Sounding the Alarm Over America's Theft Crisis
U.S. Chamber of Commerce says Retail Theft a ‘National Crisis'

The US Chamber of Commerce is demanding that Congress take action to address the rise of organized retail theft.

Organized retail theft rates have spiked significantly in the past year, affecting communities across the nation. This theft is perpetrated by organized criminal rings that steal large amounts of goods from businesses of all types and sizes with the intent to resell them, particularly online. The problem is so severe that 54% of small business owners experienced an increase in shoplifting in 2021.

These crimes are not victimless. In addition to the growing number of thefts that turn violent, innocent consumers, employees, local communities, and business owners and shareholders bear the costs of rising retail theft.

What can be done, how big of an issue is retail theft in your local area, and what role can Congress play?

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is demanding that Congress take action to address the rise of organized retail theft – arguing the issue has become a nationwide emergency.

Retailers that were already struggling to rebuild their businesses and attract customers due to the COVID-19 pandemic are “now faced with large-scale theft and looting, much of it stemming from organized crime,” Neil Bradley, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s chief policy officer, said.

“Retail theft is becoming a national crisis, hurting businesses in every state and the communities they serve,” Bradley added. “We call on policymakers to tackle this problem head-on before it gets further out of control. No store should have to close because of theft.”

The average large retailer lost $700,000 per $1 billion in sales as of 2020 — an increase of more than 50% over a five-year period, according to the National Retail Federation. The Chamber of Commerce called on federal and state lawmakers to take concrete steps to address the problem. Those recommendations include urging Congress to pass legislation to stop the sale of stolen goods online; pressing states to update the definition of organized retail crime and increase penalties; and encouraging law enforcement and prosecutors to hold those who engage in organized and significant retail theft accountable.

For more information, visit www.uschamber.com/retailtheft. yahoo.com

NYC Grand Larceny Up 49%, Pushing Retailers to Lock Up Products
New Target Store in Flatbush Has Questionable, Discriminatory Anti-Theft Measures, Some Locals Say

At a quick glance, at least 9 aisles in the brand-new store have more than 3 shelves locked behind plexiglass

A brand new Target store opened last week in Flatbush, but neighbors have mixed feelings about it—about half of the store’s products are behind anti-theft barriers accessible only by an employee’s key.

Unlike the other Target stores across the city, where only the electronics and a few select items are in anti-theft boxes; at the Target on the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Church Avenue, everything from baby formula and fabric softener, to face wash and toothpaste is behind plexiglass, including both generic items and name brands.

BK Reader counted at least 9 of the 15 aisles– not including the clothing section– housed more than 3 locked shelves. And in 5 of those aisles, more than 50% of the products were locked up.

“This is a very Black and Brown neighborhood and it just feels blatantly disrespectful to our community—it’s disgusting,” Worrell said. “There are some people who are like ‘Well this has been happening since the pandemic, and this happens in other stores.’ However, a lot of people feel like this is treating the community like we’re hoodlums and thieves.”

The Flatbush Target store manager, Idala Carranza, said the barriers were to protect inventory. “We want to have the products in stock for our guests,” Carranza said.

Between January 1 and July 3, 2022, there were 730 robberies at commercial locations citywide, compared to last year’s citywide numbers of 350 commercial robberies during the same timeframe, according to the New York Police Department’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information, Julian Phillips.

In Precinct 70, where the Flatbush Target is located, grand larceny is up by 19%, compared to last year’s numbers. And petit larceny is down by 2% year-to-date compared to last year’s numbers, according to public records. Both of these are considerably lower than the citywide statistics—across the five boroughs where grand larceny is up 49% and petit larceny is up 42% year-to-date compared to last year’s numbers. bkreader.com

NYC's Crime Emergency Driven By Repeat Offenders
Adams joins GOP call for special legislative session to tackle NYC crime
Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday joined GOP lawmakers’ calls for an emergency session of the state legislature to deal with New York’s spiraling crime crisis.

“I hope that just as we had a special call to return to Albany to deal with the [US Supreme Court] ruling on right to carry [handguns], I believe that Albany should consider coming and revisiting some of the violence we’re seeing of repeated offenders,” Adams said at a City Hall news conference.

“We need to be clear on that. We’re not talking about someone that steals an apple. We’re talking about someone that has repeatedly used violence in our city: robberies, grand larcenies, burglaries, shootings, carrying a gun,” Adams said.

“This group of people are repeated offenders in our community, and they’re hurting our public safety.”

The comments followed a demand last week by the legislature’s Republican minority leaders for a special session to repeal the state’s controversial bail reform law after the attack on GOP gubernatorial candidate and Long Island’s outgoing US Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) during a campaign event near Rochester.

Last month, Gov. Kathy Hochul convened a special session of the legislature to ban concealed firearms from “sensitive locations,” including Times Square and mass transit, and to require applicants for pistol permits to divulge information about their social media accounts.

During Tuesday’s news conference, Adams also repeated his calls for district attorneys and judges to speed up prosecutions and sentencings to get criminals “off the street.” nypost.com

Michigan Continues Crime Crackdown
Gov. Whitmer Signs Executive Directive to Reduce Crime and Gun Violence

Governor directs state government departments and law enforcement agencies to coordinate and invest all available federal resources into crime violence prevention

Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive instructing Michigan state departments and law enforcement agencies to utilize federal resources from the recently passed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to reduce crime and gun violence. This action follows a roundtable discussion the governor held with members of the law enforcement community, parents, students, and faith leaders on how to stop violence and hold criminals accountable for committing violent crimes.

“As a former prosecutor, public safety is a top priority for me,” said Governor Whitmer. “But today, far too many families in Michigan do not feel safe in their neighborhoods because of crime and gun violence. That is unacceptable—we must stop the violence and hold people accountable. We need to tackle both crime and gun violence simultaneously because they are inextricably linked—nearly 1 in 3 reported violent crimes involve a firearm and in the first six months of this year alone, over 450 Michiganders have died because of gun violence. That’s why I worked to give law enforcement the resources they need in my bipartisan budget. And thanks to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we have access to unprecedented federal resources that will help us keep Michiganders safe as they go to work, drop their kids off at school, or run errands in their neighborhoods. Let’s work together to protect public safety and reduce crime and gun violence.”

The executive directive can be viewed here. michigan.gov

Good egg NYC Mayor Eric Adams needs to get hard-boiled and keep his promises
Most critically, the relentless wave of violent crime and public disorder show no evidence of slowing down, with major felonies 37% higher than last year. Cops are under attack, homeless vagrants are everywhere, streets are filthy and New Yorkers don’t feel safe because they aren’t safe.

The daily headlines of murder and blood are unnerving. Alarmingly, there is nothing to suggest serious change is in the works. The cavalry is not coming.

We saw the first hint of a possible new approach Tuesday when he surprisingly joined GOP lawmakers in calling for a special Albany session to deal with violent crime.

Adams’ modest request for bail reform and several other crime-control measures could have made a significant difference in the battle to take back the streets. Instead, he got a fig leaf to hide the cold shoulder Hochul and other Albany Dems gave him. nypost.com

Opinion: Chesa Boudin’s Recall Wasn’t about Crime—It’s about Gentrification
 
Legislator calls for city of Rochester to take aggressive anti-crime measures

US: 92.4M Cases - 1M Dead - 87.6M Recovered
Worldwide: 577.4M Cases - 6.4M Dead - 547.2M Recovered

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

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 360  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 787
*Red indicates change in total deaths

COVID Cases, Hospitalizations & Deaths

We’re still in a pandemic
Out of patience with pandemic precautions
The number of coronavirus infections is high and rising. But something fundamental about COVID-19 has changed: It isn’t as scary anymore.

Over the last week, the U.S. has averaged a whopping 120,000 new cases per day. (And those are just the ones reported to authorities; the true number is even higher.)

Contrast that to the early weeks of the outbreak, when society all but shut down in an effort to steer clear of the virus and bend the curve. All it took to get our attention back then was fewer than 30,000 cases per day.

Nationwide, daily COVID-19 deaths have averaged around 365 over the last week. The count hasn’t been that low for a year, since the lull before the Delta surge. The only other time it has been lower was the initial weeks of the outbreak. So perhaps there is less reason to fear the coronavirus.

"If your metric is infections, it looks hopeless,” Chin-Hong said. “But if your metric is people getting seriously ill and dying — wow, that’s a huge victory.”

For the most part, the public is focused on the latter metric. But the health establishment is mostly focused on the former, especially the speed with which new variants are emerging and the possibility that one of them will be impervious to our vaccines and treatments, effectively sending us back to square one. latimes.com

Returning to the Era of Mask Enforcement Backlash
‘It’s sort of like we’re back to 2020’: L.A. dining scene braces for possible indoor masking return
As Los Angeles hurtles toward a possible return of a countywide indoor mask mandate, restaurateurs and bar owners are bracing for a new wave of backlash and enforcement difficulties — reminiscent of many of their industry’s hardships during the pandemic-spurred pivots and rapidly evolving dining regulations of 2020 and 2021.

But in an encouraging development, fresh figures are showing a slight flattening in new infections and hospitalizations. Nonetheless, the dining industry remained on edge.

If Los Angeles County remains in the “high” community level through Thursday, recording at least 10 new weekly coronavirus-positive hospitalizations for every 100,000 residents, a countywide mask mandate would take effect Friday and require masks worn indoors by anyone over the age of 2 in a host of settings: gyms, office spaces, shops, educational facilities, supermarkets and restaurants and bars among them. latimes.com

Updated Workplace Testing Guidance
Regulatory Update: EEOC Again Revises Workplace Testing Guidance

Guidance is aimed at employers who continue to require employee testing for COVID-19.

EEOC announced the changes July 12 that were incorporated into its Technical Assistance Questions and Answers regarding how civil rights laws and commission regulations apply to how employers choose to deal with the illness. Concerns continue with reports that the virus continues to mutate, most recently into a more highly contagious version.

“In this document, the EEOC has revised the guidance in a manner that takes into account the current phase of the pandemic and employers’ renewed emphasis on returning to in-person or hybrid work,” observe attorneys Samantha Brooks, Karla Grossenbacher and A. Scott Hecker of the Seyfarth Shaw law firm.

EEOC said its newest Q&A revision “makes clear that going forward employers will need to assess whether current pandemic circumstances and individual workplace circumstances justify viral screening testing of employees to prevent workplace transmission of COVID-19.”

The commission said the reworking of the guidance also offers employers possible factors to consider in making this assessment, including community transmission levels and types of contacts between employees and others in the workplace. ehstoday.com

U.S. may need $7 billion for monkeypox, Biden administration estimates
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