Addressing Unique Retail Challenges - Part 2

Guest on associate violence has become part of retail security and loss prevention

By Sean Foley - SVP, Customer Success at Interface Systems

AI-based Cameras with Smart Voice Down Capabilities

The latest AI-based cameras with advanced analytics can extend the reach of loss prevention specialists by accurately alerting staff to certain behaviors such as loitering of people and vehicles. These same cameras paired with a capable VMS can also find perpetrators quickly with some solutions registering a criminal's face for future notification in the event they return.

Automated and customized voice-down message services can also be scheduled throughout the day through an organization's existing speaker system to remind customers and would-be bad actors of the security presence. For example, persons who loiter can be met with a tiered and gradually escalating response from a voice-down system if they do not disperse after predetermined intervals.

Point of Sale Integration with Video

To help combat shrink at the register, today's POS exception reporting solutions can integrate with video surveillance systems. By providing a video stream tied to every staff purchase, void, over/under ring, coupon fraud, a sweetheart deal, or 'no sale' transaction, loss prevention professionals can quickly identify anomalies to detect and prevent shrink.

A well-designed solution can identify suspicious transactions among millions of POS transactions. For any business plagued by shrink, POS exceptions tied to video is an absolute necessity.  securitytoday.com

Part Three Wednesday: Interactive Remote Video Monitoring | Video Verified Alarms
 

The Real Drivers of Organized Retail Theft
Organized theft gangs have been emboldened by progressive reforms

The Myth of the Starving Shoplifter

Retail crime is driven by reduced penalties and organized gangs, not economic hardship.

In truth, America's exploding shoplifting problem predates our current economic difficulties. Much of the stealing, store owners and security experts say, has less to do with putting food on the table than with a rise in organized theft, and it's having a particularly adverse effect in cities where criminal-justice reforms have made it easy to get away with.

Retailers say that the problem gained momentum about a decade ago, when states began decriminalizing low-level shoplifting, raising the value of goods that a person must steal to enable prosecutors to bring felony charges.

More than two-thirds of states now treat shoplifting as a misdemeanor if someone boosts less than $1,000 in goods, and 15 states have raised their limit to $1,500 or more. More than 70 percent of surveyed retailers reported that shoplifting spiked in their stores after these changes.

Bail reforms that free without bond those arrested for shoplifting have also contributed to the problem. An official of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists says that retail theft is now "a low-risk and high-reward line of business."

Rampant shoplifting is undermining retailer profits and vaporizing jobs. Walmart announced the closure of its only store in disorder-plagued Portland, Oregon, along with four stores in crime-wracked Chicago. Target, which estimated that retail theft cost it half a billion dollars last year, is shuttering stores in several cities, including Baltimore. Rite Aid is shutting down stores in New York City after the company's chief executive described how hard it is to stop theft there. Whole Foods closed its flagship San Francisco store after one year because of rampant theft. The CEO of Home Depot told Wall Street analysts that shoplifting threatens its bottom line. "The country has a retail theft problem," he said.

Under pressure, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have begun focusing on organized retail crime, especially "smash and grab" rings. Retailers are also lobbying for passage of the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, which establishes a unit within Homeland Security to address the issue. Some states are also cracking down.

It remains to be seen, however, whether these efforts will be enough to reverse the incentives created by de facto retail-theft decriminalization and revolving-door bail "reform" policies. city-journal.org


Combating Organized Retail Crime Act Update
Federal ORC Legislation Gains Momentum with New Co-Sponsors
Following NRF's recent Small Business Fly-in, we are pleased to report the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act gained 12 new House co-sponsors and two new Senate co-sponsors, bringing the total number of support to 63 lawmakers. The urgent need for this legislation is reinforced in a piece by The Washington Post Editorial Board last week. Join NRF in advocating for this bill that will amplify resources and coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to fight ORC. nrf.com


Shoplifting is Transforming Big Retailers
Things Are Changing at a Target Near You: The Damaging Effects of Shoplifting
Shoplifting continues to make headlines in the United States, as businesses keep calling it out as a major source of their financial woes - among them Home Depot, Walmart, Walgreens and Best Buy. Now Target is leading the charge.

How Much Money Has Target Lost to Shoplifting?

Target's total shrink was around $400 million in fiscal year 2021 and rose to $736 million in 2022. If the anticipated $500 million increase does materialize in 2023, that would bring the three-year total to a whopping $2.4 billion - but it's hard to say how much of that can be attributed to shoplifting.

Here We Go Again?

If this all sounds familiar, it may be because Walgreens executives made similar claims in fall 2021, when they cited organized shoplifting as the reason they were closing five locations in San Francisco. They walked that back during an earnings call early this year, during which Walgreens Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe conceded that the company had likely overspent on security measures and might have gone so far as to mischaracterize how much theft had actually taken place.

Target, like many retailers, is in a tough position. It's no secret that the company has struggled lately, with falling profit margins and earnings misses driving the stock price down over the last six months. Pushing a narrative like a shoplifting crime wave could be a way to deflect some attention away from leadership for tough business results.

What Changes Target Is Making

Whether the shoplifting narrative is overblown or gospel truth, there's no doubt that Target has been taking steps to mitigate theft in its almost 2,000 locations in the U.S. Cornell said the company already has begun installing protective fixtures in some stores, as well as adjusting assortment (likely removing the most frequently stolen merchandise from stores in higher-crime areas).

Cornell also noted that the company is connecting with policy makers, law enforcement organizations and industry trade groups to explore political solutions to the issue. So far, however, there are no plans for store closures. Cornell said Target is "focused on keeping our stores open in the markets where problems are occurring."  finance.yahoo.com


Will Deploying More Cops Help Businesses Fight Crime?
Seattle Can't Fix Broken Windows with More Cops

But a More Robust Storefront Repair Fund Could Help

Businesses understandably complain about theft and property destruction. Lately, those concerns have translated into some of Seattle's small businesses and associations pushing for more cops on the streets. But no one can definitively claim that hiring more police results in lower crime rates and fewer break-ins.

People who study the issue can't say whether larger police departments and budgets reduce crime rates. Moreover, even if we put a cop on every block, an arrest after the fact wouldn't suddenly make a busted business whole. Courts can tell defendants to pay restitution, but that order comes at the end of the criminal justice process and assumes the convicted person can pay. If the crime stemmed from poverty or untreated mental illness, which is often the case, then the money just isn't there.

Other cities offer more robust storefront repair and security improvement funding. In Seattle, businesses that qualify for the storefront grants must employ fewer than 50 people, not exceed more than $7 million in annual net revenue, and have been open for at least two years prior to October 2022, among other stipulations. By contrast, a similar storefront program in Chicago provides grants of up to $150,000 to businesses with up to 200 employees and annual sales of up to $9 million. In San Francisco, the city started lending out its public works department to provide graffiti abatement to businesses in certain commercial neighborhoods. thestranger.com


Retailers in Seattle Facing 'Influx in Crime'
Seattle increases patrols amid surge in retail theft during busy weekends

This past weekend was one of the busiest weekends in Seattle.

The Taylor Swift Era's concert, the Capitol Hill Block Party and the return of A Bite of Seattle. Each event is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to the Emerald City at a time when business owners said crime and theft are at the top of their minds.

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) said extra officers will be brought in to patrol the large masses of people in the city this weekend. In addition to security, local business owners said with an influx in tourists comes an influx in crime, specifically retail theft.

According to a 2022 National Retail Federation report, one of the top U.S. cities affected by organized retail theft was Seattle. Seattle was 10th in 2020 and 8th in 2021, according to the 2022 National Retail Security Survey.

The Washington Retail Association indicated that, in the past year, 80% of Washington state retailers have reported a rise in violence and aggression towards their frontline workers.

As with all large events, SPD will enact a comprehensive operational plan to maintain public safety. That includes an increased police presence, traffic management, and enhanced communication.  cbsaustin.com


Gun-Toting Gangs of Children are Terrorizing America
Juvenile Gun Crime Puts Criminal-Justice Reforms in the Spotlight

America is in the midst of a juvenile crime wave. Progressive adults only have themselves to blame.

It was another steamy summer night in the Big Apple, where adolescents are increasingly victims and victimizers. But these surreal scenes are playing out across the country with teens and pre-teens violently mobbing downtowns and assaulting young and old, alike.

Make no mistake - our youth are spiraling out of control. Last week in San Francisco, 81 minors were arrested for destroying a light-rail vehicle. They were reportedly carrying guns, fireworks, drug paraphernalia, and shouting 'f*** the police!'

The weekend before that in the City by the Bay, thieving gangs of kids in ski masks, armed with baseball bats targeted stroller moms at school pick-up.

Nationwide, 1,150 juveniles committed gun homicides between 2019 and 2020. That's more than double the number from a decade ago. Child gun deaths rose by 50 percent between 2019 and 2021. And in 2019, gun violence surpassed car accidents are the leading cause of death among Americans under age 18.

What is happening? Look no further than New York City and Chicago where left-wing prosecutors and politicians have obliterated the moral and legal boundaries that help kids thrive.

New York State reforms have also been monumentally deadly and destructive for kids. The 2017 'Raise the Age' legislation hiked the age of criminal responsibility to 18-years-old and narrowed the thresholds for imposing any criminal liabilty for teen crime offenders to absurdist levels. dailymail.co.uk


Lowes Reinstates Employee Fired for Confronting Thief
(Update) Longtime Lowes employee reinstated after being fired for attempting to stop shoplifters
Donna Hansbrough, the 68-year-old Lowes employee who was fired for violating the company's policy on stopping the theft of merchandise was reinstated earlier today.

"After senior management became aware of the incident and spoke to Donna Hansbrough today, we are reinstating her job, and we are pleased that she has accepted the offer to return to Lowe's. First and foremost, there's nothing more important than the safety of our customers and associates. Products can be replaced; people cannot. We continue to work closely with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those who are responsible for this theft and violent attack," the statement read.

Hansbrough was initially fired after she attempted to stop thieves from stealing roughly $2,000 worth of merchandise from a Georgia store.

The longtime employee, who worked at the company for 13 years, was punched in the face three times on June 25 after she grabbed one of the trio's shopping carts. fox5atlanta.com


NY lawmakers persist in advocating for measures to combat shoplifting

In Case You Missed It: United States tops 400 mass shootings in 2023

San Francisco's Downtown Exodus Continues
(Update) Map shows every major retail closure this year
A wave of retail store closures has decimated downtown San Francisco, with more than a dozen notable destinations having closed or announced closures since the beginning of 2023. Old Navy, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth, Anthropologie and Office Depot are among the major retail brands that said they would shutter storefronts.

Most recently, Westfield announced that they would be giving up its San Francisco mall to lenders in the wake of Nordstrom's planned closure. The mall will continue to be open, but the transfer casts a cloud over the future of its remaining tenants.

Retail closures have impacted cities across the country, as a rise in online shopping and changing habits during the pandemic affected foot traffic in retail spaces. But San Francisco's closures have received more media attention, with retailers citing additional challenges such as high inflation, supply chain issues, labor shortages and crime. And the city's downtown core has been affected more than other parts of the city, according to sales tax data. sfchronicle.com