Drugs & Guns in 2021 - The Spike on the Front Lines is Alarming - As a Progressive Governor Had to Finally Admit

The Mere Volume of DOJ Indictments, Arrests, & Convictions Press Releases has Increased Significantly in 2021
Over the last six months, we've noticed at least a doubling of these press releases and alerts, with drug trafficking and guns being the leading two crimes by far and the various gangs the leading suspects. The increase is alarming to say the least. And this is a conservative figure for fear that we sound like our hair is on fire, which is always the claim from the opponents.

And while these don't really involve retail per say, the nexus is there. With the drug addicts, mules, gang members, and the vulnerable people committing the street crimes and driving the ORC nationwide. Which is why Governor Newsom in California just yesterday announced a Wednesday press conference "on state action to address crime and reduce retail theft in communities across California." Finally, calling ORC out and identifying it as a serious law enforcement priority. Something we rarely have heard from that level. And while it took a lot to get him to sign Bill 331, which extends an effort to crack down on organized shoplifting, the fact is he signed it and California's retailers and the LP and AP industry can claim a small victory.

For that to have happened during this progressive movement, with two DA's in California who've helped lead that effort, means that the retail LP and AP teams and the ORC associations in California have been doing a great job of raising awareness and building relationships with their law enforcement colleagues and the media, which drives the apprehensions and convictions and public support up, which then commands the support from the elected officials. All of which help raise funds to continue the fight. Because quite frankly, this is part of a bigger battle, a bigger war - the war on drugs. Great job, folks - just please be careful out there. -Gus Downing

P.S. - Quite frankly, it's my personal opinion that while a number of factors are obviously driving the violent crime numbers, four stand out as the primary culprits and not in any order: legalizing marijuana, releasing thousands of convicts almost simultaneously, the no-bail movement, and finally the nationwide felony threshold increases. And contrary to one reader's opinion, it has nothing to do with legal gun owners

Fewer Low-Level Arrests = Fewer Shootings?
Cities That Reduced Arrests For Minor Offenses Also Saw Fewer Police Shootings

And crime in those cities wasn’t worse.

In response to nationwide protests last summer over the murder of George Floyd by police, many cities and states have tried to change their approach to policing. One such strategy is to make fewer arrests for low-level offenses in an effort to reduce the number of potentially violent encounters between the police and the public. Virginia, for instance, banned police from pulling people over for exclusively minor traffic violations earlier this year. Meanwhile, Oregon decriminalized drug possession. Louisiana restricted police from making arrests for certain misdemeanors, asking police to instead issue summons. And cities like San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, began sending clinicians instead of police to help people suffering from a mental health crisis.

These efforts are all part of a shift that has been underway in America’s largest cities for a number of years now. But despite the effect these changes have had in reducing violent encounters with the police, these efforts have still experienced significant backlash, particularly from some in law enforcement who have blamed rising murder rates on police “pulling back” and being “defunded.” This criticism has intensified as murder rates have risen, even though most cities’ police budgets weren’t cut by much in 2021 and murders still ticked up in cities that increased their police budgets.

We are still waiting for the federal government to publish arrests data for 2020 and 2021, but what we do know from previous years is that low-level arrests are in decline, and that appears to have helped reduce the number of shootings by police — not made violent crime worse.

Data from the FBI Uniform Crime Report shows arrest rates have generally been declining since the 1990s, when crime rates were much higher than they are now. These declines have been accelerated, in more recent years, by changes in policing in America’s largest cities. While national data hasn’t been published for 2020 yet, preliminary data suggests arrests in big cities declined even further beginning with the lockdowns in March and April 2020.

There has been, in other words, a shift away from “broken windows” policing, or the debunked idea that aggressive policing of minor crimes deters more serious crimes. But what has this shift meant for crime more generally and for reports of police violence?

The data that is available suggests that in cities where there were reductions in low-level arrests, there were also reductions in police shootings. fivethirtyeight.com

US: 35.2M Cases - 627K Dead - 29.5M Recovered
Worldwide: 195.5M Cases - 4.1M Dead - 177.3M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 285  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 321
*Red indicates change in total deaths

The Biggest Threat to COVID Recovery
Experts warn unvaccinated are greatest threat to pandemic recovery
Experts are warning that the greatest threat to the pandemic recovery in the United States are the large swaths of Americans who remain unvaccinated.

Over the past few weeks, the U.S. has seen a surge of coronavirus cases across the country in the wake of the highly infectious delta variant. The new strain has particularly wreaked havoc in states with low vaccination rates.

The state of Missouri has recently become a U.S. hot spot, averaging more than 2,100 cases per day over the last seven-day period, according to data from The New York Times. About 41 percent of the state population is fully vaccinated.

Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana and Nevada have also seen an increase in coronavirus cases.

The nationwide vaccination rate has also dropped following the mad dash for the vaccine earlier in the year. Health experts warn that unvaccinated individuals pose a risk to the country, and could spread the disease until other, vaccine-resistant strains arise. thehill.com

Major CDC Reversal on Masks
CDC to urge vaccinated people to resume wearing masks indoors in some circumstances as delta variant spreads

The recommendation would reverse guidance by the agency in May saying that vaccinated individuals did not have to wear masks indoors or out

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to recommend on Tuesday that vaccinated Americans wear masks indoors in certain circumstances, citing the highly transmissible delta variant.

The recommendation, to be unveiled at a 3 p.m. news briefing, would alter the agency’s May 13 guidance saying that vaccinated individuals did not have to wear masks indoors or out because of the protection afforded by vaccines. At the time, cases were dropping sharply and the delta variant, which is 1,000 times more transmissible than earlier versions of the virus, had not gained significant traction in the United States.

President Biden and CDC director Rochelle Walensky have repeatedly said there is a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” because unvaccinated people make up the vast majority of patients hospitalized with the disease. But the delta variant has been a game-changer for the United States, sending cases surging throughout the country, and there is concern that although vaccinated people are unlikely to become severely ill, they may still be able to become infected and spread the virus. washingtonpost.com

More Businesses Consider Vaccine Mandates Amid Delta Surge
Corporate America Rethinks Vaccine Mandates

New outbreaks have companies weighing their options.

That has led some companies to reconsider their reopening plans and rekindled the debate about whether to make vaccination mandatory. To date, most companies haven’t required returning workers to get inoculated. Will that change?

“We all but shamed people,” Johnny Taylor, the C.E.O. of the Society for Human Resource Management, said of companies cajoling and offering incentives for workers to get vaccinated. “But now we’re at a point that none of that’s working and we’ve got to close the gap.”

North Carolina-based Novant Health said last week that it would make inoculations mandatory after trying other ways to overcome vaccine hesitancy. As the Delta variant spreads, “the time was right to say, ‘We’ve got to move forward with requiring vaccines of our team members,’” said Dr. David Priest, the company’s chief safety officer.

Short of mandates, some are ratcheting up disincentives to remaining unvaccinated. Last week, the N.F.L. said that if unvaccinated players or staff members caused an outbreak that forced a schedule change, their team would be held financially responsible for all costs and potentially forfeit the postponed game. nytimes.com

Here's the Daily's Proof - Why We Report UK LP/AP News & Developments
Biden officials closely monitor delta variant in U.K. as their anxieties mount over impact to U.S. economy

Some U.S. economists wonder if U.K. will prove ‘canary in the coal mine’ as Boris Johnson pursues aggressive reopening

Senior Biden officials are carefully monitoring the impact of the delta variant on Britain, as concerns intensify within the administration about the potential economic damage of the virus to the United States, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

With close to 70 percent of the United Kingdom at least partially vaccinated, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pushed toward a full economic reopening even as new cases rose above 50,000-per-day for the first time since mid-January. Johnson’s government has ended most covid-related restrictions in England, despite objections from many public health officials.

Administration officials are watching to see the trajectory of that decision. If Britain’s reopening continues without a new wave of hospitalizations and lockdowns, America’s recovery could prove more likely to remain on course, officials believe. washingtonpost.com

Return-to-Office Refresher
Remind Returning Employees of Professional Expectations
Employers should reorient employees with the office, said Timothy Ford, an attorney with Einhorn Barbarito in Denville, N.J. "A reminder of office policies and conduct is a good first step."

Philippe Weiss, president of Seyfarth at Work in Chicago, said organizations that have been successful in achieving smooth, respectful returns to the office have viewed their returning staff like new employees. They "have been conducting carefully planned interactive reorientation training sessions focused on appropriate interactions," he said. For managers, the training has focused on successfully leading a hybrid or returning workforce.

"The most effective of these reorientation sessions are not overly proscriptive or rules-centric," Weiss said. The sessions instead enable participants to share reactions and collaboratively evaluate scenarios concerning return-to-office conduct. shrm.org

The virus remains the boss - At least for the next year & Likely longer
The pandemic isn’t over, not even for those who are vaccinated
Covid-19 may still surprise us, and if it does, at this still middle-aged stage of the pandemic, it’s more likely to be an unpleasant surprise.

In the best case, delta will be the most dangerous variant to emerge, our immune systems will learn to respond, trained by vaccines or infection, and we will achieve the Holy Grail of a kind of herd immunity. This will still not mean actual immunity; it will simply mean the disease becomes endemic, and infections and deaths will continue to occur, but in much reduced numbers. Meanwhile, for at least a year — and likely longer — the vast majority of the world will continue to see significant mortality and social and economic disruption. washingtonpost.com

Massive Protests in Australia as COVID Denialism Goes Global
COVID protests and the dangers of the disinformation age
It was a bad weekend in Australia. With half the country's population in lockdown, thousands flooded Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to protest COVID restrictions. It was a particularly disheartening sight in Sydney, where COVID-19 cases are surging and lockdown seems endless.

Among the sea of protesters were many concerned citizens, voicing worries about government overreach and the financial instability that accompanies harsh COVID restrictions. But the wave of protests seemed primarily pumped up by conspiracy thinking: T-shirts and signs calling COVID a hoax were easier to spot than masks.

Like the coronavirus itself, skepticism has now infected the entire globe. COVID denialism and anti-vaxxers are a minority, but not small enough to ignore anymore. Protests, demonstrations and riots across the world have been fueled (at least partially) by such skepticism.

COVID protests are often made up of three components. First, ordinary citizens worried about freedom and job security. Second, COVID deniers, anti-vaxxers and other brands of skeptics looking to spread their message. Third, small political parties attempting to turn disenfranchised protesters into voters come election day. cnet.com

Will the Delta variant keep shoppers and unvaccinated workers at home?

NY, NYC, and Calif. gov & health workers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations or regularly tested

Facing Your Face Mask Duties – A List of Statewide Orders (UPDATED)

The 20 most vulnerable counties in the U.S. right now

Thousands protest amid global anger against COVID restrictions
 

Manhattan Diamond District Robbery Crew Busted after 2 Years
Two Men Charged In Connection With 11 Robberies And Attempted Robberies Of Luxury Watches In New York City, New Jersey, And Long Island
Southern District of New York, and Dermot Shea, Police Commissioner for the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment charging VICTOR RIVERA, 30, and JOHAN ARAUJO, 40, with conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, attempted robbery, attempted extortion, interstate transportation of stolen property, money laundering, and firearms offenses. ARAUJO was arrested on July 23. RIVERA was previously charged in an Indictment in November 2020 and is currently in custody. This case is assigned to United States District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As alleged in the Indictment, the defendants committed a series of armed robberies and attempted robberies of jewelers and other owners of luxury watches in and around New York City. In one of these robberies, a victim was shot.

From at least in or about October 2019 up to and including November 2020, RIVERA, ARAUJO, and others known and unknown agreed to rob victims of luxury watches worth up to hundreds of thousands of dollars each. The watches owned by victims targeted in the robberies included Richard Mille, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe as part of the jewelers’ businesses based in Manhattan’s Diamond District. RIVERA used guns to commit several of the robberies, and in one robbery, shot a victim, who survived. justice.gov

Tampa Woman Sentenced In $225,000 Credit Card Fraud Scheme
Ariel Tillman (37, Tampa) to two years and eight months in federal prison for credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft. As part of her sentence, the court also entered a money judgment of $225,271.04, the proceeds of the fraud.

From approximately July through October 2018, Tillman and others devised and executed a scheme whereby they obtained stolen credit card numbers and used those account numbers to purchase stamps at night from self-service kiosks at dozens of various U.S. Post Offices. They then sold the stamps on the secondhand market. justice.gov

West Sacramento Couple Indicted for Mail Fraud and Identity Theft
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A 12-count indictment was unsealed today charging West Sacramento residents Kimberly Acevedo, 50, and Philip Rich, 49, with mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, possession of stolen mail, and unlawful possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices.

Between March 2019 and March 2021, Acevedo and Rich perpetrated a mail fraud scheme that involved theft of U.S. mail, identity theft, and unlawful possession of dozens of stolen bank cards. Generally, Acevedo and Rich obtained the personally identifiable information (PII) of victims and used that information to apply for new credit cards, debit cards, checkbooks, and other financial instruments to be sent to the victims’ real home addresses. The defendants then submitted change-of-address requests to USPS at www.usps.com using the victims’ PII. These change-of-address requests rerouted the victims’ mail to defendants’ shared home address, where they would open the mail and use its contents to make fraudulent purchases and cash fraudulent checks.

If convicted, Acevedo and Rich both face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison for mail fraud, five years in prison for possessing stolen mail, and 10 years in prison for possessing more than 15 unauthorized access devices. The defendants also face a mandatory additional sentence of two years in prison if convicted of aggravated identity theft and a maximum fine of $250,000 on each count. Each facing a max. 37 years in prison. justice.gov

Northborough, MA: Men charged in Dick’s Sporting Goods Retail Theft Ring
Police in Northborough recently arrested two men who now face charges after they allegedly stole nearly $14,000 in items from various Dick’s Sporting Goods stores. The suspects, Manuel Antonio Gutierrez, 33, of Port Washington, N.Y., and Jose Antonio Jara, 37, of Elizabeth, N.J., face a total of 12 charges. Two men — Jara and Gutierrez — were in the car and there was a white bag matching the description given to police next to Gutierrez, officers wrote.

When police opened luggage in the trunk of the car, there were “hundreds [of] pieces of clothing with price tags and theft detection devices still attached” inside the luggage. The loss prevention staff member told police the items were Dick’s Sporting Goods merchandise, but they didn’t believe it was from the Northborough store. Seven pairs of Nike pants, seven pairs of Nike shorts and 12 Nike sweatshirts, valued at a total of $1,500, are alleged to have come from the Northborough store. In total, 106 shirts, 70 pairs of shorts, 78 pairs of pants, 59 hats and two swimsuits — totaling $13,870 — were found in the suitcases. Police also found two white bags made with “heavy” duct tape. “Through my training and experience, shoplifters use these thick bags to prevent the security alarms from being activated on items that contain theft detection devices,” officers wrote. communityadvocate.com

Calabasas, CA: The search is on for two thieves who targeted a makeup store
Video shows a brazen attack at the Ulta Beauty store in the 23700 block of Calabasas Road. According to the store employees, the attack happened on July 22 around 12:30 p.m. In the video obtained by FOX 11, two suspects are spotted stuffing garbage bags with stolen perfumes. A store employee says she stepped in to use her training. "When we see people stealing, we are told to go up and basically ‘customer service’ them. Which means go up and say, ‘Can I help you with anything?’" explained Cheri, the store employee. "Kind of in a way to get them to stop or run away." What makes the brazen theft even more shocking was how the thieves ignored her. Cheri told FOX 11 she has since quit her job at Ulta. foxla.com

Gonzales, LA: Police releases new surveillance photo in $1,200 Walmart felony theft

Marion County, FL: Sheriff’s Office thanks public in identifying woman who stole $300 in Walmart merchandise

Odessa, TX: OPD investigating Lowe’s Home Improvement theft