'Ram Raiding': The New Crime Trend Crashing Through Retail Doors
WSJ: Brazen Burglars Are Crashing Vehicles Into Stores

West Coast, with more lenient law-enforcement policies, has been hard hit, current and former officials say

OAKLAND, Calif.-A new crime trend is crashing, quite literally, into American retailers. Burglars are using stolen vehicles to barge through storefronts and then loot ATMs, guns and other valuables inside.

Known as "ram raiding," the tactic is creating fresh headaches for retailers, who have already been under siege from organized retail-theft rings in many parts of the country.

The battering rams of choice are often stolen Hyundais and Kias, officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said. Those cars have become targets of criminals nationwide because they lack certain antitheft technology and are relatively easy to steal, police have said.

The attacks have been most concentrated on the West Coast.

Statistics aren't compiled for ram-raiding cases, but local and federal law-enforcement officials say they have seen a sharp uptick since the Covid-19 pandemic amid an overall rise in property crime.

"This is something ATF is watching nationwide," said John Ham, an ATF spokesman in Kansas City, Mo. "It's in the news more because it's happening more."

Nonresidential burglaries jumped 11.7% between 2019 and 2022, while motor-vehicle thefts soared 67.5% over that time, according to an analysis of federal crime data in major cities by the Council on Criminal Justice, a think tank.

California has been among the hardest hit because policies in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd killing have left many law-enforcement agencies understaffed, with new restrictions on pursuing criminals, Dudley said.

"I think what we're seeing is what you would expect when there has not been sufficient enforcement of our laws," Jenkins, who succeeded a progressive district attorney after a recall election last year, said. "But the days of the toleration of lawlessness here are over." wsj.com


Washington Post Editorial Says Prosecution is the Solution to Retail Crime
Opinion: How do you fight shoplifting? Not by locking down everything in CVS.
The CVS at 14th and Irving in D.C. symbolizes extreme retail theft and the harms it can engender. Distressing and inconvenient to ordinary people, threatening to businesses and livelihoods, and repellent to tourists, unchecked shoplifting can corrode a community's spirit.

It's happening in the nation's capital. The D.C. police department does not track shoplifting specifically but reports that theft in general is up 22 percent over last year.

The District ranks behind all but one state for retail theft, according to a new Forbes Advisor survey of small businesses. The situation in D.C. is emblematic of a national experience. The National Retail Federation recently reported a "dramatic jump" in stores' financial losses between 2021 and 2022 - from $93.9 billion to $112.1 billion.

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has proposed a new felony of "directing organized retail theft" with a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. It's smart to target ringleaders. Ms. Bowser has also proposed that prosecutors be allowed to charge thieves with a felony if they steal 10 or more times in a 30-day period. It's another wise deterrent.

A better legal framework won't help much if it's not aggressively enforced, though. Even if police do make an arrest, it often does not lead to prosecution.

Seattle, one of the cities where CCJ found that shoplifting is lower now than it was five years ago, offers a good model. The city identified more than 160 "high utilizers" responsible for the vast majority of recent misdemeanors such as shoplifting. Police were able to put these individuals in jail when they were caught. To deter others, Seattle police conduct surprise one-day crackdowns that lead to about 50 arrests each.

The District and other cities need to get smarter about how they attack this crime. Otherwise, even more retail stores might find themselves going back to the U.S.S.R. washingtonpost.com


RetailWire Highlights Shoplifting Study of 24 U.S. Cities
'Escalating concern' over theft in urban centers

Retail Theft Has Increased in Some Cities and Decreased in Others
Shoplifting and retail theft have seen a rise in some cities while falling in others. Data from the Council on Criminal Justice, which analyzed incidents of shoplifting in 24 cities over the last five years, shows a marked decline in many cities post-pandemic. The report highlights key regional trends: New York and Los Angeles had the largest increase in reported shoplifting incidents from mid-2019 to mid-2023, while St. Petersburg and St. Paul marked the largest decreases in the same period.

Collecting data on shoplifting incidents remains a challenge due to self-reporting, which leads to an underrepresentation of the true number of incidents. This, in turn, makes it difficult to analyze crime trends and influences shoplifting trends.

The data suggests a geographical divide when it comes to shoplifting incidents. Two of America's largest cities, New York and Los Angeles, experienced a significant increase in reported shoplifting incidents compared to the other 22 cities studied. This highlights an escalating concern for retailers in these urban centers, prompting a reevaluation of security measures to mitigate these losses.

The picture was quite different in certain other cities, however. The reasons behind the decline in shoplifting incidents in St. Petersburg and St. Paul are varied, ranging from effective law enforcement strategies and community engagement programs to changes in local retail practices. Yet, it provides an encouraging sign that, in some areas, progress is being made in the battle against shoplifting. retailwire.com

   Read more about this study in the November 8th edition of the D&D Daily


Crisis or Not, Federal ORC Legislation is Needed
Opinion: Debunking the myth of a shoplifting crisis
Government data doesn't show that retail theft is actually increasing. According to The Marshall Project, around 40% of law enforcement agencies (over 6,000) did not report their most recent crime data to the FBI at the time these stories started circulating. Also, police departments often do not distinguish retail theft from other kinds of robberies and larceny.

And in the instance of the recent Target closures, data journalists have shown that where there is data available, in three of the locations slated for closure (in East Harlem, San Francisco, and Seattle), there were fewer reported incidents of shoplifting in and around those stores than other stores that are not slated for closure.

Everyone deserves to feel safe in their communities. Store workers should not be in situations that could potentially escalate to violence.

Local businesses are the lifeline to communities and should be able to thrive. That's why we need more transparency, public data and legislative solutions, such as The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, backed by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and its House companion bill. We also need more responsible reporting practices.

Many of these numbers and narratives track back to anecdotal videos, unverified eyewitness testimony or fuzzy numbers given by executives on shareholder calls. robesonian.com


NYC Cutting Thousands of Police & Now Chicago Not Filling 1,500

Chicagoans Want Larger Police Presence in City - Currently Down 1,500
2 in 3 Chicagoans disapprove of Mayor Brandon Johnson on crime & Just 25% of Democrats approve
The poll of 800 Chicago voters was conducted Oct. 18-22 for the Illinois Policy Institute by Echelon Insights. Asked how they thought Johnson was doing handling crime and public safety, 66% somewhat or strongly disapproved and 21% somewhat or strongly approved, according to the newest Lincoln Poll.

Voters were also asked if they would like to see a larger or smaller police presence in the city than at present. Nearly 3 in 4 voters, or 73%, said they would prefer a larger police presence in the city.

Chicago Police Department vacancies have hovered around 1,000 open positions for the past few years, and are 1,700 fewer than when former Mayor Lori Lightfoot took office. Johnson's latest budget for the city includes nearly $2 billion for the CPD, but he's also said about 400 positions would be filled by civilians.

No plans have been heard for filling the current 1,500 openings. cbsnews.com  illinoispolice.org


NYPD to have only 29K cops by 2025 due to new NYC budget cuts
Roughly 4,500 officers are expected to leave their ranks within the next 18 months. It had been at around 34,000.

"This is truly a disaster for every New Yorker who cares about safe streets. Cops are already stretched to our breaking point, and these cuts will return us to staffing levels we haven't seen since the crime epidemic of the '80s and '90s. We cannot go back there," Police Benevolent Association president, Patrick Hendry, told The Post. nypost.com


DOJ: 4 PA Men Charged Burglarizing 55 UPS Warehouses Across U.S. for $1.6M
Four Pennsylvania men have been charged for allegedly burglarizing 55 UPS warehouses on the East Coast, taking roughly $1.6 million worth of merchandise.

The four men, Aboudramane Karamoko, 20, Sekou Fofanah, 20, Shamaire Brown, 19, and Quamaire Brown, 19, all of Philadelphia, were charged and detained. Karamoko was arrested in State College on Nov. 15, while the others were taken into custody in Philadelphia on Nov. 16, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

According to court documents, the four, along with others currently unnamed, conspired to commit these burglaries from January 2021 to April 2023. They involved UPS warehouses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and as far west as Indiana.

The men allegedly targeted a UPS facility and entered by breaking a window - usually late Saturday nights into Sunday mornings. Once inside, the men would look for boxes marked with "lithium-ion battery" warnings, which indicate high-value electronics.

The team would escape as police arrived at the facility. The packages typically contained Apple products or other electronic devices, however, on at least one occasion, they also stole a firearm from a UPS warehouse.

The four were charged in the District of New Jersey with one count of conspiracy to commit cargo theft. The charge comes with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of money involved in the offense, whichever is greater. justice.gov


New 'Police Surveillance Network' to Fight Crime
San Diego approves $12M for 500 cameras equipped with LPR tech

Investigators will not monitor the network in real time but instead review the footage and data collected after serious crimes or incidents occur

After months of deliberation, and at times controversy, San Diego's City Council on Tuesday gave its final approval to a police surveillance network that will cost $12 million over the next five years.

The network, made up of 500 cameras equipped with license plate reader technology, could be placed across San Diego - from Rancho Bernardo in the north to San Ysidro in the south - as early as January.

Police officials - who have touted the technology as a crime-fighting tool and a force multiplier - say the cameras will be installed in public places where there is no expectation of privacy. Investigators will not monitor the network in real time but instead review the footage and data collected after serious crimes or incidents occur. police1.com


Nashville mayor, MNPD considering options to stop organized retail crime

Arguments center on social media in Buffalo mass shooting civil case

Retail Trade Impacted by Workplace Injuries & Illnesses
Bureau of Labor Statistics Reports 7.5% Spike in Occupational Injuries, Illnesses
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 7.5 percent increase in occupational injuries and illnesses last year while the overall rate remained unchanged; injuries grew proportionally with the growth of the workforce.

This increase is driven by the rise in both injuries, up 4.5% to 2.3 million cases, and illnesses up 26.1% to 460,700 cases.

Severe Injury Reports

Our new Seven-Year Lookback Report summarizes work-related severe injuries such as amputations and inpatient hospitalizations reported from employers covered under federal OSHA from 2015 to 2021.

As the chart below shows, the retail trade was the second highest sector impacted by non-fatal work injuries and illness in 2022  osha.gov

Retailers Continue to Tweak Self-Checkouts
Target is testing a new self-checkout policy
Target is testing a new self-checkout policy as retailers are finding that cashier-less technology can put off customers. At a handful of stores, Target has restricted self-checkout to customers buying 10 items or fewer. Customers buying more than that are required to use full-service lanes with cashiers.

A Target spokesperson said the test was designed to shorten wait times and "better understand" shoppers' preferences. "Our guests tell us they enjoy interacting with our team," Target Chief Operating Officer John Mulligan said on a call with analysts Tuesday about the changes. The company has "refocused" its checkout areas and has since seen a 6% increase in customers using full-service cashier lanes across its stores.

Target and other retailers have expanded self-checkout machines in recent years. Self-checkout was designed to help companies save on labor costs and speed up checkout for shoppers. But the promise of self-checkout hasn't always played out.

Self-checkout machines sometimes break. Customers often face errors and glitches when scanning items, requiring employees to come over and assist them. This erases potential labor savings and makes self-checkout slower, in some cases, than full-service checkout - the problem it was supposed to resolve. wbaltv.com


Retailers Continue to Face Union Pushback
REI vows to fight union allegations, puncturing its progressive reputation

Unionized store workers this week filed 80 unfair labor practice charges against the outdoor retailer, alleging bad faith bargaining and retaliation.

REI workers affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union this week filed 80 unfair labor practice charges against the outdoor retailer.

Workers from all eight unionized REI locations filed charges with their regional NLRB offices, according to a joint press release from the unions. The move follows a formal complaint to the National Labor Relations Board and walkouts by REI store workers in October.

"REI disagrees with the union's contentions and will continue to fight their allegations," REI Spokesperson Natalie Stotss said in an emailed statement. "We are committed and engaged in good-faith bargaining with stores that have chosen union representation and will continue to participate fully in the negotiating process."  retaildive.com


Another Big City Struggles to Mount Retail Comeback
Downtown Seattle's retail recovery - or lack thereof - by the numbers
Despite an influx of visitors and an uptick in sales this summer, downtown Seattle's retail scene has not bounced back to its pre-pandemic norm.

Retail occupancy in the downtown area was at nearly 100% from 2019 to 2020. As the pandemic set in, occupancy rates dropped by 10% and have basically been stuck there ever since. At the end of September, retail occupancy in the downtown area, at 90%, had not changed in more than a year.

The number of new retail business licenses issued has fallen precipitously as well, dropping by more than half over the past three years. In the summer of 2019, the city issued over 540 new business licenses in the downtown area; this past summer, it issued 270 licenses.

But total foot traffic is still nearly 20% lighter than before the pandemic and, despite visitors' return, the average duration of a visit to the downtown area remains more than an hour shorter than in 2019. Worker foot traffic remains 40% lower than in 2019. seattletimes.com


'Lack of Security' at Waffle House Locations
Security a Top Concern for Waffle House Workers
Waffle House workers 'fed up' with paying for food they don't even eat: 'We're sick and tired'
Employees at the Southern dine-in chain see a sizeable chunk of change removed from their paychecks each week for food consumed - even if they didn't eat it, reported The Messenger. Now, "fed up" workers are rallying in picket lines, and 13,000 signed petitions to push Waffle House to hold the charge.

They're also looking for other guarantees regarding higher wages and better safety protocols amid vicious customer brawls at the eatery that have been widely reported in recent years.

"We're sick and tired of making poverty wages, the constant threat of in-store violence, and mandatory meal deductions - whether we eat a meal or not while on a shift."

Smith also said the food charge makes it harder for her to afford the food she actually eats and that, paired with a lack of security, has her fuming. nypost.com


Remote Work Readiness is Key
Your Company Will Need Remote Work as Extreme Weather Gets Worse
Remote-work-readiness is an important form of flexibility that companies need to consider. The Covid-19 pandemic made this clear, but research shows that it is true of other forms of unexpected disruptions, too. Extreme weather events are harder on companies that aren't able or prepared to work from home. As those events become more frequent, the ability to work remotely will become more important. hbr.org


Walgreens to close nearly all pharmacies on Thanksgiving for first time

Thanksgiving Store Hours 2023: Which Stores Are Open This Year?
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Interesting Job:
Director of Protective Intelligence job posted for American Express in New York, NY
Reporting to the Vice President of Cybercrime Investigations and Protective Research, the Director of Protective Intelligence will lead and participate in gathering, analyzing, producing, and disseminating actionable intelligence for informed decision making across Global Security, executive leadership, and the enterprise. Critical skills include fostering relationships with key stakeholders and providing awareness, indications, warnings, and operational readiness. aexp.eightfold.ai
 

Last week's #1 article --

The Fight Against ORC Can Be Won in the Parking Lot
Don't forget parking lots when preventing theft

By Matt Kelley, Head of Retail at LiveView Technologies

Organized retail crime (ORC) has entered a new era that threatens retailers' best attempts to keep their employees safe and customers coming back.

Retail security measures can no longer depend on person-to-person defensive shrink strategies. To combat this ever-increasing challenge, retailers must get proactive across all five zones of retail influence. Zone 4 in particular, the parking lot and surrounding areas, is especially important for stopping ORC.

Understanding the five zones of retail influence

The five zones, as defined by the Loss Prevention Research Council, spotlight concentric zones that offenders must cross to steal merchandise. Security professionals should develop proactive plays within each zone to deter criminals instead of reactive attempts to stop a crime already in progress.  securitymagazine.com

Retailers Under Fire for Use of Private Customer Data

T-Mobile Facing Another Customer Data Lawsuit
T-Mobile faces a lawsuit after an employee sent himself nude photos he found on a customer's phone

T-Mobile facing another lawsuit over allegations that it failed to protect customer data.

T-Mobile is facing legal action for failing to protect a customer's private data after one of their employees found and stole nude photos from her iPhone when she came to upgrade an old device, CNBC reported.

The incident occurred last October at a T-Mobile store in the Columbia Center Mall in southern Washington.

The victim's identity is anonymous in the complaint. She states in the lawsuit that she had gone to the store to upgrade her iPhone and have data from the old device wiped. But on checking her Snapchat account that evening, she realized that nude photos and a video of her and her partner having sex had been sent to an unknown account without her consent.

Police traced the account to the employee at the store who had handled her phone earlier that day.

T-Mobile have said that the man was not employed by them, but was a third-party retailer employee.

But the lawsuit states that as she tried to investigate what had happened and tried to get her phone back, T-Mobile denied that any trade-ins had taken place that day and told her she would need to pay to get the old device back.

The employee pled guilty last month to charges of first-degree computer trespass and disclosing intimate images.

But now T-Mobile is also being sued by the victim for "turning a blind eye" to employees that exploit their access to customer's sensitive data and failing to train them adequately. businessinsider.com


'Unlawful' Use of Customer Data?
Kroger faces class action lawsuit over illegally sharing data

The suit alleges the retailer unlawfully released user health information

Kroger is facing a class action lawsuit which alleges that the retailer unlawfully released the protected health information of online pharmacy patients to unauthorized third parties, including to Facebook's parent company, Meta.

The suit, which was filed on Nov. 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleges that unbeknownst to patients, Kroger installed tracking tools on its website, Kroger.com, which then resulted in information around patient prescriptions to be unknowingly shared.

The suit states that both the plaintiff, an anonymous Jane Doe, as well as the class members are seeking up to $10,000 in damages.

Kroger did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication of this story.

A similar lawsuit was filed against Costco in October. That suit, which is still pending, also alleges that the wholesale retailer inappropriately shared customer health information with Meta. supermarketnews.com


'Building a Resilient Incident Response Team'
Detection & Response That Scales: A 4-Pronged Approach

Building a resilient incident response team requires more than a simple combination of tools and on-call rotations.

Combating modern attackers demands a robust and comprehensive detection and response program, yet challenges such as alert fatigue, costly tools, talent acquisition difficulties, and an overworked team hinder progress.

At this year's Black Hat Europe, Allyn Stott, senior staff engineer with Airbnb, will discuss how a proper framework can help IT security leaders develop the essential capabilities of a modern program amid the relentless surge of incidents and demanding schedules.

From Reactive to Proactive

"Historically, detection and response programs have been very reactive, focused on alerts that indicate something bad has already happened," Stott explains. "You want to be more on the proactive side and not just doing threat hunting but adopting a philosophy for detection that focuses on detecting threats as early in an attack as possible."

He adds with many legacy systems, the focus often lies on technology tools and vendors, as opposed to capabilities the security team has, and points out many of these systems are completely siloed off from the rest of the organization.

One of his favorite things about being in detection response is that there is an automatic way to get other stakeholder teams involved with the core security team because at some point the organization will experience a security incident.  darkreading.com


Shadowy Hack-for-Hire Group Behind Sprawling Web of Global Cyberattacks
 
Why cyber war readiness is critical for democracies