Retail Asset Protection Leaders Ready to Talk Resilience in Denver

Organized Retail Crime, Violence Against Retail Workers and Crisis Management Among Key Topics for the industry’s AP professionals

Denver, CO – Members of the media are invited to attend the Retail Asset Protection Conference, the retail industry’s leading event for asset protection executives, hosted by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) April 30-May 3 in Denver, Colorado.

This year’s event centers around helping retail asset protection leaders shape retail’s future, through the lens of resiliency. The program covers the myriad of complex challenges facing retailers today and equips attendees with the tools, education, and connections to tackle them.

Session topics include:

• Organized retail crime
• Partnering with DAs to ID habitual offenders
• Deploying body worn cameras
• eCommerce fraud
• OSHA enforcement
• Crisis management
• Emerging safety technology
• Community engagement
• Mall-based security

Click here to register & learn more
 

Coming Tomorrow:

The Daily's Response to CNBC's ORC Segment

'America’s biggest companies say retail crime is an epidemic, but just how big of a problem is it?'

- CNBC journalist claims the "available data is unreliable" - Questioning the numbers, creditability, retailers and trade groups

- Walgreens CFO Walks Back His Earlier Comments during Jan 6th investors call - after Oct. 15, 2021 article 'Walgreens store closures cause uproar in San Francisco'

- The Cato Institute SVP Legal Studies - Claims it's "blown out of proportion" and is all about 'getting more eyes on their content' (click bait) & 'getting more funding'


Facial Recognition's Crime-Fighting Benefits Make More Headlines
Shoplifting continues to grow nationally, facial recognition may help

Shoplifting has proven to be a major issue not only in Utah but in the United States as a whole.

Ryan said the main takeaway is companies need to figure out a way to curb shoplifting, especially the habitual ones. According to Ryan, companies should turn to technological advancements.

“Dropping in and taking a look at technology, that’s what stores both large and small are doing now,” Ryan told Dave and Dujanovic.

Ryan further explains that the need for this comes from the growing number of theft costs.

Theft is on the rise, facial recognition can help

Specifically, the National Retail Federation reported $95 billion in theft at retailers in 2021. That number is a 4% increase from the previous year. Numbers for the 2022 year have not been released.

“A lot of it is policy in some communities, they’ve reduced the penalties, they’ve raised the bar for misdemeanor crimes, that is ticket-able offenses, you walk in, you steal less than $1000 worth of stuff, then your hit with a ticket. You’re not going to jail, there won’t be any sort of long-term impact, even on your legal status,” Ryan said.

Therefore, large and small companies are implementing facial recognition in stores to combat the growing number of theft.

“Now they’re equipping [security cameras] with facial recognition,” Ryan tells Dave and Dujanovic.

Facial recognition gives retailers a better chance of catching someone shoplifting by being able to recognize and record who enters and leaves the store chronologically.

Therefore, not only would facial recognition stop shoplifters in their tracks but would act as a preventative measure as well.  kslnewsradio.com


Alabama DAs Getting Tough On Violent Crime - ORC - ORC Training for Police
Ala. District attorneys prepare public safety package for lawmakers — 'The main piece of our package is going to be violent crime'
The Alabama District Attorney's Association (ADAA) has put together seven pieces of legislation for lawmakers to consider during the 2023 regular legislative session. The "Alabama Fights Crime" package includes amendments and new laws focusing on violent crime, fentanyl, retail theft and the state's Class D Felony sentencing guidelines.

Retail Theft: Another part of the package focuses on retail theft.

Matson explained. "We say, 'organized retail theft.' These are cartel-level international, transnational groups that focus on big box and small retail stores. They will come into an area and have hundreds of people working in that organization and come in and clear out certain products. These are sophisticated plans. They come and they are killing business."

The ADAA has recognized even stores such as Walmart have had to shut down because of thefts. Large chains and mom-and-pop stores have been forced to close in Alabama communities because of the loss.

In Alabama, there is no racketeering statute, also known as a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) law. While those involved in these organizations can be charged with crimes, as a whole, the ADAA believes creating a stricter law focusing on the broad impact would benefit investigations and prosecution and ultimately ensure criminals pay the price they deserve.

"We also want to create a theft by shoplifting, which is a separate statute that is specific to retail merchandise," Matson added. "Retail merchandise is kind of defined in that.

"Also, we don't want to just pass a law and say, 'that fixes it," Matson said. "We really need to get together and do training after we have the laws to enforce it. We're hoping once these bills pass that we can start the process of training law enforcement to better identify and handle these organized retail groups that come in."

Class D Felony Changes: In 2015 when Alabama created the Class D Felony charge. Now, people who are charged with a Class D do not have to attend specialty courts they may need, and they cannot be sentenced to jail time. What that Class D felony did is it took everybody's discretion away, and that's never good. Some offenders we see need more than others, whether it's sentencing, time or more time in diversion than some other person. So, taking the discretion away was a huge mistake that needs to be corrected."

"The judge has the option to at least threaten the person with jail," Matson said. "It's not that we want to send them to jail for stealing $1,000 but we want them to stop doing that. But the problem is, we can't do that anymore. So, they're just committing more and more felonies. There needs to be an incentive to stop making a job out of stealing. I have no tolerance for a thief, and I tell people in the public there is a felony where you can't go to jail, and they can't believe that." 1819news.com


SF Mayor Criticized For Spending More Resources on Protecting Retailers Vs. Neighborhoods
100,000 hours of S.F. police OT protects shoppers, retailers
A proposal by Mayor London Breed to provide a mid-year boost to the Police Department’s budget, as well as extend the contracts of community ambassadors, has sparked furious debate about The City’s deployment of public safety resources.

Although the Board of Supervisors appears poised to pass Breed’s spending plan, many lamented that The City ignores the needs of neighborhoods and overemphasizes its resources on tourist and shopping hotspots.

Here’s a breakdown of the issue by the numbers: 104,582 hours

San Francisco police will dedicate more than 100,000 hours of officer overtime to guard retail centers — primarily The City’s heart of tourism and shopping, Union Square — in a single year.

Breed committed to a robust deployment of police in and around Union Square during and after the holiday season, hoping to avoid a repeat of the looting that made national headlines in 2021.

By that metric, the effort was successful — but it came at a steep cost.

It’s just a piece of the police department’s runaway spending that has come under scrutiny by the Board of Supervisors, which is weighing whether to approve Breed’s $27.8 million mid-year request to cover the police budget.

$81 million: Supervisors received a full accounting of the San Francisco Police Department’s projected $81 million in overtime so far this year, nearly double the amount they spent last year and more than three times what The City had budgeted for this year.

1,777 - The department has 1,777 sworn officers, far short of the 2,119 it had in 2019, down 16%.

Supervisor Hillary Ronen questioned the intense focus on Union Square as she was pleading for additional officers in the Mission, which she represents.

“Whose priority was it to spend more money on safe shopping than on the residents of our neighborhoods? Who made that decision?” Ronen asked.

Police Chief Bill Scott pushed back.

“Robberies are happening in these districts, people are being assaulted in these districts,” he told supervisors this week. “I just want to be clear to you and the public, this is not about protecting a $1,000 purse. We are talking about people who are getting robbed.” sfexaminer.com


Retail Violence Across the Pond is Also Surging
Level of abuse against retail workers 'out of control'
A wave of harassment, vile abuse, shoplifting and other crimes has hit Ireland's shops and supermarkets, retailers have told RTÉ's Prime Time.

RGDATA, which represents more than 4,000 independent grocery stores, said the levels of abuse and harassment of retail workers are "out of control", while grocery giant Tesco Ireland said its staff face daily abuse and threats of violence.

Shop workers across the country say they are experiencing a surge in harassment, physical attacks, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. Some of them said they believe some customers have become more aggressive since the Covid-19 pandemic.

A recent RGDATA survey of the owners of 400 convenience shops, forecourt stores and supermarkets found that 95% of them have been victims of crime in last 12 months. The survey found that 93% have been victims of shoplifting and a quarter have been the victims of robberies or burglaries.

Mr Gleeson said that shoplifting is so rampant that a lot of retailers no longer report all incidents to gardaí.

According to figures presented to the retail sector by gardaí at a recent meeting of the National Garda Retail Theft Forum, reported theft from shops increased by 41% last year. This increase is primarily due to increased theft from supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol stations with 53% of incidents involving the theft of food and groceries.

Ms Buckley said: "They recently showed us the figures they have for 2022. And they show a significant increase in all types of retail crime, up over 40%. Recent research from the Circle K forecourt and convenience store group found that 75% of the company’s retail employees have experienced some form of abuse from customers. rte.ie


'Weak on Crime' Bill Blocked by Biden
Biden signs measure to block controversial DC crime bill
President Joe Biden on Monday signed into law a resolution to block a controversial Washington, DC, crime bill that opponents have criticized as weak on crime. The effort to block the crime bill divided Democrats and highlighted the difficult balance the party is attempting to strike as Republicans accuse them of failing to tackle the issue of crime.

The Senate voted earlier this month to pass the Republican-led resolution. And while a large number of Democrats ultimately supported the resolution, an announcement by Biden that he would not veto it surprised and upset members of his party as many believe Congress should not interfere in the political affairs of the district. cnn.com


'Jugging' among new crime trends posing danger on America's streets: What to know

NYC lawmakers want new definition for mass shooting

Troubling Trend: Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Decades Increase in Violent Workplace Attacks 'Targeted At Women' And a 'Huge' Increase in Intentional Human-Caused Injuries

A surprising (and growing) gender gap in the most dangerous jobs
A database of workplace injuries finds that violence in American workplaces is on the rise. The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses found a spike in cases where an attack against an individual caused them to lose at least a day of work. Retail did not make the list of workplaces most affected by violence.

By almost every measure, the American workplace is getting safer. But one troubling type of injury is on the rise: violent attacks that cause injuries so severe that the victim misses a day of work. And the increase has come almost entirely in attacks against women.

That’s a deadly serious finding, and one we did not expect. After all, our analysis began with the intriguing discovery that the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses includes a category called “self-tasered — unintentional.”

This database of workplace injuries is incredibly detailed, offering a concise but wide-ranging portrait of tragedy and mishap in the American workplace. It tells us how often workers are strangled by another person and how often they are caught in running machinery. It dutifully logs injuries caused by horseplay (which, the government helpfully notes, includes “roughhousing”) and walking (without other incident), alongside injuries to people who accidentally Taser themselves.

When we dove into the database, which is powered by an annual survey of 230,000 employers conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the good news immediately rose to the top: We’re getting hurt less at work.

In 2020, the most recent year for which we have data, the biggest cause of injury was actually exposure to harmful substances, a category of workplace danger that shot up dramatically during the covid pandemic.

One alarming finding we saw was a huge increase in injuries caused by intentional workplace attacks.

The number of intentional human-caused injuries just keeps rising. Every year, more and more Americans are hit, kicked, beaten or shoved so badly that the victim misses at least a day of work. (The number of injuries fell in 2020 when many of us were social distancing and working from home, but the broader trend is ominous.)

To understand who is being attacked, we analyzed the largest category — hitting, kicking, beating, shoving — by gender. The gap was alarming. Not only are women far more likely to be attacked and injured so badly that they miss work, but almost all the past decade’s increase in hitting, kicking, beating and shoving in the workplace has been targeted at women. washingtonpost.com

2022 - SEC Granted $229M in 103 Whistleblower Awards
Bipartisan Senate bill would bolster SEC whistleblower safeguards
A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation that would strengthen protections for whistleblowers under a Securities and Exchange Commission program that in fiscal year 2022 received a record 12,300 allegations of securities law violations.

Five senators are sponsoring a bill that would, in part, shield whistleblowers from retaliation if they report violations to a direct superior. Currently, they are safeguarded if they bring allegations to the SEC and other government offices.

The SEC during fiscal year 2022 granted $229 million in 103 whistleblower awards, the second highest total for both categories. Since creation of the Office for the Whistleblower in 2011, the agency has paid more than $1.3 billion in 328 awards following tips of securities law violations that led to successful enforcement actions.

Whistleblower tips and subsequent enforcement have resulted in $6.3 billion in sanctions, including $4 billion in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and interest, the SEC said. More than $1.5 billion of the total has been, or is scheduled to be, returned to investors. cfodive.com


100 Incidents Daily - 16,000 Injured Annually - 2,600 Death Every Year - 24% Happen in Retail Stores
Source: storefrontsafety.org

More Media Coverage of "Storefront Crashes" & Negligence/Premise Liability Cases

Who is responsible for these damages? The driver of the car? Surely. But is the store also responsible? Often, yes. When someone is hurt in a storefront crash, they may be able to bring a claim for their injuries based on negligence and premise liability against the store.

Generally, in a negligence case, the injured plaintiff must prove the defendant has a duty, the defendant breached their duty, the breach caused the plaintiff an injury, and the plaintiff has suffered damages related to that injury. Generally, in a premise liability action, the plaintiff must show that a defendant owned, leased or controlled the location of their injury, that the defendant was negligent in the use or maintenance of the property, that the plaintiff was harmed, and that the defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s harm.

The frequency of these types of collisions is staggering. Recent statistics demonstrate that the popular convenience store 7-Eleven has 1.14 storefront car crashes a day, causing some personal injury or property damage. The new public data also shows repeated hits at the same stores. Some were hit three, four or five times. There is even evidence that one store was hit 13. The recently released data also shows that between 2003 and 2017, there were 6,253 storefront crashes at 7-Eleven stores across the country in fifteen years (417 a year). More public data about 7-Eleven shows another 1,581 storefront crashes between 1991 and 1996.

Why storefront car crashes happen at c-stores so often — and how retailers can prevent them

7-Eleven’s recent $91 million settlement for an accident in its forecourt highlights an alarmingly common — and potentially hazardous — issue.

In November 2010, a driver suffered a stroke and drove his SUV at over 70 miles per hour into a Cumberland Farms convenience store in Chicopee, Massachusetts, killing a customer.

Cumberland Farms was eventually forced to pay the victim’s family over $20 million in a wrongful death suit, with jurors deciding the retailer was negligent and should have previously installed barriers to prevent vehicles from colliding into its building.

Until recently, that $20 million was the most Rob Reiter had ever seen a c-store retailer pay in a storefront crash lawsuit. That changed about a week ago, when 7-Eleven agreed to pay a $91 million settlement to a customer who lost both of his legs after being struck by a vehicle outside one of its stores in 2017.

As seen with 7-Eleven and Cumberland Farms, if customers are injured or killed due to that lack of barriers, it can cost the retailer millions. c-storedive.com

Editor's Note: The problem has raised such a concern that the Storefront Safety Council and the storefrontcrashes.com website and effort were formed to raise awareness, collect and analyze data and statistics, Educate key professionals and stakeholders, Document, test, and advocate for effective risk-reduction practices, and Encourage applicable research and share best practices from related disciplines.


Foot Locker to shutter 400 mall-based stores by 2026


Quarterly Results

Foot Locker Q4 comp's up 4.2%, total sales down 0.3%, FY total sales down 2.3%

Signet Jewelers Q4 comp's down 9.1%, total sales down 5.2%, FY comp's down 6.1%, total sales up 0.2%
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

In Case You Missed It
Vice President, AP job posted for RILA in Washington, DC (Hybrid/Remote)
Lead the development and execution of AP strategies and initiatives; Manage day to day activities of RILA’s AP and Operations community, including the Asset Protection Leaders Council, Workplace Safety Committee, Crimes Against Business Committee and Chief Store Officer Council; Collaborates with the AP and Store Operations communities to identify common pressing challenges, solve problems, discuss challenging issues, and learn more about critical issues as a group.  app.builtforteams.com