Facial Recognition is an 'Important Asset' in Fighting Crime
Bunnings releases brutal CCTV amid privacy debacle

Does staff safety justify facial recognition?

Bunnings has released a shocking CCTV montage of attacks against its employees after Australia’s privacy watchdog slammed its use of facial-recognition surveillance technology.

On Tuesday, the Office of the Australian Commissioner (OAIC) declared home improvement retailer Bunnings “breached Australians’ privacy” by collecting personal, sensitive information through a facial recognition technology system.

The system – which was incorporated into CCTV – captured the faces of “likely hundreds of thousands of individuals” across 63 Bunnings stores in Victoria and New South Wales between November 2018 and November 2021, the commissioner said.

After copping online blowback and being ordered to “not repeat or continue” the acts which “led to interference with individuals’ privacy”, Bunnings retorted with a brutal, CCTV-caught collection of violent attacks against its staff.

One attack shows a staff member suddenly punched in the face, another shows a knife brandished to an employee’s throat, while the worst of the bunch sees a man in a balaclava entering the store with a shotgun.

Speaking with ABC Radio Perth, Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider confirmed the company will challenge the OAIC’s findings.

“We’ve seen significant spikes in not only the usual shoplifting we’ve all become accustomed to, but really aggressive violent behaviour.

“We believe this tool, along with the other tools we have, is a really important asset in the fight against this sort of crime.”  ia.acs.org.au


Chicago's New Shoplifting Hot Spot
Shoplifting soaring in Chicago after new North Side hot spot emerged in 2023

A small area including parts of Lake View and Lincoln Park became a hub of shoplifting in 2023 in addition to downtown, the longtime epicenter of such thefts. This year through October, retail theft was up 46% in Chicago compared with the same period of 2023, researchers say.

A small area of retail shopping inside less than half a square mile of the North Side emerged last year as a hot spot for shoplifting in Chicago, according to a new study.

A report by the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan policy group in Washington, says the city’s annual shoplifting rate per 100,000 people fell significantly in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. And the city’s retail theft rate in 2023 was lower than in 2018, the report says.

But that rate skyrocketed 46% in Chicago this year through October compared with the same period of 2023, the report says. This year’s shoplifting rate is also higher than the same period of any of the past six years in the city.

In Chicago, an area including parts of Lake View and Lincoln Park became a new hot spot for retail theft in 2023, the Council on Criminal Justice found. Downtown, including the Gold Coast and the Loop, remained the No. 1 place where shoplifting was concentrated. Those two areas had the highest rates of shoplifting in the city, by far.

Unlike Los Angeles, where shoplifting hot spots are spread throughout the city, Chicago’s other big retail centers in neighborhoods away from the lakefront have seen a far lower rate of shoplifting than downtown or the Near North Side since 2018.

Business groups see shoplifting as a costly problem in Chicago and the state. The Illinois Retail Merchants Association cites a Capital One report that said Illinois merchants lost more than $2.9 billion in revenue in 2022 due to retail theft. chicago.suntimes.com


Law Enforcement Turning to Tech & Retail Partnerships to Fight ORC
Despite increases in theft, here’s how Florida retailers say police are cracking down

Law enforcement investigators and teams are turning to advanced technology and community partnerships to dismantle organized theft rings across Florida.

With retail theft in Florida and the nation surging over the past five years, and businesses estimating losses of more than five billion per year, Florida law enforcement is pushing back. And the Florida Retail Federation (FRF) says police are making a difference, too, by employing innovative tactics and forging partnerships with retailers to take the fight directly to organized theft rings. And that success is starting to turn heads.

Last night in Tampa, FRF honored Detective Autumn Moore of the Tallahassee Police Department as its 2024 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. The state’s largest retailer association says Moore has disrupted organized retail theft in the capital city with a mix of rapid response and cutting-edge technology. In one weekend, FRF says she orchestrated 11 arrests tied to retail crime, thanks in part to her innovative use of tools like license plate readers and real-time surveillance, combined with partnerships with retailers across the area. Together, Moore’s approach has helped track suspects and recover stolen merchandise efficiently, earning her widespread praise.

Her approach is part of a larger, statewide strategy, FRF says. The Florida Organized Retail Crime Exchange (FORCE), launched in 2021, connects law enforcement agencies with retailers via an intelligence-sharing platform. The initiative has helped crack dozens of high-profile cases.

The group also said some of its member retailers are also taking action to protect their businesses and customers. Mandy Aguilar and Kelli Flynn of Lowe’s were recognized as Retail Partners of the Year by the FRF, having hosted a series of intelligence-sharing meetings across Florida. Their efforts have led to multiple arrests and brought much-needed awareness to the growing issue of organized retail theft. thecapitolist.com

 
1,600 More Officers on NYC Streets
More NYPD officers heading to streets with NYC budget restorations: Mayor Adams
Savings on migrant spending and better-than-expected tax revenue will allow the city to restore two previously canceled police classes and put an additional 1,600 officers on the street, Mayor Adams said Wednesday.

Adams said the budget expansion was largely made possible due to $436 million in savings on migrant spending since July, with total savings tallying up to $785 million, although Jacques Jiha, the city’s budget director, said that the budget’s growth by $3 billion was in large part due to new grant money.

The updated plan reflects an additional $1.6 billion in federal grant funds, plus more than $650 million in state grant funds in this fiscal year.

Previously, the budget for fiscal year 2025 sat at around $112 billion. The new plan, which boosts the total to $115 billion, also reflects over $200 million in unexpected tax revenue this fiscal year, Adams said, with additional funds coming from debt service and pension savings.

The restored police classes will add 1,600 new cops to the police force by October 2025. The classes were cut in 2023 as part of Adams’ controversial belt-tightening during the migrant crisis. nydailynews.com


FBI investigates if burglaries targeting athletes are linked to transnational crime ring

Macomb County commissioners cut crime unit
 

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White Plains, MD: Gun Store Burglary In Charles County Under Investigation
On November 20 at approximately 1:30 a.m., unknown suspects broke into a gun shop in the 10500 block of Theodore Green Boulevard in White Plains. More than 100 guns were stolen. The Charles County Sheriff’s Office is now working closely with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to track down those responsible for the theft, according to the agency.  thebaynet.com


Portland, OR: Bike shop out $6000 following break-in
A bike shop on Portland’s east side has become the latest victim of a smash-and-grab. Now, the owner is asking for the community’s help to get back on his feet. Nick Sorenson has owned “Something Cycles” on East Burnside for about a year and a half. He’s turned into a neighborhood staple, often helping some of his most loyal customers for free. However, that kindness didn’t rub off on the man who broke into the bike shop last Friday, breaking through not only a giant pane of glass but also a security gate. “It’s locked. It’s bolted. They just had tools to undo the nuts and bolts and had enough time to sit back there and fiddle with it till they could get in,” Sorenson explained.  kptv.com


Honolulu, HI: Authorities seek suspect in robbery, assault at Ross store in Pearl Highlands
Authorities are searching for a suspect accused in a robbery and assault at the Ross store in Pearl Highlands. The incident happened last week Wednesday around 7 p.m. According to police, the male suspect came in and tried to leave the store without paying. When confronted, he allegedly assaulted an employee and ran away with the items.  hawaiinewsnow.com


Livermore, CA: Cops collar suspected organized retail thieves accused of stealing nearly $9,000 in grocery products

Petaluma, CA: Nearly $4K of stolen merchandise recovered, 2 arrested in Petaluma