Retail Reaches a 'Crisis Point' as Violence Soars
88 Percent of Retail Workers Want a Panic Button Installed in Their Workplace
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) claims industry workers are becoming increasingly fearful about doing their jobs in a climate of heightened violence and harassment.

The group, which surveyed its members this spring on workplace safety this spring, said more than half (57 percent) of respondents have experienced verbal harassment or intimidating behavior from customers, co-workers or managers over the course of the past year.

In fact, as more organized retail theft rings, flash mobs and smash-and-grabs are reported from coast to coast, more than 80 percent of retail workers reported feeling worried about an active shooter coming into their workplace. Employers aren’t taking the issue seriously enough, they say—only 7 percent reported that their place of business made changes to the workplace after a violent incident, and over half said they’ve received no training at all on how to deal with shoplifters.

The vast majority of retail employees (72 percent) said they would feel safer if they were to receive such training, including “understanding the risks they face, how to reduce those risks and what to do in the event violence occurs,” RWDSU’s data indicated. Even more (88 percent) said they would feel safer if a silent panic button was installed in their workplace.

“Based on these findings, as well as the reality of mass shootings in retail settings and the increase in daily violence, it is clear that we have reached a crisis point in this industry and it’s the time to act,” RWDSU said.

The union has thrown its support behind the Retail Worker Safety Act, a New York bill introduced by State Senator Jessica Ramos this spring that would compel employers to evaluate their workplaces for risks, develop a violence prevention plan, provide ongoing safety training for workers—and revisit these efforts annually.

Across the country, politicians have introduced legislation that aims to tackle the issue of retail crime and retail workplace safety. In Virginia, an appeal on a July 2023 law that makes organized retail crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison was blocked in February.

In California, a number of measures have been introduced to combat the crime wave. sourcingjournal.com


Auror & ORCAs Help Retailers Fight Crime
Retail crime fighting goes high tech
Building a case against a man recently charged as an alleged “fence,” who resold stolen high-dollar perfumes, purses and clothes, can largely be attributed to data collected by the New Mexico Organized Retail Crime Association and its use of Auror, a retail crime intelligence and loss prevention platform that shares information between law enforcement and retailers.

“When we first joined the NMORCA last year, it took us a little while to learn how to use the platform and actually realize the capabilities,” BCSO Sgt. Donnie Hix said. “But since last February, we’ve been able to not only establish partnerships with retailers countywide, but even departments and retailers statewide, in order to combat the shoplifters that travel from city to city to avoid detection. So the platform is the best fusion platform on the market, in my opinion.”

Auror allows retailers and law enforcement to upload photos, videos, incident information, suspect and vehicle descriptions, what was stolen, the estimated amount of the theft as well as other useful analytics. NMORCA uses the information to track suspects and build a case against perpetrators. It also can share information with other ORCAs.

“It actually enhanced our communication availability, because a lot of us work different shifts, different departments and maybe even different levels of law enforcement, like patrol and investigation,” Hix said. “It gave us a place where we could receive alerts or we could receive feeds and constantly monitor the Albuquerque area. And eventually, somebody would know this suspect from either a past arrest or a current investigation due to the recidivism.”

Auror makes it easy for law enforcement to download information and not have to visit a store to find it.

New shoplifting laws that went into effect in June have led to stiffer sentences for perpetrators. As of April 17, there have been 75 people charged with aggregated shoplifting, 49 charged with aggravated shoplifting, and 11 charged with organized retail crime. Since Sept. 1, the DA’s office has entered its appearance on 474 shoplifting misdemeanor cases, according to data from the office.   abqjournal.com


Organized Crime & Theft Continue to Plague Bay Area
Slivers Of Bay Area Retail Sector Thrive As Downtown Struggles
With Crime, Safety Issues
Despite the lengthy pandemic recovery time in many aspects of Bay Area business, the region’s retail market has joined others across the U.S. in achieving a level of health unseen for years. Relative to its office and industrial counterparts, demand runs high for retail assets in the suburbs and even select San Francisco neighborhoods.

It is true that the city’s highest-profile areas — namely downtown — continue to struggle with record-high vacancies driven by store closures, theft and even organized crime as a recovery slowly tries to take shape in that submarket.

“Inflation is slowly declining and people are feeling better about the economy. We think we're through the worst of the layoffs in the Bay Area. We have felt a lot more optimism in retail real estate in the past six months,” said Colliers Senior Vice President Ann Natunewicz.

Although luxury retailers will always be a staple in prime Union Square locations, vacancies won’t stabilize downtown until the city deals with ongoing theft and organized crime, Grundman said.

Multiple sources told Bisnow that groups of criminals enter stores, steal merchandise and resell it online. This activity contributes to growing levels of theft that Bay Area retailers report are eating into their profits and driving them to close stores.

“Theft is still a major concern,” Grundman said. “San Francisco and the entire Bay Area has to get their head around the problem that we have. We will continue to have vacancy issues until the police start arresting people and the city starts prosecuting people and holding them accountable.”

To that end, retailers like Target, Walgreens and CVS, which closed three downtown locations in 2022 and is closing another in October at Second and Mission streets, will continue to close their doors until these issues are resolved, he said.  bisnow.com


Cargo Theft Up 46% in Q1 2024
2024 First Quarter Supply Chain Risk Trends Analysis
In the first quarter of 2024, criminal activities impacting the logistics and transportation industry reached new highs, even amidst the sustained crime wave that began in late 2022. CargoNet documented a staggering 925 incidents, marking a substantial 46% increase compared to the first quarter of 2023 and a concerning 10% rise from the fourth quarter of 2023.

The average stolen shipment value in the first quarter of 2024 was $281,757, while the declared total value was $76 million. By extrapolating the average shipment value across events without a declared value, CargoNet estimates that a total of $154.6 million worth of goods were stolen during this period.

While reported events increased in most states, the most significant spikes were observed in California (with a +72% year-over-year increase), Illinois (with a +126% year-over-year increase), and Texas (with a +22% year-over-year increase).

Much of the threat came in the form of complex fraud schemes, where entire truckloads were picked up and never delivered or delivered with digitally altered paperwork to hide the theft from the customer.   cargonet.com

Oklahoma Rolls Out Tougher Shoplifting Penalties
Criminal justice reform: Where key bills stand as legislative session winds down
Bills to charge more shoplifting offenses as felonies and mandate lenient prison sentences for domestic violence survivors are in limbo with three weeks to go in the legislative session, but several other criminal justice measures have been signed into law.

Claiming a spike in theft, lawmakers in both chambers approved versions of Senate Bill 1450, which would lower the felony theft threshold from $1,000 to $500. The bill would also increase the theft aggregation period from 90 days to one year and deputize several retail theft officers under the Attorney General’s office.

The measure is pending in a Senate conference committee, where lawmakers look to iron out differences and arrive at a single version of a bill.

Proponents argue the measure is necessary to protect business owners and deter repeat shoplifting offenders. Critics point to state crime data that shows a slight decrease in larceny rates over the past three years and analysis that shows changing the felony theft threshold could cause the state’s prison population to increase.

If enacted, SB 1450 would be a partial rollback of State Question 780, the 2016 voter-approved criminal justice reform measure that reclassified several drug and property offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. Oklahoma’s prison population dropped by nearly 20% within five years of the measure taking effect. oklahoman.com


California Mayor Urges Voters to Undo Prop 47
Opinion: Reforming Proposition 47 Is a Critical Step to Protecting California
I had the privilege of serving as mayor, and I witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of Proposition 47 on our communities.

Under my tenure as mayor, San Diego consistently ranked among the top safest cities in the country. This was no coincidence. It was done by design. We gave our officers in the San Diego Police Department the tools and resources necessary to fight crime and keep all neighborhoods safe regardless of zip code.

But Prop. 47 threatens the critical safety that we’ve worked hard to establish in San Diego. This measure has failed to address the root causes of crime and has instead exacerbated the issues it supposedly sought to solve. It’s time to confront the failures and devastating impacts of Prop. 47 by enacting meaningful reforms that prioritize the safety and well-being of all Californians — at the ballot box.

One of the most pressing issues facing our state is the epidemic of organized and serial retail theft, otherwise known as “smash and grab.” Businesses and residents are suffering because criminals know they can brazenly steal with immunity under Prop 47. This measure fails to hold repeat offenders accountable, allowing them to continue terrorizing our communities. It’s time for a change that ensures those who repeatedly engage in retail theft face real consequences for their actions rather than being cycled back onto our streets to commit more crimes. timesofsandiego.com


UK: 'The police don't care about thefts from my shop'
Mayank Parikh said News Box, in Wickford, Essex, had been targeted four times in the past ten days. He told the BBC shoplifting was happening so frequently that people "would not believe it".

Business crime officer Sgt Christian Denning said it was a "myth" that officers only cared about high value thefts. Essex Police said it has made more than 100 arrests for shoplifting in the past month.

Sgt Denning said more than 500 shoplifting arrests had been made since the start of the year. He added that 75 "prolific" offenders were being monitored by officers. The officer stressed better communication between both shopkeepers and the police would help to tackle the problem. bbc.com


Migrant crime is politically charged, but the reality is more complicated
National statistics show no sign of a migrant-driven crime wave. Violent crime is trending down, after the spikes of 2020-2021, even as migration has surged. Past studies have found immigrants to be less likely to commit crimes. While it's possible the newer arrivals are contributing to crime rates, it's nearly impossible to tell how much, as the FBI's statistics aren't parsed by immigration status. Still, at the local neighborhood level, some see a problem. npr.org


In Case You Missed It: California Considers Limits on Self-Service Checkout

Plymouth County, Mass. DA Discusses Rise In Retail Thefts
 

 
Foot Traffic Ticks Up at Major Retailers
Major retailers see store visits rise in Q1
Store visits rose year-over-year at most of the nation's big retailers during the first quarter — with two notable exceptions.

With the nation's big retailers are on track to report their earnings this week and next, foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai has shared new insights into how the companies performed in terms of visits in the first quarter.

According to the National Retail Federation, consumer spending increased 2.5% in the first quarter compared to last year. While gross domestic product did not increase as much as previous quarters, consumers continued to spend to start the year.

According to Placer.ai data, the following retailers saw visits increase in the first quarter:

• Q1 visits at Walmart were up 3.9% year-over-year (YoY), and at Sam’s Club, they were up 6.1%.
• Q1 visits at Target were up 3.5% YoY.
• Q1 visits at Costco were up 8.9% YoY.
• Q1 visits at BJ’s Wholesale Club were up 5.6% YoY.
• Q1 visits at Ross Dress for Less visits were up 1.1% YoY.
• Q1 visits at TJX stores were largely positive compared to the previous year.

According to the data, the nation's two home improvement giants saw visits decrease in the first quarter:

• The Home Depot’s visits were down 1.1% YoY during Q1.
• Lowe’s visits during Q1 were down 4% YoY.  chainstoreage.com

 
Apple Workers at First Unionized Store Move Closer to Strike
Apple Store Workers in Maryland Vote to Authorize Strike
In a decisive move reflecting mounting frustrations among workers, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ (IAM) Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE) have overwhelmingly approved a strike at the Apple retail store in Towson, Maryland. This pivotal vote underscores unresolved workplace issues and signifies a collective demand for change among employees.

“This vote today is the first step in demonstrating our solidarity and sends a clear message to Apple. The passage of the strike sanction vote highlights IAM CORE’s unwavering commitment to advocating for the rights and well-being of workers in the face of challenges. As discussions with Apple management continue, we remain committed to securing tangible improvements that benefit all employees.”

Since last year, negotiations between employees and Apple management have revolved around concerns such as erratic scheduling practices and wages that don’t match the area’s cost of living. The authorization of a strike underscores the frustration of workers and their determination to address these issues.

While the union has not disclosed a specific strike date, Apple has pledged to engage respectfully and in good faith with the union representing its Towson team. The company emphasizes its commitment to providing industry-leading compensation and benefits to its employees.  retailwire.com

 
'Busier Than Average' Hurricane Season Coming?
It's not a matter of if a hurricane will hit Florida, but when, forecasters say
With the start of hurricane season less than a month away, U.S. officials who predict, prepare for and respond to natural disasters had a message for Floridians on Friday: It's not a matter of if a hurricane will hit, but when.

The 2024 hurricane season is expected to be busier than average. To ensure that people everywhere are prepared, officials visited residents in Sanford, a landlocked city in the middle of the Sunshine State.

Even if they don't live on the coast, the officials told residents, they need to know the potential danger hurricanes pose to their property, such as flooding; and put together an emergency plan that includes a supply kit. cbsnews.com


Former Bed Bath & Beyond sues Hudson Bay investors for $300M
The retailer formerly known as Bed Bath & Beyond is suing Hudson Bay Capital Management and HBC Investments to recover over $300 million in “short-swing” profits generated weeks before the now-defunct retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Bed Bath & Beyond claims in a lawsuit filed earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that Hudson Bay — which it had struck a deal with to raise cash to avoid bankruptcy — set its own terms to maximize profits in a series of trades last year that it made with insider knowledge.

A Hudson Bay spokesperson disputed the lawsuit’s allegations in a statement to Retail Dive. retaildive.com


J.C. Penney remains profitable, could open new stores
Holiday and full-year sales fell, and net income plunged. But the CEO of one of the retailer’s owners says its ongoing profitability could merit an expansion.

KidKraft files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The toy company plans to sell all of its U.S. and Canadian assets to Backyard Products.

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