AI Recognition Tech to Fight Shoplifters in Real Time
Retail owners using artificial intelligence to detect shoplifting in real time
Forbes recently surveyed retail store owners and found that nearly four out of five lose between $500 and $2,500 a month due to shoplifting. Some of them are turning to artificial intelligence to catch shoppers in the act.

Shoppers who feel they can sneak a buy-one-get-one-free deal past the counter might have a little more trouble doing so past a specific set of cameras. The cameras have AI recognition technology installed, alerting the owner if someone tries to grab a snack without paying for it.

"Veesion is artificial intelligence that you plug into existing cameras to detect gestures associated with potential shoplifting. So, people putting items in the jacket, trousers, backpack or purse for example," said Veesion co-founder Benoit Koenig.

Veesion has entered 4,000 stores worldwide — 500 in the U.S. — and that number is growing. Its algorithm analyzes several different cameras simultaneously, looking for subtle cues in a way the human eye cannot keep up with.

"The first component is human detection with the red or green square you can see around each person," Koenig said. "The second component is called pause estimation to estimate the position of all the body parts. The third component is called object recognition to detect a backpack or purse instead of a shopping bag or shopping cart. All those components together will provide you with the probability of any gesture at any time."

Since the technology is solely analyzing body movements, Koenig says Veesion is better at avoiding bias when detecting shoplifters than those behind the counter.

"The algorithm doesn't care about what people look like, it cares about gestures. It looks at body movement and will pick up on a gesture to place an item in the jacket, in the trousers, in a backpack, or purse," he said.

If someone tried to pocket some chips without paying, Koenig said, "That will generate a small video alert on the mobile phone of the store owner in real-time so they can actually ask the client if they need help, if they need a basket so people know that they're being watched. It probably deters the attempt before it actually happens."  cbsnews.com


Shutting Down ORC Rings & the Online Black Market
California law could shut down the market for stolen retail goods

State bill requires online marketplaces to ensure that organized theft rings aren't using platforms to fence their loot

Nowadays, stolen goods are commonly offered up for sale on internet marketplaces such as Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and Craigslist. And we, the purchaser, often have no way of knowing if the items being sold were stolen.

The problem is, some online marketplaces don’t verify whether sellers on their sites are legitimate, leaving us in the circumstance where we might unwittingly purchase a stolen good.

And if the item we bought was stolen, there’s a good chance it was stolen by someone working for an organized retail theft ring that directed the person to steal specific items.

Law enforcement and retailers say that’s increasingly how organized retail theft works: The ringleaders of large-scale operations hire and pay “workers” to rob brick-and-mortars stores, and then the ringleaders make millions selling the ill-gotten goods online.

That’s why the Legislature needs to pass SB 1144, commonsense legislation that will curb organized retail theft and ensure that consumers aren’t inadvertently buying items from a smash and grab. Under SB 1144, online marketplaces must ensure that organized theft rings are not using their platforms to fence stolen goods.

SB 1144 is supported by a large coalition of retailers, law enforcement, and cities and counties and is part of the Legislature’s Safer California Plan — a bill package with proven strategies for reducing crime and drug addiction.

SB 1144 is also a follow-up to a 2022 law, SB 301, that established California’s first-in-the-nation regulations of online marketplaces to combat retail theft. Law enforcement and retailers say SB 301 has been effective, but over the past year, organized rings have found a way to circumvent it.  siliconvalley.com


Is Appointment-Only Retail a Solution to the Theft Surge?
Instead of closing its San Francisco store, Saks pivoted to appoint-only

Luxury retailer tries drastic security measure for in-store crime
Saks Fifth Avenue is one such retailer that has grappled with an uptick in theft, particularly in some harder hit areas like San Francisco.

Thanks to a rise in retail theft, armed robberies, and inventory shrink, many retailers have left San Francisco, leaving vacancies at popular malls like the downtown San Francisco Centre, formerly a Westfield shopping center.

Some retailers that have left the once popular downtown shopping district include:

• Nordstrom
• Nordstrom Rack
• The North Face
• Hollister
• Adidas
• Lego
• Anthropologie
• Old Navy
• Express
• Whole Foods

But Saks has decided to take a different approach.

Rather than leaving San Francisco, Saks will pivot its in-store shopping experience to appointment only, meaning any customers looking to peruse its luxury shelves will have to make an appointment ahead of time to gain access.

The change, which is the first of its kind for department stores in the United States, will take effect on Aug. 28. thestreet.com


Big Cities Continue to Get State Funds to Fight ORC
Portland police getting half a million dollars from the state to fight shoplifters
The effort to curb retail theft in Portland is getting a half-million-dollar boost from the state. The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) will receive the first disbursement in September.

“This gives us the ability to hire officers on overtime to engage in this proactive work on the street,” said PPB’s North Precinct Commander Rob Simon said.

The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission is giving PPB $474,244 to combat theft from businesses. The money comes from the state’s Organized Retail Theft Grant Program.

PPB says many retail thieves are involved in organized theft rings or other serious crimes involving guns and drugs. They hope cracking down retail theft in highly impacted areas and catching prolific thieves will help improve general livability and will help reduce crime for the entire business community.

The first disbursement of the awarded funds is expected to be released in early September.

Retail theft missions work directly with our retail partners to identify, apprehend, and work toward prosecution of these offenders. Following each retail theft mission, officers conduct follow-up and work closely with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office (MCDA) toward prosecution of these cases.

Retail theft is often more than just shoplifting items for personal use. Many suspects are involved in organized theft rings, which steal items that can easily be sold for cash in the secondary market or returned to stores for a “refund.” Returning or attempting to return stolen property, no matter the value, is a class-C felony. katu.com  portlandoregon.gov
 
RELATED: Washington County DA’s office awarded $1.5M to counter retail theft


Surge in 'Organized Package Thefts'
Investigators warn of organized package theft rings; what you should know to keep property safe
A trend is happening across the country as thieves are stealing packages containing iPhones just minutes, or even seconds, after delivery. Police say it’s happening in the immediate area and they aren’t just getting lucky, but are sophisticated.

"People are stealing a lot of things. Theft is up," said Anthony Mongeluzo.

In Jersey, Stafford Township Police posted on its Facebook page a warning informing residents about an increase in organized package thefts. They say criminals fraudulently obtain tracking numbers for packages, often containing Apple iPhones, and sell the information to theft crews.

The thieves then get delivery notifications. "They're very brazen. It is like nothing I have ever seen," said Mongeluzo. He is the president of PCS LLC, a pro computer service.  fox29.com


Politics & Crime Collide
How Minnesota Crime Rate Compares to Rest of US
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will be the country's next vice president if the Democrats win the upcoming election, but what is his state's crime rate and how does it compare to others?

Minnesota is roughly in the middle when it comes to safety, ranked 29th in a list of the most dangerous states in the U.S. compiled by Forbes Advisor in March. Using 2022 figures from the FBI Crime Data Explorer, Forbes calculated a 2.81 violent crime rate per 1,000 residents in the state, with a one in 356 chance of being a victim of a violent crime.

This is significantly better than New Mexico, the most dangerous state, which had a violent crime rate of 7.80, but well over the 1.26 rate in the safest state, New Hampshire.

It has a better violent crime rate per 1,000 residents than most of the states surrounding it—Wisconsin (2.97), South Dakota (3.77) and Iowa (2.87). North Dakota is just slightly under Minnesota with a rate of 2.80. newsweek.com


Washington State AG highlights progress in tackling organized retail crime

Deschutes Co., OR To Receive Grant To Combat Retail Theft
 

Will the Kroger-Albertsons Merger Ever Get Done?
Kroger and Albertsons: A Case Study in Operational Resilience

Both companies navigate merger uncertainty by staying focused on value creation models

The latest twist in the Kroger-Albertsons merger saga is fueling more uncertainty about whether this deal will ever get done.

On July 25, the retailers and the state of Colorado all agreed to an order to again delay the proposed $24.6 billion merger between The Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. The order grants a temporary injunction, and Kroger and Albertsons now must wait until a September trial to see whether they can move forward with their plans to merge.

But CEO Rodney McMullen says that no matter what happens with the merger — or the economy or the consumer, for that matter — Kroger’s strategy remains the same: solving problems for customers.

Racked by Delays

Since Cincinnati-based Kroger, which has annual revenue of $150 billion and more than 414,000 associates, revealed plans to merge with Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons in October 2022, federal and state lawsuits have piled up, on top of attacks from unions, the media and anyone who loves to shop at grocery stores. The lawsuits are in various stages of litigation, and the bad press for Kroger has been relentless. It’s a bad time to be a couple of unionized supermarket chains trying to merge so as to compete with non-union grocery giants such as Walmart and Costco.

Meanwhile, consumers are feeling squeezed by inflationary grocery prices and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is eager to fight any move by retailers that might be seen as anti-competitive.  progressivegrocer.com


Bringing a Government-Run Grocery Store to Chicago
Is a City-Owned Grocery Store Coming to Chicago?

Feasibility study deems concept needed and doable

A government grocery store has moved closer from speculation to possibility in one major market. According to the Chicago Tribune, a study conducted by the HR&A consulting firm concluded that a city-owned supermarket is “necessary, feasible and implementable.”

The outside analysts suggested that the city work with a nonprofit grocery operator to run such markets. A network of three stores is estimated to cost at least $27.7 million.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson brought up the idea in 2023, announcing that his administration would work with the nonprofit Economic Security Project to explore the retail option. A year later, the study affirmed the need for such a store, based on the number of local food deserts and a lack of access to fresh foods in some neighborhoods. The authors asserted that grocers are “typically unwilling to take the market risk that these neighborhoods present.”  progressivegrocer.com


The Facial Recognition Expansion Continues for Security Purposes
Facial recognition expanding at Universal Studios Florida
Face biometrics for access control are increasingly being implemented in theme parks around the world. Universal Orlando Resort is incorporating facial recognition systems in its parks to streamline entry, and now also at individual rides and attractions.

The biometric security system is designed to identify individuals and prevent unauthorized access. In 2023, Mark Woodbury, CEO of Universal Destinations and Experiences, announced that adopting facial recognition was a strategic priority for the theme parks. biometricupdate.com


Southeastern Grocers Hands Out Scholarships to Deserving Employees
Each recipient will receive $3,000 to cover costs associated with courses, books and more.

Store closures a factor in Allbirds Q2 sales nosedive

Is Ace Hardware’s New Store Model a Good Concept?