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Weaving Radio-Emitting Threads Into Clothing to Stop Theft
Retailers Weigh Putting Radio-Emitting Threads Into Clothes to Curb Thefts

A conductive ink that emits radio signals is drawing interest from merchants like Zara, eager to outsmart thieves.

To stop shoplifting, merchants have tried everything from adding more guards and cameras to placing products under lock and key to deploying new security tags attached to garments. Still, theft-which can be due to both outsiders and employees-resulted in an estimated $73 billion in lost sales for retailers in the US alone in 2022, according to the latest survey released by the National Retail Federation. In the UK, losses from store thefts doubled in 2023, to £3.3 billion ($4.3 billion), from the previous year, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Now retailers are considering something new: weaving radio-emitting threads into some clothing, turning the garments themselves into anti-theft devices.

Zara owner Inditex SA, the world's biggest publicly held clothing retailer, is among those who have studied the change. The retail giant in Arteixo, Spain, has talked with a small Spanish technology company, Myruns, and telecommunications operator Telefónica SA about the possible application of a system based on an anti-theft alarm product so thin it's imperceptible to the naked eye, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing private information. An Inditex spokesman says the company does not plan to carry out in-store tests of the technology.

Retailers around the world are grappling with ways to cut losses from so-called inventory shrink, which drew global attention in the years after the pandemic when companies blamed rampant theft for disappointing sales, and videos of "smash and grab" incidents of flash mobs storming stores went viral.

The technology from Myruns, in San Sebastian, Spain, may be just one of the efforts to curb thefts that have been studied by Inditex, which declined to comment on specific projects. Myruns' product, which one of the people says is five times thinner than a human hair, or about a thousandth of an inch, uses a conductive ink derived from cellulose to transmit signals. It can set off alarms if someone walks out of a shop with items whose woven-in tags haven't been deactivated, according to the people. The novel ink replaces aluminum, the main material used in most alarms. That would mean retailers wouldn't need to rely on the metal for alarms, making the devices potentially biodegradable and supporting the garments' recyclability. bloomberg.com


U.S. Retailers Have Holiday Safety Fears
Understaffing, lack of anti-theft technology leading to worker fear about holidays
With retail crime rising in recent years, many U.S. retail workers are apprehensive about the holiday shopping season.

According to Motorola Solutions' second-annual U.S. Retail Worker Safety Report, a majority of American retail workers (57%) report feeling unsafe going into the peak holiday shopping season. Many retail managers and staff surveyed said they have experienced increases in various forms of crime in their stores in the past year, with petty theft (66%), grab and runs (48%) and hostile customer interactions (46%) being reported by many. One-in-10 retail workers surveyed also said they have experienced physical attacks from customers.

Motorola Solutions' data shows that over 65% of retail workers said they expect to be understaffed this holiday season, which will impact how safe they feel going into peak shopping. More than two-thirds of respondents (68%) who expect their stores to be understaffed said they don't feel safe because of it, and 50% said they are concerned for the safety of their shoppers.

The survey also found that retailers are making more calls to first responders. More than 20% of those surveyed said public safety personnel such as police, EMS and fire are being called to their stores at least once per week, an increase of 16% over 2023. Emergency personnel are called to stores two-to-three times per month for 17% of respondents.

In terms of solutions for retail crime, respondents pointed to access control systems (35%), license plate readers (32%), panic buttons (32%) and body cameras (20%) as measures that make them feel safer. However, few retail workers reported having those security measures in place. Of those surveyed, 12% said they have access control systems, 9% have panic buttons, 7% have license plate readers and 6% are using body cameras. A majority of respondents said that their stores have more traditional security systems in place, such as video security systems (79%) and alarm systems (59%). chainstoreage.com


56% of UK Retailer Workers Witnessed Theft
U.K. Retail Workers Cite Increased Safety Concerns Ahead of Holiday Shopping Season as One in Four Consider Quitting their Job

Independent report from Motorola Solutions reveals retail workers' desires for enhanced safety and security measures to help keep them safer at work

Motorola Solutions released a U.K. Retail Worker Safety Report based on a YouGov survey of over 1,000 retail workers, highlighting significant safety concerns ahead of the holiday season. The survey reveals that 56% of workers witnessed petty theft, 31% encountered organized crime rings, and 50% experienced hostile customer interactions in the past year.

Four in ten workers express concern for their personal safety during the festive shopping season, with almost half feeling less safe during evening shifts. The report emphasizes the role of technology in enhancing safety, with 28% of workers favoring panic buttons, while 70% believe body cameras effectively de-escalate dangerous situations.

Retail workers in the U.K. are increasingly becoming the victims of violent crime and are concerned for their personal safety during the holiday shopping season, according to Motorola Solutions' U.K. Retail Worker Safety Report. The survey of over 1,000 retail workers sheds further light on the extent to which theft, organised crime and in-store violence are occurring on the country's high streets.

Market research company YouGov conducted the U.K. survey in October 2024 to gauge retail workers' perspectives about safety and workplace security measures. The results show that security technologies - panic buttons that help workers notify colleagues for backup and systems that allow them to quickly connect with supervisors, lock doors and review real-time video of unfolding incidents - make people feel safer at work. Similar independent surveys were conducted in the U.S. and in Australia and New Zealand, countries also dealing with high retail crime rates.  stocktitan.net
 

Butte County, Calif. overwhelmingly supports Prop 36 to toughen penalties on crime

New Haven, CT: Police launch task force to address surging auto theft
 

Washington, DC: Update: Robber steals over $30,000 worth of glasses and attacks security guard with fire extinguisher
D.C. Police are searching for the person who attacked a security guard at an optical store and stole more than $30,000 worth of glasses. On Oct. 9, police were called to the Georgetown Optician just before 1 p.m. for reports of a robbery. According to a preliminary investigation, the suspect ran into the store and sprayed the security guard in the face with a fire extinguisher. The robber then ran inside, still spraying the extinguisher throughout the store and at other employees. Once inside, the robber broke open the glass doors and stole 20 pairs of glasses, stuffing them inside a bag before running out of the store. Police say, the robber was last seen running down the 3200 block of N Street, N.W., and got inside of a dark sedan. Surveillance video shows the robber wearing a gray ski mask, red hoodie, black pants, and green crocs. No further details have been released regarding this robbery.   wusa9.com


Aspen, CO: Downtown Aspen luxury store hit in coordinated burglary
A group of five men equipped with blowtorches, saws, drills, hammers and crowbars in the wee hours of Monday morning broke into a downtown store that sells luxury watches and jewelry but were spooked away when Aspen police arrived in response to a burglary alarm. That's according to an account provided by a store manager at Avi & Co. at 602 E. Cooper Ave. on Monday afternoon. The manager said he responded to the store around 1:30 a.m. after the alarm activated. Based on his reviewing of surveillance footage in the shop and an inspection of the premises, the manager said, "Nothing in the vault was touched, but I'm still ascertaining what's missing in the cabinets. We have gift boxes, travel cases, some accessories like hats, but nothing as valuable as what's in the vault." Linn said APD is using "a lot of resources" to investigate the incident, a coordinated burglary. The suspects disabled the store's motion sensors by spraypainting them, cut off the building's electricity and returned to the scene of the crime roughly an hour after the police left the scene, the manager said.   aspendailynews.com


Woodbury, NY: 6 Men Break Into Nassau Store By Cutting Roof
Six people were arrested and charged for a burglary last week at a Woodbury business, Nassau police said. The six men entered Florique Florists on Jericho Turnpike during the overnight hours on Thursday by cutting through the roof, police said. Once inside, they cut a hole through an interior wall that connected to an adjacent shop, Elegant Jewelers, authorities said. They left the jewelry store without removing any merchandise and fled in a dark grey Dodge Durango, police said. After a thorough investigation, the men were located at a residence in Huntington and were placed under arrest, police said.  patch.com


Windsor, ON, Canada: Thieves steal $75,000 worth of apparel from east Windsor sports store
A pair of thieves ripped the door of an east Windsor sports apparel store on Monday morning, leaving the store owner on the hook for thousands in stolen merchandise. Bob Reaume, the owner of Bob Reaume Sports on Tecumseh Road East, told CTV News he received a call from his security company around 5:45 a.m., stating that their alarm had been triggered. In its more than 40 years in business, Reaume said the store has experienced theft, but he feels this instance was planned. "This was not a couple of kids looking to smash and grab type of thing. This was pretty well organized," Reaume said.  windsor.ctvnews.ca


Walnut Creek, CA: 15 Arrested for Retail Theft in Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek

Logan, UT: $1000 Walmart theft call turns into a police pursuit and SWAT response