolen; b) Who stole the items; c) How they stole the items; d) When they stole the items; e) Who else might be helping them; f) What else they stole on past occasions

Equally important, if an item is no longer in the retailer's possession, the retailer becomes aware of this critical fact much more quickly. If you think this is all just theoretical, think again.

The ability to connect seemingly unrelated theft incidents has led to the demise of several ORC networks that in past years would have remained operational. And with regard to individual crooks, connecting the dots via RFID helps turn misdemeanor cases into felony prosecutions.

RFID Itself Is Already Common: When Hayes says RFID is underused, it is only in the context of Loss Prevention. For retailers who already use RFID in their stores and supply chain for inventory management, whether to also use it for Loss Prevention is a no-brainer. The merchandise is already tagged!

The Bottom Line: It's perfectly reasonable for a retail CEO to be asking his/her Loss Prevention team to present a plan for putting RFID to work - regardless of whether their company is already using RFID for inventory management. If the world's leading retail crime expert calls RFID a game changer, then clearly it's time for retailers to act. forbes.com


RILA, NDAA Store Walk Initiative Extended Through November
Retailers and Prosecutors are Walking Together to Fight Retail Crime

Through an initiative led by RILA and the NDAA, district attorneys are meeting with local retailers across the U.S. in an interesting way, with the goal of addressing retail crime.

National Store Walk Month, an initiative conceived by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), launched in September with the goal of forging an unprecedented partnership between local prosecutors and community retailers.

Throughout September, District Attorneys across the country walked retail stores in tandem with management teams, to foster understanding, exchange insights, and build synergistic strategies to address retail crime and other unlawful activities occurring in and around stores.

"Since 2002 The Home Depot has welcomed elected officials and local law enforcement for store walks to showcase the work of our associates," said Scott Glenn, vice president of asset protection, The Home Depot. "As issues like organized retail crime continue to grow, we are proud to partner with RILA and other retailers during National Store Walk Month to meet with prosecutors in our local communities and build relationships that will directly support our efforts to keep our stores, customers, associates, and communities safe."

Since its debut in September, National Store Walk Month has paired RILA member retailers with district attorneys' offices for 80 store walks to discuss shared challenges and solutions to tackling retail crime and violence. Local prosecutors and retail management teams exchanged insights, shared best practices, and identified opportunities to work collaboratively to combat retail crime.

Demand to participate was so strong among DAs' offices and retailers that the project has been extended through November. risnews.com

   Click here to see National Store Walk Month in action


'The Retail Theft Surge That Isn't?'
The debate over what's driving shrink continues to rage

Report Says Crime Is Being Exaggerated To Cover Up Other Retail Issues
For months, it has seemed as though retailers are under siege, raided on a daily basis by organized groups of thugs who walk off with hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of merchandise. This has been amplified by all forms of media.

This has been a boon for law enforcement. Officials have used these incidents to ask for bigger budgets, despite being unable to offer any solutions to the problem other than throwing more money at it. That they've failed to deter this supposed wave of retail crime fails to register with local politicians who are just as likely as everyone else to assume whatever's gone viral must be representative of the larger whole.

While it's true there have some particularly daring robberies at retail outlets, those instances remain outliers. For the most part, the amount of retail theft hasn't changed much. Most increases in "shrink" can likely be chalked up to the off-loading of checkout duties to shoppers. Self-checkouts lend themselves to theft, something that is only now being addressed by retailers now that those losses have exceeded the labor savings that come from having customers ring up and bag their own purchases.

But the amount of shrink that can be attributed to self-checkout lanes (or, rather, the lack of best practices when deploying self-checkout options) isn't enough to explain larger retail losses. So, the narrative has shifted to portraying the nation's retailers as being victimized on a regular basis by organized smash-and-grab operations where thousands of dollars of merchandise is stolen in a single incident.

A report [PDF] by retail analysts at William Blair says a lot of what's presented as evidence of a crime epidemic is just retailers hoping their own failures will go ignored as long as everyone continues to focus on these high-profile robberies.

While the report does acknowledge there are areas of the country where organized theft is causing serious retail problems, it does go on to note that retailers affected by other issues are using these instances to hide preexisting problems, as well as to lobby lawmakers for favorable legislation. techdirt.com

   RELATED: New Report Suggests the Retail Theft Narrative Is 'Overexaggerated'


Save the Date: Virtual ORC Summit Next Week
Cal-ORCA 2023 Virtual Summit Release Date Less Than One Week Out!
The California Organized Retail Crime Association (CAL-ORCA), in partnership with the California Retailers Association (CRA), is excited to release their 2023 Virtual Summit in just one week. Available next Wednesday, November 8, this year's Virtual Summit is a package of timely and fresh educational content and resources for law enforcement agencies, loss prevention, asset protection and other key stakeholders to reference in their continued and important work in combatting Organized Retail Crime and Retail Theft.

Included in this year's Summit package is a session that will provide recipients with a comprehensive overview of California's new Retail Theft Prevention Grant Program. Over 50 law enforcement agencies throughout the state were recently awarded nearly $270 million to hire more police, make more arrests and secure more felony charges against Retail Theft suspects including the Cities of San Francisco and Citrus Heights Police Departments, which will be presenting on their grant awards and plans for the future.

The Retail Theft Prevention grants are part of an overall $300 million state budget package to combat Retail Theft, which Cal Retailers secured, in collaboration with Governor Newsom's Administration in 2021. Cal-ORCA's 2023 virtual package also serves as a preview of next year's live in-person event, details of which will be announced soon.

The Virtual Summit will be distributed to 250+ law enforcement and retail/restaurant loss prevention representatives from 100+ California law enforcement agencies and 100+ retail companies. The package offers important and timely perspectives and training, as well as provides private sector solution providers an opportunity to join the discussion and promote products and services.

View the Cal-ORCA 2023 Virtual Summit agenda and learn more about the package here

Register for your copy here


New Legislation Requires Surveillance of Properties to Fight Crime Surge
Lawmakers set surveillance standard for private property, over opposition

Prince George's County Council requires owners of high-occupancy buildings or age-restricted senior residences to establish video surveillance of properties

Owners of high-occupancy buildings or age-restricted senior residences will be required to establish video surveillance of properties under a bill the Prince George's County Council passed Tuesday, billed by proponents as an attempt to boost resident safety amid rising crime.

The council voted 9-2 to direct owners of qualifying properties to deploy surveillance cameras in areas such as parking lots, sidewalks and trash enclosures, and to retain footage for no less than 30 days. Footage must be kept no less than 180 days from the request date of law enforcement or a tenant.

The effort, led by Council member Wala Blegay (D-District 6), builds on previous legislation that required landlords to keep tenants reasonably safe, but did not detail how that should occur. Council members Mel Franklin (D-At Large) and Sydney J. Harrison (D-District 9) abstained on Tuesday, citing concerns over costs and efficacy.

Public safety has been top of mind for residents and lawmakers, with stolen vehicle crimes up 173 percent compared to the same time last year and property crime up 50 percent, according to data from the Prince George's County Police Department. Violent crime is up by 8 percent, according to the data. washingtonpost.com


Court Ordered Crime Closures
Property closures aim to reduce crime and relieve neighbors
Nita McComb avoids shopping at the EZ Express convenience store because of the crime that surrounds the business down the street from her Frayser home. Even after the store's owners fixed up the place, as recently required by an environmental court judge, she doesn't think its standing as a public nuisance has changed.

The Memphis Police Department announced Sept. 20 that the business, located at 2380 Frayser Blvd., had been closed after a judge granted a temporary injunction and restraining order on the property. The convenience store was allowed to reopen on the condition that the building's owner, Ababil Group LLC, according to the Shelby County Assessor of Property, implement certain security measures.

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy has taken nuisance actions against four properties since he took office in September 2022: the EZ Express, another convenience store in the Bethel Grove neighborhood and two residential properties in Whitehaven.

According to Mulroy, these properties breed criminal activity. Some people who talked to The Daily Memphian about the impact the establishments have on their neighborhoods are skeptical that the closures and security adjustments will have much of an impact. Others are more optimistic. dailymemphian.com


Cleaning Up The Tenderloin & Market Districts - UC's & Surveillance
SF crackdown on drug markets leads to 34% increase in arrests so far this year

Increased undercover and surveillance operations have increased arrests by San Francisco police and federal law enforcement

A police crackdown on open-air drug deals in the Tenderloin and South of Market districts have led to record numbers of drug seizures and arrests, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Since May, increased undercover operations and surveillance by both local and federal agencies have caused a spike in the number of people arrested. According to the report, U.S. prosecutors in San Francisco have charged at least 89 people with selling drugs this year, up from nearly 60 in each of the past two years, including 28 in October.

In the Chronicle's review of city data, it found that the SFPD had presented 34% more drug arrests by Oct. 19 than it does on an average year.

"[In past efforts to crack down,] the sweeps before have lasted a couple of weeks, maybe a month," drug intelligence officer Marl Karandang said. "But this has been going on for the last four months. And it doesn't look like it's going to abate anytime soon." police1.com


Stores Continue to Leave Seattle Amid Crime Troubles
PCC to close its downtown Seattle store due to poor sales
Less than two years after opening a flagship store in downtown Seattle, PCC Community Markets announced Wednesday it will close the financially struggling location Jan. 31.

Indeed, with PCC closing, downtown residents in search of a full-service grocery will need to go nearly a mile north, to the Whole Foods on Westlake. The only other full-service grocery, the Kress IGA at Third Avenue and Pike Street, closed in 2020, which its owners blamed on crime in the area. Target and H Mart, both on Second Avenue, also offer groceries. seattletimes.com


Organized retail thefts on the rise across eastern Iowa

Thornton, Colo. leaders work to combat retail theft

Global Supply Chain Risk - Losing Containers At Sea
Target Corp. insurer sues global shipping giant for losing $5.8M of retail goods
A Target Corp. insurer sued a global shipping company after a 2021 incident allegedly sent $5.8 million in consumer goods overboard, plunging into the North Pacific Ocean.

New York-based Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. sued Copenhagen-based Maersk in the Southern District of New York on Oct. 18. The lawsuit indicated that between Jan. 12, 2021, and Feb. 4, 2021, a ship picked up cargo at the ports of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Yantian District, China, for transport to California on the Maersk Eidenoven container ship.

The suit charged "the entire cargo was lost overboard due to the negligence or breach of duty of defendants and/or their agents, servants, employees or representatives."

A few days after the cargo loss, the company said in a news release that the ship "experienced a loss of engine propulsion for three to four minutes while sailing 45 nautical miles off Northern Japan in heavy seas on Feb. 17, 2021." It added that the "loss of maneuverability resulted in severe rolling, with 260 containers overboard and 65 containers damaged on deck." But not all of the cargo on board belonged to Target. Starr insured approximately 57 containers of packages.

The Maritime Executive, a trade publication, reported 2020 and 2021 as especially challenging for the industry in terms of lost cargo. It reported nearly 4,000 boxes went overboard in 2020, plus another 2,000 in 2021. startribune.com


REI Store Layoffs Get Formal Union Pushback
Unions file labor complaint over REI store layoffs

Workers at two stores also staged walkouts, saying the retailer should have consulted them on recent operational changes and job cuts.

REI is facing formal pushback from unionized workers over its move in mid-October to cut 275 jobs in store operations.

On Monday, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, two unions representing REI store employees, filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, according to the unions' press release.

REI acknowledged the action at the eight unionized stores over the weekend, but didn't address questions from Retail Dive about the unfair labor practices complaint. "We were told it was in response to some recently announced structural changes to roles and titles within our stores," REI Spokesperson Natalie Stotts said by email. "We are engaged in good faith bargaining with stores that have chosen union representation and will continue to participate fully in the negotiating process."

The retailer's Vice President of Stores, Mary-Farrell Tarbox, previously told employees in a memo that its store management and scheduling processes were outdated and needed overhauling. But these were drastic changes and job losses that shouldn't have been undertaken without input from workers, the unions said. retaildive.com


LP Alert - Be Prepared:

Just What San Francisco Needs: More Unrest
Business owners furious as barricades and security zones take over city

Will mass protests at APEC disrupt S.F.'s largest international event since 1945?
As San Francisco prepares to host thousands of foreign dignitaries and journalists for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, dozens of activists are hoping to galvanize big groups to oppose the event.

A cornucopia of Bay Area community action organizations is coming together to oppose APEC's presence in San Francisco and that could pose problems for Mayor London Breed, city officials and organizers, who face mounting pressure to put a good face on the city for the international community and bring more investment into the city's struggling downtown.

The U.S. Secret Service and state and local police told the Chronicle they have been working to secure the area where some of the world's most powerful people are set to make economic deals behind closed doors. The police have set up a security exclusion zone around much of SoMa and the crest of Nob Hill, a move that has incensed local business owners and residents who will be forced to show ID to simply enter their homes or go to the grocery store. sfchronicle.com


Big City Return-to-Office Continues to Lag
New York's return-to-office rate trails Chicago's and Houston's, but outpaces Los Angeles'
The number of New Yorkers who commute to the office each week has plateaued since a post-Labor Day spike. On average, New Yorkers are in the office nearly half as much as they were prepandemic.

The city clocked in at 49.7% for the seven-day period ending Oct. 25, marking just a .2% increase from the week prior. It's the fourth week in a row that the city has hovered within a single percent point of 50%.

New York' return to the office rate continues to trail other major U.S. regions. It's a far cry from Houston, the country's fourth largest city, where in-person activity is at 61.1% of prepandemic levels. The city also sits behind major metro areas like Austin (57.6%), Chicago (53.5%) and Dallas (53.6%).

On the other hand, New York's in-office recovery is slightly higher than that of Los Angeles, the country's second largest city, which reported office occupancy of 48.4% last week. New York's rate also sits just above that of Philadelphia (42.1%) San Francisco (43.4%), San Jose (43.2%) and Washington D.C. (47.8%). crainsnewyork.com

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4 charged in connection with discovery of $1M in stolen merchandise at Stockton home
San Joaquin County prosecutors charged a Stockton group of four in connection with an alleged organized retail crime ring. Cesar Avalos Godinez, 52; Lucila Hernandez Gaytan, 46; Cesar Avalos Hernandez, 20; and Francisco Castro Hernandez, 24, are facing 18 charges in relation to the theft, receipt and possession of nearly $1 million in stolen retail products. Prosecutors added enhancements to the group's charges due to the value of the allegedly stolen goods, and for leading and planning the ring. Officers with Stockton's CHP office recovered the merchandise, which included clothes, shoes, power tools and more, while serving a search warrant Thursday at a home in the 400 block of Berrendo Lane. "I hope last week's arrest, and the charges just levied against the four suspects, sends a message loud and clear, that organized retail theft will not be tolerated here in San Joaquin County," District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a statement. "If you want to engage in such behavior, do so at your own risk. You will be arrested, and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law." The four are expected to appear in court Nov. 9. At the time, officials said the retail theft bust was one of the largest in the county's history.  abc10.com


Lady Lakes, FL: Repeat offender stole backpack, filled it with other Walmart merchandise
A man who's no stranger to the law in Florida was arrested again after sheriff's deputies heard a man "loaded up a gray backpack and took off running behind the liquor store." It happened Monday afternoon at the Walmart in The Villages. According to the arrest report, a loss prevention officer showed surveillance video to a deputy with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office who wrote, The footage revealed the defendant entered the store, grabbed a gray backpack, and began to fill it with unpaid merchandise from different departments within the store." And then it said he walked out, but started running when he realized he was being followed. Soon after, another deputy and a store employee found Jonathan Kirkland near a retention pond in the area. The employee confirmed Kirkland was the person "who completed the theft and fled from him. The defendant was also in possession of the stolen items." The 10 stolen items were worth $169.19, and they were recovered from the backpack. He was charged with retail theft and resisting, and his bail was set at $3,000. Kirkland, 32, has heard the Miranda warning several times. The arrest report listed convictions for grand theft on Jan. 10, 2010; and petit theft on Jan. 11, 2013, and Nov. 22, 2020. It did not say where those convictions occurred. Kirkland has had trouble in nearby Lake County in recent years. He was booked and eventually released five times since the Nov. 22, 2020, event.  fox17.com


Alpharetta, GA: Three suspects sought in $4700 theft at Avalon Nike
Alpharetta police are pursuing three suspects who allegedly stole $4,700 of merchandise from the Nike on Avalon Boulevard Oct. 20. The store manager reported one male and two female suspects entered the store around 5:15 p.m., grabbed 17 tech jackets and 19 tech pants and ran out of the store a minute later.  appenmedia.com


Chicago, IL: Venezuelan migrants accused of stealing nearly $3K in merchandise from Oak Brook Macy's
Two Venezuelan migrants now residing in Chicago are charged with stealing more than $2,800 worth of merchandise from a Macy's store in Oak Brook, according to prosecutors. Luis Mendez-Gomez, 28 and Frank Montez-Davila, 23 face felony charges of burglary and retail theft. Mendez-Gomez was also cited for misdemeanor driving without a valid driver's license. Prosecutors allege that just after 1:40 p.m. Tuesday, patrolling Oak Brook officers observed Mendez-Gomez and Montez-Davila exiting Macy's with a "happy birthday" bag and a backpack containing merchandise.  wgntv.com


Sandy, UT: Sandy Police, Attorney General's retail theft blitz nabs three
Police say a retail theft "blitz" lead to three arrests and even more solved cases. "Officers from Sandy Police in conjunction with detectives from the Attorney General's Office recently conducted a retail theft blitz," Sandy PD said on social media Wednesday. "During the blitz, officers apprehended three retail theft suspects." Subsequent questioning apparently spilled the goods on other offenses. "Officers were also able to solve numerous other cases throughout the valley because of intel obtained during interviews," Sandy PD said. One suspect was booked into jail on felony warrants and charges are to be screened for retail theft, possession of a controlled substance, and paraphernalia. The second suspect will have charges screened for retail theft with prior convictions and the third suspect will have charges screened for retail theft, possession of another's identification documents, attempted fleeing, and handicap parking violations.  gephardtdaily.com


Midland, TX: Police search for Academy Sports + Outdoors $1400 theft suspects

Kitsap County, WA: Man caught on video brazenly stealing designer purses from Silverdale Ross store