Retail Organizations Urge Congress to Wage War on ORC
Interest Groups Make Push To Battle ORC At The Federal Level

A number of interest groups launched efforts on Wednesday to encourage a crackdown on organized retail crime at the federal level.

Thefts executed by packs of robbers have garnered public attention during the crime wave of the past two years, with some retailers and convenience chains spending millions on new security measures or closing locations in dangerous cities. In response, trade associations are activating grassroots activists to lobby for legislative reform.

Retailers reported a 26.5% increase in organized retail crime last year, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation, while nearly 90% of respondents said that the phenomena of the past two years increased risk for their businesses through higher levels of violence, shoplifting, employee theft, and organized theft.

In response, lawmakers are advancing the Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act and the INFORM Consumers Act.

While the Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act would establish the Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center at Homeland Security Investigations, thereby launching a joint effort among law enforcement agencies and retail industry leaders, the INFORM Consumers Act would prevent the resale of stolen goods by requiring verification for high-volume third-party sellers on platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and eBay.

Although proponents of the legislation have argued that federal action is necessary to coordinate efforts across interstate borders, the increased thefts correspond with moves from progressive local officials to deemphasize the prosecution of minor offenses. California is among several states that have opted to loosen consequences for small-scale shoplifting, with residents approving a ballot measure in 2014 that prescribed misdemeanor penalties to nonviolent property crimes where the value of stolen goods does not exceed $950. dailywire.com

High Felony Theft Thresholds Fueling ORC
Oklahoma officials see organized retail theft skyrocket

Since then, police said organized retail theft has skyrocketed.

Oklahoma voters approved a state question in 2016 that, among other things, defined a felony as any theft over $1,000. Since then, police said organized retail theft has skyrocketed.

One lieutenant told KOCO 5 that they have to review anywhere from 40-85 cases a day for larceny.

At an interim study Tuesday afternoon, lawmakers focused on organized retail theft. It is a crime, officers said, that has been on the rise since 2016 when voters approved raising the felony threshold from $500 to $1,000.

"Our unit is organized retail crime. It was created in 2017, one year after the law changed in 2016. It was created because of the significant uptick in cases in the metro area," said Jason Miller, Oklahoma City Police Department.

Lawmakers behind the study said thieves are only receiving a slap on the wrist while retailers and customers are paying the price.

"Right now, in the laws of Oklahoma, you can steal up to $1,000 and only face a misdemeanor charge. Those thefts are not just absorbed by the retailer. They have to be passed on. That costs each of us," said Rep. Rande Worthen, (R) Lawton.

OKC officers said they recovered over $2 million in stolen retail products last year. They said repeat offenders are taking advantage of the state’s "lenient law."

"The biggest problem that we have is repeat offenders. They all know if they don’t meet the $1,000 threshold, that it’s a misdemeanor," Miller said. koco.com

Companies Flock to Florida Over Crime Surge
Crime & safety concerns fuel migrations to Florida
When billionaire Ken Griffin announced in June that he planned to move the headquarters of his Chicago-based hedge fund Citadel to Miami, he cited the Windy City’s high crime rate as a key factor. “Chicago is like Afghanistan, on a good day,” he said during a speech to the Economic Club of Chicago in 2021.

The move highlights a growing trend of corporate relocations nationwide. This comes as violent crime has increased in most U.S. cities since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.

Persistent crime is one reason companies leave cities, often over concerns for executives’ or employees’ safety, experts say. Property crime also wreaks havoc on retailers and small businesses that are frequent targets of theft, prompting some of them to shutter.

Strong research suggests that high crime rates cause a population exodus, said Richard Rosenfeld, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a co-author of the CCJ study.

Luckily, Florida has benefited from this trend, as it’s been the No. 1 draw for wealthy residents from high-tax states over the past few years. Lower crime rates than other metro areas has been one of the factors for this migration, along with lower tax rates and Florida’s reputation as a pro-business state.

And it’s important to note that while property crimes such as robbery fell during the lockdown years, they rose in most big cities in the first half of 2022.

“One of the big reasons you see migration from California, New York and Philadelphia is not just high taxes, but crime statistics,” Boyd said. “St. Louis hasn’t enjoyed the type of growth Kansas City has in recent years, and crime is a big reason why.”

Crime has had a negative impact on the retail real estate market in some cities, such as San Francisco, where retailers shut down because dealing with theft was too costly and shoplifting was rarely prosecuted. bizjournals.com

Homicides Down After Increased Police Presence, Ghost Gun Crackdown
Oakland police chief credits extra officers for decline in shootings & homicides, more guns taken off the streets

Chief LeRonne Armstrong points to ‘ghost gun’ crackdown; says strategy is here to stay

Following a stretch of deadly gun violence this summer, Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said Tuesday the department over the past month brought shootings down by 25% and homicides by 10% from the same period a year ago.

What has worked? Armstrong credits a 30-day strategy — which took effect Sept 26. — that sent more police to high-crime neighborhoods and detailed eight officers to a criminal investigative division to clear crimes more quickly.

Oakland has seen nine gun-related deaths since late September, down from 17 in the 30 days prior. And in the same period, officers recovered 82 firearms, 30% of which were ghost guns — untraceable firearms assembled by civilians and sold online.

The use of firearms in low-level crimes skyrocketed during the pandemic, said Armstrong, who further attributed law enforcement’s progress to 120 arrests made during the past 30 days.

The program will be extended at least by another month, and partnerships with both the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will keep officers in certain east and west Oakland neighborhoods where gun violence has been more prevalent.

But Armstrong did say his officers have recovered 1,235 firearms through 10 months this year, already exceeding last year’s total. mercurynews.com

Progressive Protesters Try to Derail SF's Tough-on-Crime DA
San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins walks out as protesters disrupt election debate
San Francisco’s tough-on-crime district attorney walked out of a debate after woke protesters stormed the forum and began jeering the city’s incumbent.

DA Brooke Jenkins had been on stage at San Francisco State University for roughly 20 minutes on Thursday, facing off against district attorney challengers John Hamasaki and Joe Alioto Veronese ahead of November’s election, when dozens of activists flooded the room, KTVU reported.

San Francisco saw a surge in crime under Jenkins’ progressive predecessor, Chesa Boudin, who was elected in 2019 on the promise of criminal justice reform.

So far this year, San Francisco has seen crime jump more than 7% this year compared to the same period in 2021, data show. Larceny theft, assault and rape are leading the way, at 15.4%, 11.6% and 8.9%, respectively.

The city instead experienced surges in shoplifting and broad daylight drug dealings, leading more than 61 percent of residents voted in a June recall election to oust Boudin and his soft-on-crime policies.

Jenkins promised to bring order back to the city, including enforcing drug crime laws and cracking down on anti-Asian attacks. After assuming office, she asked staffers to review every unclosed plea offer to determine which should be withdrawn. Just a few days later, she fired 15 staffers she inherited from her predecessor. nypost.com

Crime Becoming Top Political Issue
Hochul-Zeldin debate keeps coming back to the same issue – crime
The moderators took Gov. Kathy Hochul and her Republican challenger, Rep. Lee Zeldin, through more than a dozen concerns facing New Yorkers in their televised debate Tuesday night in New York City, but the conversation kept returning to the same issue – crime.

Zeldin, who has made crime a central issue of his campaign, sounded the alarm in his opening statement, declaring "New York is in a crisis" and citing the economy, safety, personal freedom and education. He went on to promise that he would declare a state of emergency on crime the day he took office and would remove Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg from office.

Zeldin returned relentlessly to the crime issue, blaming the state's relaxed rules on bail for allowing criminals to stay on the street. He promised to turn back the bail reform measures if elected.

Hochul contended that she addressed some of the problems with bail reform in this year's state budget negotiations and indicated that she would do more, depending on crime data. In turn, she defended the state's tough gun control laws and criticized Zeldin for voting against a federal ban on assault weapons. buffalonews.com

Mass shootings prompt Oregon to vote on gun control legislation
Measure 114 will call for strict permit regulations on future Oregon gun buyers.

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US: 99.2M Cases - 1M Dead - 96.6M Recovered
Worldwide: 634.3M Cases - 6.5M Dead - 613.3M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 812

Large Companies Laid Off 100K+ Workers During the Pandemic
Walmart, Disney among top 12 employers that laid off thousands during the pandemic, House inquiry finds

Twelve of the nation’s largest employers, including Walmart, Cisco and Chevron, laid off thousands during the pandemic, a House subcommittee survey found.

The nation’s largest employers collectively laid off more than 100,000 workers during the Covid pandemic, according to a report released Tuesday by a House subcommittee.

Hourly workers were hit particularly hard. Not only were they more likely to get fired in 2019, 2020 and 2021 than salaried employees, but they were also more likely to quit and less likely to be promoted, congressional investigators found. The phenomenon disproportionately affected women, workers of color and older workers.

The findings are part of a staff report from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, which detailed staffing inequities at 12 large corporations: AT&T, Berkshire Hathaway, Boeing, Chevron, Cisco, Citigroup, Comcast, Exxon Mobil, Oracle, Salesforce, Walmart and Walt Disney.

“Today’s report demonstrates that the inequities observed during this crisis are deeply rooted in our economy and have persisted throughout the pandemic,” Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., chair of the subcommittee, said in a statement. “These findings underscore the urgent need to address inequality as we continue to work to achieve a strong, sustainable, and equitable economic future.”

Salaried workers at some of these companies often faired better than their lower-paid hourly counterparts. For example, Walmart’s hourly staff quit or were fired at higher rates and received raises and promotions at lower rates than salaried workers 80% of the time, according to the report. cnbc.com

NYC Ordered to Reinstate Workers Fired for Refusing Vaccine
Judge tells NYC to rehire workers fired for refusing vaccination
A group of sanitation workers who were fired for refusing to comply with New York City’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for government employees should be given back their jobs, as well as retroactive pay, a New York state judge ruled.

City employees were required to show proof of at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine before November 2021, amid worries that winter would hasten the spread of the virus. The sanitation workers were terminated in February this year. A mandate for public-facing employees of private companies also went into effect in December 2021, but was amended to include exemptions for performers and athletes after sharp criticism.

Porzio highlighted the exceptions, writing that if the mandates were “about safety and public health, no one would be exempt.” He said that while the health commissioner had the authority to issue public health mandates, the commissioner “cannot create a new condition of employment for City employees,” nor can the public health authority “prohibit an employee from reporting to work” or terminate an employee.

Mayor Eric Adams (D) announced last month that the city was dropping the mandate for private employees as of Nov. 1. He said at the time that ending the mandate for government workers was “not on the radar for us.” (Porzio wrote in his ruling that the mayor “cannot exempt certain employees from these orders.”) washingtonpost.com

'Tripledemic' Looming for Fall & Winter
Is the US facing a potential 'tripledemic' of flu, RSV and COVID-19?
As summer ended and the United States headed into the fall and winter, doctors were worried Americans would see a "twindemic" -- a situation in which both flu and COVID-19 spread at the same time.

But experts told ABC News the country may now be facing the threat of a "tripledemic" as doctors see an early rise in other pediatric respiratory viruses, particularly respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, respiratory illnesses are appearing earlier, and in more people, than in recent years. The federal health agency says there has also been early increases in flu activity across most of the U.S. with indications that this season could be much more severe than the previous two seasons. abcnews.go.com

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'Formal Investigation' of Kroger-Albertsons Merger
Kroger-Albertsons urged to delay merger-related $4 billion dividend

State AGs say full antitrust review of blockbuster deal should come first

The attorneys general of the District of Columbia and five states today sent a letter to Albertsons Cos. and The Kroger Co. urging them to hold off on a special $4 billion dividend payment to Albertsons shareholders under their proposed $24.6 billion merger deal.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine (D.), who’s leading the state AG group, said Wednesday that the bipartisan request was made to enable states to complete antitrust reviews of the Kroger-Albertsons merger, announced Oct. 14. He noted that his office also plans a formal investigation of the planned transaction and its impact on workers and shoppers, as well as whether the dividend would impinge on Albertsons’ ability to compete during the merger review process.

Under the merger agreement, Kroger is slated to acquire Albertsons for an estimated total consideration of $34.10 per share, including the assumption of $4.7 billion of Albertsons’ debt. The deal also calls for Albertsons to pay a special cash dividend of up to $4 billion, or about $6.85 per share, to stockholders on Nov. 7. That payment would reduce the merger transaction’s per-share consideration to approximately $27.25.

“Healthy and strong competition is an American value that Republicans and Democrats can unite around,” Racine said in a statement. “Anticompetitive mergers have real impacts on everyday people. We’re deeply concerned about the level of concentration in essential industries, such as grocery stores. And we’re asking Albertsons to not proceed with the payout while we thoroughly assess whether this merger is anti-competitive, anti-consumer or anti-worker. While we trust that Albertsons will adhere to our request, we are actively exploring other options to achieve our objectives, including litigation.” supermarketnews.com

Another Supply Chain Threat Looming?
Threat of rail strike rises as another union rejects proposed labor deal
Rank and file members of another railroad union have rejected a tentative labor deal, a move that further raises the odds that America’s freight railroad workers will go on strike sometime next month.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen voted against September’s tentative agreement, according to results announced Wednesday. Earlier this month, rank-and-file members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees District (BMWED), which represents about 23,000 track maintenance workers, voted to reject a similar tentative labor deal, setting the stage for a possible strike as soon as Nov. 19.

Although these unions are smaller than the two that represent conductors and engineers, a strike by any one of the 12 freight rail unions would be honored by the others and cause the nation’s major freight railroads to halt operations.

That in turn would create massive problems for the US economy, snarling still-struggling supply chains and triggering widespread bottlenecks and shortages. About 30% of US freight, when measured by weight and distance traveled, moves by rail. Prices of goods from gasoline to food to cars could soar if trains halt. In addition, factories could be forced to shut temporarily due to parts shortages. Goods that consumers want to buy during the holiday season could be missing from store shelves. cnn.com

Boosting Employee Productivity with Facial Recognition?
How facial recognition can help improve remote productivity
Remote working has become the norm for many following the COVID pandemic. But while it offers many benefits for both employers and workers, it can also lead to problems with productivity and stress.

A new infographic from work time management firm TrackTime24 looks at some of the issues faced by remote workers and at how improved time tracking technology using facial recognition can help.

Among its findings are that 75 percent of remote workers have experience burnout, 37 percent are working longer hours than they did before and 22 percent find it hard to switch off. This can lead to stress, reduced productivity and lower quality of work.

Using time tracking technology can identify where productivity is being lost. And employing the latest facial recognition technology means this can be achieved automatically, while helping staff manage their workday and break times, and helping them focus. betanews.com

150 New Apple Shop-in-Shops Inside Target Stores
Target triples Apple shop-in-shops ahead of holidays
Target and Apple are deepening their relationship with added shop-in-shops and tech perks tied to the retailer’s loyalty program. The number of Apple shop-in-shops inside Target stores has tripled this year, to over 150 locations, the retailer said in a press release. The two companies started with just 17 locations in early 2021.

The shops include Apple-trained Target tech consultants and have twice the space for Apple products, according to Target. Jill Sando, Target’s chief merchandising officer, framed the Apple shops as one of a handful of “branded and immersive retail experiences” the retailer has been building out in recent years along with its Ulta Beauty, Disney and Levi’s collaborations. retaildive.com

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