Philly Police Predict 20% Surge in Retail Crime This Holiday Season
Macy's deadly stabbing has city officials focusing on holiday retail crime

Philadelphia dealing with retail crime during "high holdup" season
Macy's reopened Wednesday, two days after a stabbing inside the iconic Center City store killed a security guard and critically injured a colleague.

Why it matters: Officials say violent crime and homicides are overall down this year. But Philadelphia has seen a steady rise in retail theft in recent years, an Axios analysis shows.

Driving the news: The suspect in the stabbing faces multiple charges, including murder, attempted murder and retail theft, prosecutors said at a news conference Tuesday.

The big picture: The stabbing comes as Philadelphia law enforcement officials look to combat an overall increase in retail crime - and a projected 20% uptick in these crimes during the 2023 holiday season, per an analysis of police data.

By the numbers: Citywide retail thefts rose more than 50% in 2022, up to 14,255 from 9,371 in 2021, per police data. The number of overall reported retail thefts in 2023 is up about 29% from the same time last year.

Between the lines: Fewer people are being arrested and prosecuted for retail crimes under the progressive Krasner. Only 409 people have been arrested for retail theft in 2023 compared to more than 1,700 in 2013, per the Inquirer.

Zoom in: Philadelphia has already had more than 1,760 reported retail thefts during this year's holiday season (Oct. 30-Dec. 3), an average of 353 per week. If that keeps pace over the next three weeks, the city will eclipse 2,800 retail thefts by Christmas compared with more than 2,300 by the same time in 2022, per our analysis.

What we're watching: Krasner said his office has asked City Council for additional funding to create a task force to target "prolific" retail thieves and fencers. axios.com

   RELATED: Philly leaders announce focus on shoplifters in wake of Macy's stabbing


Another City Fighting Surging ORC
Organized retail theft rings appearing more aggressive
Organized retail theft is on the rise as the holiday season gets underway, and we've learned it's a felony being prosecuted more than ever in Maricopa County. The number of organized retail theft cases submitted to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office (MCAO) has already surpassed last year's total.

"Other states have chosen not to prosecute below a certain amount. We have not done that here, so not only will we prosecute, but we will put the amounts together, ask for a bond, and require prison time if appropriate," Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said.

Her office has received 324 cases of organized retail theft from law enforcement agencies this year, and the holiday season is not over. In 2022, MCAO received 301 cases. In November 2023 alone, there were 22 cases sentenced for retail theft.

Mike Huckins is the senior VP of the Greater Phoenix Chamber, which represents 2,400 businesses. "Organized retail theft is definitely on their minds, especially as more and more shoppers frequent stores at this busy time of year for holiday shoppers," he said.

Retired Arizona DPS Capt. Stephen Enteman is a security specialist. He says retail theft suspects are becoming more aggressive.

"Retail organizations are trying to employ off-duty police. They obviously turn to the private security world, too. But there are still shortages when it comes to that. So, when you have this increased demand for services, you're also having a hard time meeting those services," Enteman said. fox10phoenix.com


Some Parts of the Country See Progress on Crime - But Not Everywhere
Back to normal? Not for WA when it comes to crime
Other states and cities are heading in the right direction, with major drops in homicide and other violent crimes. In fact in 2023 so far, the biggest cities are seeing "one of the largest homicide declines ever recorded nationally," a drop of more than 12%, said Jeff Asher, of AH Datalytics, a crime analysis firm.

But conspicuously, not here. "Seattle has had a sizable increase in murders," he said - up 19% so far compared with last year, which itself was the worst for homicides in 25 years. Shootings are on roughly the same pace as in 2022 - though that year was the worst by far since Seattle began tracking shots fired in 2012.

Compared with before the pandemic, Washington is now a different world crimewise, suggested Marshall Clement of the Council of State Governments. He presented a new report showing that since 2019, the violent crime rate has risen more here, 26%, than in any state except Colorado.

Homicide statewide is up 89% since pre-pandemic, one shocking slide showed.

"You can see that Washington is unlike a lot of states," he understated as he showed a map of crime changes, with Washington standing out as a dark purple blotch (lighter was better).

Most of the theories related back to 2020, to the dislocations of both the pandemic and the anti-police movement following the killing of George Floyd. Police staffing dropped, the social safety net unraveled, gun sales soared, schools and other community institutions were shuttered, and so on.

Two of the experts fixated on a much simpler issue: Police aren't solving as many crimes as they used to. seattletimes.com


LPRs Continue to Be Used as Crime-Fighting Tool
License plate readers to be installed in South Baltimore to help curb crime
Carjackings are plaguing the city at an alarming rate, so the South Baltimore Peninsula is getting ready to crack down on crime. The peninsula is trying a different tactic to crack down on crime. Several neighborhood associations partnered with local and state leaders to install license plate readers, which neighbors in the community think could keep them safe.

License plate readers will be installed from Hanover Street to Locust Point, including the Riverside community in-between. He tells us in the South Baltimore Peninsula area they have a lot of transient crimes where people will come to the area, commit a crime, and then leave.

According to an interactive map our media partner the Baltimore Banner created, Riverside experienced about 294 auto thefts per 10,000 residents in the past three years. The hope is to have the reader capture vehicle information that could help police form more leads, to tackle cases of car theft and carjackings.

"This is a big win in the community and it has been many years in the making," Dewberry said. "And if it wasn't for community associations throughout South Baltimore coming together to create a comprehensive plan this wouldn't be possible."

This effort is being fueled by a grant from the state's Housing and Community Department. cbsnews.com


Regional Sting Operations Continue to Derail Theft Crews Across Calif.
Sacramento Sheriff's Office combats retail theft through Operation Bad Elf
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office recovered stolen merchandise worth tens of thousands of dollars and made 285 felony and misdemeanor arrests through an undercover sting operation known as Operation Bad Elf.

"The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office has recently concluded a highly successful week-long operation to combat retail theft across the region," the sheriff's office said in a press release. "Focusing on popular retail establishments such as Target, Walgreens, and Walmart, the operation was a strategic effort to address the rising concerns surrounding theft and its impact on local businesses and communities."

Deputies and detectives from the Sheriff's Centralized Investigations Bureau said they collaborated to identify, track, and apprehend individuals involved in retail theft. The operation, which took place over the course of a week, utilized both uniformed and plain clothes officers "strategically positioned within targeted retail locations."

Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper emphasized the importance of safeguarding businesses and ensuring the safety of community members.

"Retail theft not only affects the businesses directly but also has a ripple effect on our communities," Cooper said. "By addressing this issue head-on, we are sending a clear message that criminal activities will not be tolerated, and our community's safety remains our top priority." fox40.com


Prosecutors Taking Tougher Approach to Retail Crime
Jackson County prosecutor targets retail theft on Country Club Plaza with new approach
This winter, every business on the Country Club Plaza received a letter from Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker.

The letter explained her approach and offered to help stop retail theft, detailing they must improve solving and prosecuting property crimes. Their new strategy targets retail theft and will begin with addressing the problem on the County Club Plaza.

Her goal is to boost clearance and prosecution success. Peters Baker said the new approach is proactive. Her office is reviewing surveillance videos - looking into potential cases before they are even cases. kshb.com


Organized ID Theft Gangs Continuing Their rampage
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The Rise of 'Partial Shrink' - Driven By Self-Checkout?
Self-checkout theft is a bigger problem than you may have thought

An earlier survey found nearly one in seven shoppers have intentionally stolen from self-checkout.

There are several reasons retailers are fans of self-checkout, chief among them - higher sales. The additional revenue, however, comes with a particular cost: higher rates of missing inventory, or shrink, in industry parlance.

Traditionally, there have been just two types of people carrying products out of a store - shoppers who paid for all of their stuff, and shoplifters who paid for none of it. Self-checkout has given rise to a hybrid of the two: shoppers who pay for some or most of their purchase, but not all of it.

Partial shrink, as it's called, is now the most common - and costly - type of shoplifting, according to Grabango, a startup that provides checkout-free tech for retailers.

In a recent analysis, the company tracked nearly 5,000 transactions with computer vision to see what shoppers ultimately ended up paying for. Unsurprisingly, the study found that shoplifters are more likely to get goods past a machine than a human. What is surprising is that they were 21 times more likely.

In some cases, this means simply not scanning an item, but it also includes keying in the code for a cheaper item instead of the proper one. The data show that just 0.3% of staffed check-lane transactions had instances of partial shrink, while that rate soared to 6.7% at the self-checkout kiosks.

In fact, one in five shoppers say they've accidentally taken an item from self-checkout without paying for it, according to an earlier survey from LendingTree. Less than a third of those respondents said they brought the item back to the store.

Remarkably, nearly one in seven shoppers admitted to having purposely stolen items at self-checkout, and nearly half of those said they would do it again, LendingTree found.  businessinsider.com


More Retailers Embrace Facial Recognition as Consumer Interest Spikes
Consumers Embrace Facial Biometrics Despite Privacy Concerns
As biometric authentication, and notably facial recognition technology, continues its rapid advancement, heightened concerns about privacy and ethical implications have reignited global discourse.

Despite these concerns, a significant number of U.S. consumers continue to embrace biometric authentication tools. According to a study conducted by PYMNTS Intelligence and AWS, more than half of consumers who completed online purchases used biometric authentication to validate their transactions.

These include facial recognition and fingerprint scans, the two most popular biometric methods adopted by 28% and 49% of consumers, respectively. The study also revealed that nearly 60% of facial recognition users use the method more than once weekly.

This consumer interest in biometrics has led to more retailers embracing facial recognition technology. Last month, Mastercard and NEC announced they were joining forces to bring biometric checkout to the Asia Pacific region, where 82% of consumers use at least one form of biometrics already, with the average consumer reporting they use three types, per Mastercard data.

The partnership, announced Nov. 14, combines NEC's facial recognition and liveness verification technology with Mastercard's payment operations to help consumers speed through in-store checkout, PYMNTS reported.

"As retailing environments continue to evolve and choices in ways to pay rapidly expand, biometric solutions offer a seamless, quick and secure checkout, without needing to unlock a phone or insert a PIN," Ajay Bhalla, president, Cyber and Intelligence Solutions, Mastercard, said in a news release.

"Face verification will make it easier and more convenient for our customers to check out efficiently - without having to reach for their wallets," Bernardo Perloiro, chief operating officer, GCC at Majid Futtaim Retail, said at the time. pymnts.com


Retailers Continue to Grapple With Return Policies
Should Retailers Embrace 'Keep It' Return Policies?
According to the "Returns Report: 2023 Holiday Predictions" report from returns services firm goTRG, 59% of surveyed retailers are offering "keep it" policies for returns that aren't financially viable to ship back this holiday season, up from 26% a year ago.

The survey of over 500 U.S.-based retailers found that the tactic is especially common for low-cost items as the expenses of shipping and processing often surpass their worth. Of the retailers surveyed, 27% deem items priced up to $20 as suitable for "keep it" - also called "returnless" - policies.

GoTRG added in the study, "This strategy not only curtails logistical expenses but also bolsters customer loyalty and trust."

The increased use of "keep it" policies comes as retailers have been increasingly charging fees for returns, incentivizing in-store returns, and taking other steps to reduce the escalating costs tied to online returns.

The "keep it" practice gained attention in 2017 when Amazon.com introduced "returnless refunds" as an option for marketplace sellers. At the time, Amazon said the feature was "highly requested" by sellers wanting to avoid the time and cost of managing returns shipping and processing for items that would be hard to resell. Processing returns can often range between 20% and 65% of the cost of goods sold, according to UPS.

A survey from returns technology provider Narvar found that 75% of customers have been offered a "keep the item" return at least once in their shopping lifetime, and "most frequently cite Amazon, Walmart, Target, Wayfair, Chewy, Kohl's, and SHEIN as common benefactors." retailwire.com


Ongoing Macy's Negotiations Demanding Raises & Crime Solutions
Macy's Workers Get Ready for a Pre-Christmas Contract Negotiation
Retail workers across the state of Washington are getting ready to go to the bargaining table with Macy's just before Christmas and a raise isn't all they're asking for.

During Black Friday, hundreds of Macy's workers from stores at Westfield's Southcenter mall, Alderwood Mall in Lynwood, and Bellis Fair mall in Bellingham went on strike for three days. The strike was voted on by workers in early October with a 96% approval vote if Macy's didn't offer substantial improvements during their November bargaining sessions.

Aside from dollar raises, workers are asking for Macy's to do more when it comes to crime. "The one sentence we want to see is that we are able to call the police without retribution from our employer," said Liisa Luick, a union shop steward who will be at the bargaining table alongside her union, UFCW 3000, representing the interest of Macy's workers.

UFCW 3000 represents more than 50,000 workers in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in industries that include retail, cannabis, health care, and grocery stores. southseattleemerald.com


Panera Bread facing a 2nd wrongful death lawsuit after a man had a cardiac arrest following drinking its caffeinated 'charged' lemonade
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