The U.S. Crime Surge
The Retail Impact

Amazon Stuck in Dilemma Over 'INFORM Act'  
Eyes on Amazon as Etsy & eBay support bill to deter counterfeit and stolen goods online
Amazon must decide whether to go it alone in the fight against a bill meant to deter online sales of counterfeit and stolen goods, after its e-commerce peers Etsy and eBay threw their support behind updated House legislation set for a Thursday hearing.

Between the lines: The fierce and unanimous opposition from online marketplaces has splintered, potentially easing the path forward for the latest legislation.

Driving the news: A House Energy & Commerce subcommittee will consider the online retail bill, known as the INFORM Act, Thursday. The bipartisan INFORM Act, from subcommittee chairwoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and ranking member Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), would require online marketplaces to collect and verify identification information of vendors who have made at least 200 sales in a year that together are worth $5,000 or more.

The bill also requires platforms provide customers with a way to contact sellers who have more than $20,000 in annual gross revenue after buying from them.

Requiring such information and disclosure, lawmakers say, will discourage criminals from using the platforms to sell counterfeit and stolen goods — a problem that ballooned as e-commerce swelled during the pandemic.

Flashback: Earlier this year, senators tried to hitch their version of the INFORM Act to the China-focused competition bill, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, but that effort failed amid intense lobbying by Amazon and others.

The intrigue: Lawmakers who are eyeing including the measure in the House version of the competition bill negotiated with the smaller platforms to gain their support. Etsy said the House version does a better job of protecting the privacy of its sellers, many of whom sell out of their homes, in how it requires the disclosure of their information.

eBay said changes to the verification requirements also helped garner the company's support, as did increasing the threshold for when platforms must provide customers a means of contacting sellers. The House bill also would preempt similar legislation that has popped up in statehouses across the country.

The big picture: The legislation was also praised by Consumer Reports, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Buy Safe America Coalition, which represents Home Depot, Walgreens and other major retailers.

Yes, but: Amazon, which staunchly opposed the Senate version, declined comment on the House version. The Makers and Merchants Coalition — funded by the Internet Association, a trade association that represents Amazon — said it is reviewing the latest bill. axios.com

Op-Ed on San Francisco's Progressive DA & Crime
Think recalling Boudin is the answer to San Francisco crime? Think again
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin is an easy target for those dissatisfied with the state of public safety in San Francisco. Statistics showing that crime is down are outweighed by the general perception that our current situation is bad and not getting any better. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Bruce Chan recently took the highly unusual step of publicly commenting on the situation: “I cannot express in any more certain terms my disapproval of the manner in which the Office of the District Attorney is being managed,” and “we simply cannot have the current levels of inadvertence, disorganization, and expect there to be any confidence in what we do here collectively.”

But in my opinion, the criminal justice system has teetered on the verge of collapse for decades, long before Boudin took office.

Under each district attorney, unclear or inconsistent priorities, internecine power struggles and a variable work ethic among staff have hindered the efficient administration of justice. The perpetual emphasis on conviction rates has overshadowed the welfare of those who live, work and visit San Francisco. The constant friction between the police and the district attorney has also contributed to delays in prosecutions and disparities in outcomes that undermine public confidence in the system.

Things have worsened with COVID, no doubt. Court backlogs have increased to record levels because emergency COVID orders closed some courts and extended all speedy trial deadlines by months. San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju sued the courts last month for failing to provide defendants with timely trials. Having to sit in an enclosed space with strangers has made jury duty even less appealing than it was before. Because of jail overcrowding during COVID and the abolition of cash bail in California, judges are called on more often to decide which pretrial detainees (all of whom are presumed innocent) are released and who remains in jail. Some of those released will commit more crimes.

The criminal justice system is a machine that needs the gears to mesh and work together. Prosecutors have to accept and implement the policies of the district attorney. The police have to fairly and conscientiously investigate crimes and make arrests. Prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges have to prepare, evaluate and resolve cases through restorative and rehabilitative programs, pleas or trials. Even in the adversarial criminal system, civility helps. Recalling Boudin will not be the magic bullet that improves public safety. sfchronicle.com

San Francisco Crime Surge
Shoplifting up 7.8% year to date
San Francisco Police Sgt. Tracy McCray joins 'America's Newsroom' to speak about the crime spike in the city, says the impact is felt throughout the community and neighborhoods. foxnews.com

NYPD's Top Cop Speaks Out Against Bail Reform Laws
NYPD boss blames spike in violent crime on Democrats' bail reform laws which have led to 'drastic reduction in incarceration levels'

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea says bail reform laws to blame for crime wave

New York City’s top cop blames bail reform laws enacted by the Democratic-dominated state Legislature for the spike in violent crime, including Monday night’s gun battle between NYPD officers and a gang of suspected jewelry thieves.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea blamed the ‘drastic reduction in incarceration levels’ for several high-profile incidents of gun violence throughout the five boroughs.

Shea was reacting to the incident from early Monday morning in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, where an NYPD officer fired at suspected members of a violent gang dubbed Own Every Dollar as they cased a high-end restaurant. The theft was the latest of 12 jewelry heists that the gang is believed to be behind.

When asked on Tuesday whether New York City is experiencing an increase in gang activity, Shea said: ‘The gangs have always been an issue here. We’ve talked about it for a number of years.'

‘You have to look at the incarceration levels. It’s a hard topic to talk about but there’s been such a drastic reduction. I think that’s part of what you’re seeing play out. At the state level, we are down significantly. Many people get out of prison and turn their life around, but, unfortunately, we all realize that many do not. You’re seeing those unintended consequences on the street at times.'

In early 2020, criminal justice reform measures passed by the New York State legislature and signed into law by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo took effect. The new law has received increasing scrutiny over its rules that allow New York courts to release people who would have remained in jail under the old rules.

The statute, which went into place at the beginning of the year, eliminated cash bail and pretrial detention for a wide majority of low-level cases and nonviolent felonies. The law also allows courts to release a person under certain conditions, such as a travel or firearm restriction. Shea and others have claimed that the new law is to blame for the increase in violent crime. dailymail.co.uk

Illegal Guns Driving the Murder Epidemic?
Philly officials point to abundance of illegal guns as driver of homicide surge
Philadelphia police officials pointed to the seemingly infinite supply of guns available in the city as a significant factor in the local government’s failure to stem violence.

“Our firearm possession arrests are tracking along our homicide and shooting victims, which lead us to believe that more guns on the street are meaning more victims for us,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw Wednesday at a hearing organized by City Council’s Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention

The goal of the hearing was to lower the murder rate in the city. The homicide count this year is 15% higher than last year and shooting victims are up 10%, Outlaw noted.

Erica Atwood, who directs the city’s Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice & Public Safety, said public agencies must work together to decrease the number of firearms on the city streets.

“We cannot hug our way out of this problem when we have guns at the per capita that we have in the city,” Atwood said.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, in his testimony, met the call for collaboration with a subtle rebuke of City Hall’s decision to cut his office’s budget.

“Our Gun Violence Task Force, which is doing amazing work, only has seven lawyers,” Krasner said. He noted that his office is fighting high levels of attrition during the pandemic in part due to stagnant wages.

Testifying that more money for the police department to beef their presence is “not going to work,” he also asked for more money for the city’s public defenders. whyy.org

More Surveillance & Tougher Sentences to Tackle Rising Crime?
Raleigh police chief pledges more patrols, cameras to tackle rise in violent crime
In response to an uptick in violent crime, Raleigh police will conduct more patrols and install more cameras in parts of the city seeing “repeat calls of violence,” Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson said Wednesday.

Patterson spoke about her strategy for tackling violent crimes like homicides and aggravated assaults during a news conference outside the Raleigh Police Department’s Northwest District.

She also discussed the number of crimes that occurred between July 1 and Sept. 30, as part of a new initiative to share and analyze crime statistics every quarter. Patterson was named the new police chief this summer and was sworn in Aug. 12. Wednesday was her first quarterly crime briefing.

Raleigh saw 12 homicides during the third quarter of 2021, up from the nine homicides recorded in the third quarter of 2020, and four during the same period in 2019.

To address the rise in violent crime, Patterson said the department will conduct more high visibility patrols and seek to install more cameras in areas experiencing higher rates of violence.

Police also will work with other law enforcement agencies and the Wake County District Attorney’s office, to pursue “enhanced” charges and sentences for violent offenders, Patterson said. A sentencing enhancement can be used to “increase the offense level or punishment for crimes,” and can be pursued for charges at the state level or the federal level, department spokesperson Donna-maria Harris said in an email. newsobserver.com

NYC's Crime Surge Impact
NYPD officers collected record $837M in overtime amid skyrocketing violent crime

In 2020, more than 5,300 New York police officers retired or quit

Some officers in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) are almost doubling their annual salaries by collecting overtime amid the city's skyrocketing violent crime. Officers, whose base salary is $42,500, are managing in some instances to rake in six figures by making petty arrests at the end of their shifts, according to Bloomberg.

Overtime costs for the department broke records in 2020, when officers clocked in more overtime than any other major city in the United States. One precinct in Brooklyn doled out $7.8 million in overtime.

Most officers logged approximately 375 hours in overtime during fiscal year 2020, though around 500 officers managed to get paid for 1,000 overtime hours. During the same time period, violent crime in New York City has increased 5.6%.

In 2020, more than 5,300 New York police officers retired or quit, which represented a 75% increase from 2019, according to the New York Post. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who is running for mayor as a Democrat, has promised to cut the police department's overtime budget by half. foxnews.com

Liquor Store LP
UK: Tesco fences off alcohol aisle in bid to prevent shoplifters
Supermarket giant Tesco has put security barriers on the alcohol aisle on one of its stores as a trial to prevent shoplifting. The barriers completely block off the booze section of the Tesco Extra in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, and can be programmed to open when customers get close or be locked until a member of staff opens them for a shopper. The barriers have been put up because the store has a shoplifting problem at night when fewer staff are working and could be rolled out to other stores, the Sun reports. The move comes in the same week that another Tesco Extra branch started checking customer receipts to stop theft. chroniclelive.co.uk

Arkansas' violent crime rate hits all-time high

COVID Update

405.4M Vaccinations Given