Retail Looks to Facial Recognition to Fight Crime
'The technology could become a crucial asset in identifying & deterring habitual offenders'

UK shop theft inquiry addresses use of facial recognition to combat retail crime
The Justice and Home Affairs committee has issued a call for reforms to address the rise in organized retail crime, publishing a detailed letter to the Minister for policing, crime, and fire prevention, Dame Diana Johnson MP. The Committee's findings, based on an inquiry into the surge in shop theft, highlight an unprecedented spike in large-scale theft operations that are increasingly violent and sophisticated.

The report reveals statistics which found that almost 17 million incidents of shop theft occur each year, with a minimal number resulting in arrests. As a result, these crimes have had an impact on the retail industry, with annual losses nearing £2 billion (roughly US$2.5 billion). Once viewed as a sporadic crime, shop theft has become highly organized, often tied to larger criminal networks.

In its conclusions, the committee noted the use of facial recognition tools by private companies, emphasizing that it should be paired with rigorous guidelines to safeguard privacy and civil liberties. The technology could become a crucial asset in identifying and deterring habitual offenders in retail settings, according to the committee's findings.

Lord Foster of Bath, chair of the Justice and Home Affairs Committee, says: "The scale of the shop theft problem within England and Wales is totally unacceptable and action, like that underway in the Pegasus scheme, is vital and urgent.

"There's no silver bullet. But, if adopted, the recommendations in our report should help tackle the problem and help keep the public and our economy safer."

Project Pegasus is police operation that biometrically matches CCTV images of shoplifters with those in a national police database. Supported by the country's largest retailers, the biometric identification scheme was introduced in September of last year. biometricupdate.com


The Anti-Crime Election
What some state and local results say about the future of public safety in America
As the dust settles on an historic election night, we'll have no shortage of explanations for how President-elect Donald J. Trump prevailed over Vice President Kamala D. Harris. But few observers have yet focused on how several local election outcomes will make 2024 the "anti-crime election"-one for which many Americans have longed for about a decade.

Start with California: one of the most closely followed ballot initiatives in the Golden State was Proposition 36, which looked to counter a 2014 initiative, Prop. 47, that had raised the threshold for felony theft to $950 and converted many felony drug offenses to misdemeanors. A decade later, the architects of Prop. 36 sought to put a modest but meaningful rollback of Prop. 47 on the ballot, allowing prosecutors to bring felony theft charges when the perpetrator is a repeat offender, increasing sentences for mass thefts, and requiring that certain sentences be served in state prisons rather than in county jails. Prop. 36 passed by a massive margin.

In Los Angeles, "progressive" prosecutor George Gascón, who succeeded Kamala Harris as San Francisco district attorney before becoming the lead prosecutor in L.A., lost his reelection bid to Nathan Hochman, who ran on a law-and-order platform. Anti-crime voter sentiment also made its way north to the Bay Area, where voters had already recalled former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022. As of this writing, Boudin's replacement, Brooke Jenkins, seems poised to win election to a full term. In Alameda County (home to Oakland), District Attorney Pamela Price and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao appear likely to lose their respective recall elections. Like Boudin and Gascón, Price and Thao positioned themselves as criminal-justice reformers, keen to shrink the footprint of the justice system.

The progressive prosecutor movement took some hits outside of California, too. In Tampa, Florida Democrat Andrew Warren, suspended by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022 for his non-prosecution policies, lost his reelection bid against Republican State's Attorney Susan Lopez. In Athens, Georgia-where the murder of Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant earlier this year stoked outrage-Kalki Yalamanchili won a landslide victory over incumbent District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, who was elected on a reformist platform. In Phoenix, Tamika Wooten, who ran on pushing alternatives to incarceration and restorative justice, lost her bid to oust incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, a Republican. Law-and-order prosecutors also won in Macomb County, Michigan, and Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

One of the key takeaways of the 2024 election cycle may be that voters have learned a key lesson from recent history. When it came to progressive policies, they went along to get along-until the results hit them, hard and fast. city-journal.org


Bipartisan Push to Fight ORC & Freight Fraud
Election 2024: US lawmakers who support initiatives to fight freight fraud

Bills introduced recently aim to tackle rise in freight fraud and organized retail crime

Two key bills, the Safeguarding Our Supply Chains Act and the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2023 (CORCA), showcase the federal push to protect domestic supply chains from both theft and fraud.

Here's a look at the specifics of the bills, their primary sponsors and co-sponsors, and which lawmakers will still be in office to support the initiatives in the coming legislative cycle following the 2024 elections.

Safeguarding Our Supply Chains Act

Introduced by Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., the Safeguarding Our Supply Chains Act addresses the rise in organized theft targeting critical freight networks across the U.S.

This bill seeks to establish a Supply Chain Fraud and Theft Task Force under the joint authority of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI. With a proposed $100 million in funding, the task force is dedicated to coordinating law enforcement efforts at both the federal and local levels to counter organized theft and fraud along freight networks, which include rail, motor carrier and intermodal systems. The focus of this task force is emphasized by a recent CargoNet study that found a 14% increase in cargo theft events across the U.S. and Canada in Q3 2024 compared to Q3 2023.

Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2023
 
CORCA is another bipartisan bill designed to address the escalating problem of organized retail crime. Sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and co-sponsored by a bipartisan coalition of senators, CORCA aims to equip federal law enforcement with resources to collaborate with local authorities to dismantle complex retail crime rings. These criminal organizations often engage in elaborate schemes involving cargo theft and e-commerce fraud.

The Safeguarding Our Supply Chains Act and CORCA are strong indicators of a bipartisan commitment to tackling crime affecting U.S. supply chains. With key sponsors and co-sponsors remaining in office, they are positioned to play vital roles in U.S. supply chain security initiatives. freightwaves.com


Will Prop 36 Reduce Retail Theft?
California passed its anti-shoplifting legislation, but will it actually help retailers?
Proponents of the proposition have pointed to the narrative that has taken hold in retail over the last year: that an unprecedented wave of petty crime was significantly eating into businesses' bottom line.

Whether that's actually true is murkier. While last year some cities like New York and Los Angeles have seen an increase in larceny offenses, which include both petty shoplifting and organized retail crime, most cities have seen a decline. That includes San Francisco, where larceny offenses fell by 5%, despite the city's status as a poster child for rampant petty crime. Additionally, larceny offenses, in general, have fallen significantly over the last 30 years, dropping by more than 50% since 1990.

Still, retailers' reactions to shoplifting have become increasingly apparent to consumers.

"All consumers have experienced this impact," said Juan Pellerano, CMO of the retail tech company Swap. "Try walking into a CVS without needing assistance to unlock basics like toothpaste or deodorant."

But Pellerano said it's unclear if the proposition will significantly reduce theft. Instead, he said, a broader police presence in shopping districts would likely have a more immediate effect on crime rates than increased punishments.

Opponents of the proposition argue that Prop 36 will take more public money away from other programs and funnel more people into the state's prison system, all while doing little to make California safer. The ACLU, which opposed the proposition, will "work to prevent Proposition 36 from becoming a tool or an excuse to dismantle decades of progress on criminal justice reform and common-sense public safety policies that the ACLU has long pursued," stated Abdi Soltani, executive director of the ACLU of Northern California, in a press statement on Wednesday morning.

"The broad coalition of organizations that opposed Prop 36, including business, labor, teachers, law enforcement and front-line healthcare workers, will continue to advocate for smart and effective criminal justice reform and public safety solutions that work for all communities," Soltani said. modernretail.co


More Coverage of CA's Prop 36 Victory
California Voters Get Tougher On Crime

Prop 36, a ballot measure that will toughen penalties for retail theft and drug crime, was approved by voters Tuesday

A ballot measure known as Prop 36, which will make certain drug and theft crimes a felony, which came in response to a massive uptick in retail theft, was overwhelmingly passed by California voters on Tuesday.

The proposition, which won the support of roughly 70% of voters as of late Tuesday night, will force a change to the California criminal code that has led to misdemeanor offenses for shoplifting crimes where the stolen value was under. With the passing of Prop 36, those crimes for repeat offenders will be considered felonies. Proponents of the measure say it will also address homelessness and fentanyl deaths by sentencing dealers to longer prison sentences and creating a court-mandated drug treatment system for people struggling with addiction.

California judges also will now be required to warn fentanyl dealers that they can be charged with murder if someone dies from drugs they dealt.

This year Los Angeles was besieged with smash-and-grab crimes and home invasions that saw burglaries at the homes of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Marlon Wayans, and a slew of other celebrities. Retail theft saw such an alarming rise that local law enforcement partnered with federal prosecutors in an effort to root out organized gangs.

Leaders in several of California's other big cities - San Francisco Mayor London Breed, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria - publicly supported the measure as a way to combat crime. However, Mayor Karen Bass declined to discuss the measure or show any public support with her commentary. lamag.com


Walmart tries a new approach to combat retail theft
The company is rolling out the test to employees first, but may extend mobile unlocking to Walmart+ loyalty members.

Republicans press FBI to explain process for updating crime statistics

Are FBI Crime Statistics Reliable?
 

Nashville, TN: Suspects accused of robbing $1.7 million from jewelry store booked in Metro Jail
The suspects involved in the armed robbery of a jewelry store have been booked in the Metro Jail, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. Orlando Valdes Hernandez, 34, and Milleni Garcia, 38, were accused of robbing $1.7 million in jewelry from Dubai Jewelry on Nolensville Pike in October. The two were arrested by police in Miami on Oct. 27. Police recovered jewelry, cash and a wig. Hernandez and Garcia were returned to Nashville from Miami on Tuesday. Hernandez was booked on a $450,000 bond and Garcia was booked on a $330,000 bond. Metro Police said detectives are still working to develop information on the 3rd accomplice in the robbery.  wsmv.com


Miami-Dade, FL: Woman accused of raking in $110K by stealing credit cards, selling stolen goods online
Police arrested a northwest Miami-Dade woman on nine felony charges on Tuesday after they accused her of stealing victims' credit cards, using them to buy more than $100,000 worth of items and then selling the items online. Jania Selena Saunders, a 27-year-old resident of the county's Brownsville area, is accused of committing the financial crime spree while on probation for uttering forged bills and third-degree grand theft. According to an arrest report, Saunders targeted cards issued by Synchrony Bank, which issues branded credit cards for retailers including Lowe's, BrandsMart USA, City Furniture and Harbor Freight. Police said Saunders stole mailed credit cards intended for victims in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, as well as one in Kentucky. They didn't specify in the report how they believe she was able to intercept them. Authorities said Saunders was seen on surveillance video at various retailers - including Lowe's locations in North Miami Beach and Sunrise, a Harbor Freight store in Florida City and a BrandsMart USA near Dadeland Mall - using the stolen cards to buy goods. In another case, police said Saunders used a dead person's identity to claim their BrandsMart USA credit card and to apply for and receive an Amazon account.  local10.com


Washington, DC: Smash-and-grab robbery at DC sunglasses store caught on camera
An employee at a Georgetown Optician's store is speaking out exclusively with FOX 5's Shomari Stone after a masked thief stole over $30,000 worth of Cartier eyeglasses in a daring midday robbery last month. The brazen heist, which took place at Georgetown Optician on Wisconsin Avenue NW, left the employee shaken and temporarily injured from a fire extinguisher attack used to distract her. D.C. police have released surveillance footage showing the suspect, dressed in a red hooded sweatshirt, mask, dark pants, green shoes, and dark sunglasses, entering the store around 12:30 p.m.   fox5dc.com


Los Angeles, CA: Update: LA Man Found Guilty in BevMo Robbery Spree That Targeted Pasadena Store in Conspiracy
A Los Angeles man who conspired to rob a Pasadena BevMo store and pulled off successful heists at other Southern California locations faces federal sentencing Thursday on a Hobbs Act charge of interference with commerce by robbery. Anthony Flores, 28, was convicted in July following a three-day trial in downtown Los Angeles. Beginning in May 2023, Flores and co-defendant Ivin Kitu Sanford, 32, robbed BevMo locations in Long Beach and Lakewood, stealing high-end liquor stored behind security glass and threatening employees with violence. The duo then sold the stolen merchandise on Instagram, evidence showed. At the Long Beach location, Flores stole approximately $2,604 worth of liquor, while escaping with around $800 worth from the Lakewood store. Federal prosecutors proved Flores also conspired to target additional stores in Pasadena and West Covina.  pasadenanow.com


York County, PA: Burglar steals sports cards worth $14K from York County store

Sugar Land, TX: Eyewear Theft suspects arrested after Sugar Land police chase reportedly stole $5K in merchandise

Toronto, Canada: Two Toronto Car Salesmen Arrested in $2.18M Stolen Car Scam