'Mayhem on Main Street': Retail Theft Epidemic Series

'Eye-Popping' Economic Footprint of Retail Theft
Retail theft delivers an economic blow for companies and communities

In this series, Mayhem on Main Street, the Washington Examiner will investigate the causes behind the scourge of shoplifting, the role of the cartels, the cost to stores big and small, and the complicity of lax prosecutors. Part three will focus on the economic impact. To read parts one and two, click here and here.

The crime wave has hit both run-of-the-mill retailers and luxury stores alike, and while some might claim that the individual thefts have a minimal economic footprint, taken together, the numbers involved are eye-popping.

The National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, found that in 2021, retail shrink amounted to a whopping $94.5 billion in losses.

To put that into perspective, that is nearly equivalent to the entire annual budget of the state of Florida and more than the annual expenditures of some major countries. It is also about equivalent to retail giant Target’s entire revenue in 2022.

“It is growing. We’re seeing a lot of open and brazen acts — I’ve been at this for over three decades, and shoplifting and professional shoplifting is not new, but in past decades, it’s always been seen as more of an invisible crime,” David Johnston, the National Retail Federation’s vice president of asset protection and retail operations, told the Washington Examiner.

Johnston noted that retail theft varies in scope and scale, ranging from opportunistic shoplifters to smash-and-grab thefts to highly organized retail crime operations that involve transnational gangs. He said the uptick is now across the board, regardless of product type or price point.

Beyond just the numbers, though, the crime has become increasingly more aggressive, something that is a concern for businesses that want to keep customers and employees safe while shopping.

Some 80% of retailers surveyed reported that violence and aggression associated with organized retail crime increased in 2021 from the year before. That finding is anecdotally borne out by the viral videos of brazen and aggressive thefts in recent years.

“Now we’re starting to see these large, open, brazen acts of shoplifting, which are causing more violence and threatening the safety and security of the consumer as well as the employee,” Johnston said. washingtonexaminer.com


Both Parties Blame California's Prop 47 for ORC Surge
Democratic County Supervisor Condemns Ineffectual California State Laws Leading to ‘Epidemic of Organized Retail Theft’
Democratic county supervisor David Canepa from San Mateo, Calif., condemned state laws that have proven ineffective in the face of an “epidemic of organized retail theft.”

The San Mateo county supervisor has become increasingly outspoken about the shortcomings of Proposition 47 (popularly known as Prop. 47), which passed in 2014 and made retail thefts under $950 a misdemeanor instead of a felony.

“I had supported Proposition 47, which basically said you wouldn’t prosecute — the crimes were much different at the level of up to $950. I thought it was a good idea at the time because I thought, we need to give people an opportunity, we need to give people a chance,” Canepa told the local news affiliate.

“I made a mistake, it was a big mistake, and you have to acknowledge your mistake,” the supervisor added. “By doing this, what we’ve done is we’re letting people take thousands and thousands of dollars. And why should people be subjugated?”

Prop. 47 was co-written by then-San Francisco DA George Gascón who, in 2020, became the district attorney of Los Angeles. In 2018, Gascón maintained that he was “proud” to have been a part of drafting the bill and denounced “critics [who] have attempted to blame Prop. 47 for every social ill short of global warming. It’s long past time to separate fact from fiction.”

While Canepa was initially sympathetic to the push to decriminalize retail thefts, the normalization of robberies in broad daylight across the country has changed his mind.

“We need that other tool in the toolbox which is to make policy changes so the repeat offenders, the ones going in with this petty theft. If they’re a habitual shoplifter, they’re going to be held accountable,” the official added. nationalreview.com

RELATED: Calif. Dem Regrets Backing Liberal Crime Bill Amid Retail Theft 'Epidemic'


Body Cams to Fight Retail Crime Across the Pond
The UK's biggest grocery chain is offering body cameras to staff as it seeks to fight the 'scourge on society' of retail crime and abuse to staff

Tesco is giving all its frontline staff the chance to wear body cameras, The Mail on Sunday reported.

Tesco, the UK's biggest grocery chain, is giving all its frontline staff the chance to wear body cameras in a bid to deter crime and assault on workers, as first reported in The Mail on Sunday.

Physical assaults on Tesco staff have increased by a third since last year, and more than 200 workers are victims of "serious physical assaults" each month, the publication reported.

"Crime is a scourge on society, and an insult to shoppers and retail workers," Tesco CEO Ken Murphy wrote in an opinion piece for The Mail on Sunday. "It is time we put an end to it."

He said that though only a small number of customers are verbally and physically abusive towards staff, they have a "disproportionate impact."

Over the past four years, Tesco has invested £44 million (about $55.6 million) on security measures including door access systems, protection screens, and digital radios, Murphy said. But he emphasized that other changes were needed to deter criminals in the first place, including better cooperation between police and businesses. He also demanded changes in the law, such as making abuse and violence towards retail workers a specific offence in itself.

Other British grocery chains, including Sainsbury's, the Co-op, and Waitrose, have also offered body cameras to staff. Waitrose has begun offering uniformed officers free hot drinks in an attempt to deter shoplifters, and sister company John Lewis lets uniformed officers use its staff seating areas and bathrooms as well as its subsidized staff canteens. businessinsider.com


Another Retailer Takes Major Hit Over Theft
Dollar General expecting $100 million loss due to theft
Retailer Dollar General is expecting major financial losses in its most recent quarter, which it is attributing to retail theft.

The retailer's gross profit fell 126 basis points compared to last year, which Dollar General has attributed to "lower inventory markups and increased shrink," with shrink being a retail term to describe the loss of inventory through various means, such as theft. "Markdowns and inventory damages" were also cited as a factor in the retailer's losses.

"The shrink environment has continued to worsen," Kelly Dilts said Thursday during the company's second-quarter earnings call. "We now expect approximately $100 million of additional shrink headwind since last quarter's call."

Dilts has warned that the retailer is expecting its pressure from retail theft will continue and that inventory shrink will increase in the second half of 2023. However, some precautions will be taken to combat this problem, including "reducing our inventory position" and "improving execution in our stores."

Retail theft has been a growing problem within the United States. Retail giant Dick's Sporting Goods saw its profits plummet 23%. Due to these losses in profits, Dick's shares fell 24%. washingtonexaminer.com


Retailer On the Verge of Closing Stores Amid Theft Crisis
DC grocery store removing major name brands from beauty, health aisles to crackdown on theft

In May, the grocery chain increased security and locked up several products

A Giant grocery store in Washington D.C. is removing brands like Advil, Colgate and Tide from their shelves in an effort to avoid shutting down due to high rate of theft.

The grocery chain has already taken drastic steps to increase security. Giant shoppers will also be required to show their receipts before exiting the store, according to the Washington Post.

Giant introduced widespread changes to their stores in May by increasing security, limiting entrances and locking down some of their products. Kress said at the time that he's seen theft rise at least "tenfold in the last five years" and violence increase "exponentially."

"The alternative is worse for customers," he told the Post in May. "The last thing I want to do is close stores. But I’ve got to be able to run them safely and profitably." foxnews.com

 
Dollar General to donate $2.5M & remodel store in wake of Jacksonville shooting
Dollar General said it will donate $2.5 million in the wake of the Jacksonville, Florida, shooting that left three people dead at one of its stores, including a 19-year-old employee. The company also said it plans to fully remodel the store and then reopen it in late September or early October, saying that the location plays an important role in "providing daily necessities" to Jacksonville residents. The attack, which authorities called racially motivated, occurred on August 26, when the White suspect entered the Dollar General store and opened fire, killing Angela Carr, 52; Anolt Laguerre, Jr., 19 and Jerrald De'Shaun Gallion, 29. The suspect then took his own life.

Laguerre, also known as AJ, was working at Dollar General "while also pursuing his passion for video games by streaming on the side," according to a GoFundMe organized by his brother to raise money for his funeral services. Carr, an Uber driver, was killed while sitting in her car outside the store, while Gallion, a restaurant manager, was shot as he entered the store, according to the Jacksonville, Florida Times Union. All three victims were Black. The donations will be directed to "efforts and organizations focused on healing and hope for Jacksonville," Dollar General said in the Friday statement.  cbsnews.com


LA Times Op-Ed Column: Businesses keep complaining about shoplifting, but wage theft is a bigger crime
On the one hand, sporadic robberies inflated by retail lobbyists and media via eye-catching reports; on the other, the pervasive shortchanging of hourly workers by their employers.

Estimates of the scale of both phenomena are all over the map, but run into billions of dollars a year. Yet it’s reasonable to conclude that, in terms of the direct impact on households, wage theft is the bigger deal.  latimes.com


Pleasanton council to provide direction on police use of 'situational cameras'

Organized retail theft an ongoing problem in Wichita

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$200K Theft Scheme Targeting Bay Area Retailers
Almost $200K in stolen items from Lululemon, Victoria’s Secret, other Bay Area stores recovered
A Contra Costa County man was arrested last week for his alleged role in a retail theft scheme that pocketed thousands of dollars of merchandise from Bay Area retailers, the California Highway Patrol announced.

Investigators with CHP’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force recovered around $190,000 worth of stolen merchandise from retailers that included Lululemon, CVS, Walgreens, Target, Rite Aid, Express, TJX, Ross and Victoria’s Secret at a house in El Sobrante on Thursday, CHP Golden Gate said in a statement following the bust. Officials also seized roughly $24,000 in cash.

Ngoc Bui Bach, 52, was arrested and booked at the Contra Costa County jail on suspicion of organized retail crime, grand theft and possession of stolen property, officials said. The arrest comes after a month-long investigation into the alleged illegal fencing operation, CHP said.

Investigators obtained a warrant to search the home after receiving a tip alleging that the stolen merchandise was being stored at the home before being sold at various locations, officials said. sfchronicle.com


Philadelphia, PA: Two arrested after $29k theft from King of Prussia Gucci store
Authorities have arrested two men accused of stealing nearly $30k in high-end merchandise from a Pennsylvania shopping mall late last month. Nathan Thomas, 30, and his accomplice were taken into custody last Thursday for an alleged robbery of the Gucci store at the King of Prussia Mall over a week earlier. Investigators say on Aug. 21 Thomas and the unnamed man wore surgical masks and "forcibly removed" purses from their security cables just after the store opened. The pair stole an estimated $29k in merchandise and fled to a car waiting outside the mall before police arrived. Investigators later found the alleged getaway car in Philadelphia's Brewerytown neighborhood. Police say they tracked down Thomas after reviewing "numerous hours of video" and his accomplice, who has not been pubically identified, was arrested a short time later. The Upper Merion Police Department is still searching for Thomas's alleged co-conspirator in the heist.  fox29.com


San Francisco, CA: Police Find $19,500 Of Property From Pleasanton Mass Retail Theft
An estimated $19,500 in merchandise stolen in a mass retail theft in Pleasanton turned up in a double-parked car in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, San Francisco police said Friday, Sept. 1. A passenger in the car fled from police, but the driver, 20-year-old Angelleak Duncan of Oakland, was taken into custody on suspicion of receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools and parking violations, police said. The arrest took place about 5:15 p.m., Aug. 25, in the 600 block of Polk Street near Eddy Street, when officers contacted the driver about the parking violations and arranged for the vehicle to be towed, police said. "While conducting an inventory search of the vehicle for the tow, officers found several bags of suspected stolen property inside of the vehicle," police said in a statement. "Officers discovered that the property had been stolen in a mass retail theft incident, where multiple subjects ran into a retail store and stole a large amount of merchandise, that had occurred earlier in the day in Pleasanton."  patch.com


Thieves steal nearly $10K worth of goods in California in incidents at Home Depot and Nordstrom
Thieves stole nearly $10,000 worth of goods from Home Depot and Nordstrom in two separate incidents in California this week. A large group of brazen men ran into a Home Depot in Signal Hill on Aug. 27, filling two shopping carts with $5,000 worth of power tools as shocked employees and customers looked on. In a video of the Home Depot theft uploaded to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the seven men – seen wearing black and gray hoodies – hurriedly rushed to leave the store with their goodies. They pushed two carts out the doors, as well as, carried as much as they could in their arms while at least four store employees watched. The Signal Hill Police Department responded to the incident, according to a report. A day later, a couple was seen sprinting out of an Irvine Nordstrom with armfuls of clothing. After leaving the store, they were spotted on surveillance running up to their Kia Forte, according to a video released by the Irvine Police Department. nypost.com


San Carlos, CA: 2 suspected of stealing $7,000 in makeup from CVS stores arrested
Two women arrested in San Carlos on Labor Day are suspected of stealing thousands of dollars in makeup from CVS stores on the Peninsula, San Mateo County sheriff's deputies said. Around 7 p.m. on Monday, deputies were called to the CVS store at 1324 San Carlos Avenue after two people were seen shoplifting makeup. The suspects left the scene in a black Mercedes-Benz four door. Deputies soon located the Mercedes and conducted a traffic stop. Both people inside the vehicle were positively identified by witnesses as the shoplifting suspects. Deputies said stolen makeup worth thousands of dollars was seized from CVS stores in San Mateo County and the East Bay. Two people suspected in the thefts were arrested on September 4, 2023. A search of the vehicle yielded more than $1,000 in makeup stolen from the San Carlos store, along with $5,000 to $6,000 in makeup from other CVS stores in San Mateo County and the East Bay, according to the sheriff's office. The suspects, identified as 22-year-old Hajar Soumbati of San Francisco and 19-year-old Marwa Abdalla of San Francisco, were arrested without incident.  cbsnews.com


San Francisco, CA: 2 arrested for string of retail thefts at CVS stores in San Mateo County, East Bay
Two San Francisco residents were arrested on Monday following an organized retail theft at a CVS store in San Carlos, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. Just after 7 p.m., deputies responded to a report of suspects who were shoplifting makeup from a CVS store on San Carlos Avenue and fled in a black Mercedes. The car was eventually located by deputies and the suspects were positively identified by witnesses, police said. Deputies searched the suspects’ car and found stolen makeup from the CVS store in San Carlos that was estimated at $1,000.  kron4.com


Los Angeles, CA: $198,000 in stolen items recovered in retail theft ‘fence’ raid in downtown LA, 2 arrested

Los Angeles, CA: Thieves steal more than $8,000 in merchandise from Highland Park smoke shop

Victorville, CA: Accused retail thieves steal $2000 of merchandise from Party City

American Canyon, CA: Organized Retail Theft Duo Caught Red-Handed at Walgreens