Investing in Security - Staff Training - Collaboration
How to Protect Against Rising Organized Retail Crime

By Scott Thomas - National Dir. of Sales, Signature Brands, Genetec

Organized retail crime (ORC) is a growing concern for retailers of all sizes. Groups of professional thieves are systematically targeting retail establishments to steal easily resold merchandise such as pharmaceuticals, groceries, diapers and beauty supplies. The value of each hit is intentionally kept small enough to avoid attracting attention from law enforcement, but add it all up and the cost to the industry is enormous.

Keeping Staff, Customers, and Bystanders Safe

In a growing number of jurisdictions, lawmakers are directing police officers to focus resources on violent crime. As a result, in many cities officers do not respond to calls about petty theft below a certain dollar amount. Criminals know this and see ORC theft as low-risk and high-reward, so more thieves are coordinating brazen thefts of goods from store shelves that can easily be resold online. Even though they don’t expect much resistance, they are typically prepared to use force if necessary.

Many retailers are investing big-time in security, locking up valuable merchandise and hiring more security guards in stores. Some large chains are also developing sophisticated security operations centers with dedicated teams to gather evidence on ORC ringleaders so prosecutors can put together a stronger case. Retailers can also install practical physical security solutions and train staff to take meaningful action to reduce losses and help investigators.

Collaboration is Key

Large retail chains are already compiling and sharing data on ORC crime within their store networks. By next year, we’ll begin see collaborative databases allowing independent businesses or chains to opt in to share alerts about suspicious vehicles that come in via ALPR. In isolation, each incident may be relatively small, but the impact adds up. Law enforcement, district attorneys and retail investigators need to band together to gather evidence and strengthen cases brought against the gang leaders who mobilize people to steal and resell products.

An Ongoing Concern for Retailers: retailtouchpoints.com

Forbes Highlights the $100B Shoplifting Crisis
Shoplifting Has Become A $100 Billion Problem For Retailers
Loss is an everyday part of the retail business – it’s even budgeted for. But when sales are low, and shrink is getting higher, it becomes unsustainable for businesses to keep their doors open.

Recently, retailers have been battling unprecedented losses. Organized retail crime (ORC) is running rampant. A National Retail Security Survey (NRSS) shows that total shrink in 2021 reported by retailers is now almost a $100 billion problem.

Impact Of The Pandemic

88% of retailers surveyed said that the pandemic resulted in an increase in overall risk for their company. Retailers, on average, saw a 26.5% increase in organized retail crime incidents in 2021. Beyond theft of goods, eight in ten retailers surveyed reported that violence and aggression associated with incidents increased in the past year.

Violence in stores has been triggered by many factors, including labor shortages, payroll cuts causing less coverage on the sales floor, and issues surrounding the pandemic, such as mask mandates and employees trying to enforce COVID precautions.

Causes Of Shrink

According to the survey, 37% of retailer’s shrink is due to external theft, followed by employee or internal theft at 28.5%, and process or control failures at 25.7%. The survey states that ORC groups target easily concealable, removable, available, valuable, enjoyable, and disposable items.

Mitigating Risks

Retailers are implementing many strategies to prevent loss and mitigate risks, such as hiring security staff, installing security cameras, requiring manager approvals for any discounts, and investing in radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems. RFID is used to identify items using radio waves and transmitting data from the RFID tag to a reader, which provides accurate, real-time tracking data of inventory. forbes.com

Retail Crime & Violence a Top Fear This Holiday Season
Retail crime ring busted as major stores 'fear' rising thefts heading into holiday shopping season

Major retailers are feeling the wrath of raging theft and crime across the nation ahead of the holiday shopping season.

In 2021, retail shrink, or thefts, cost the industry $94.5 billion in losses, up 4% year-over-year according to the latest data from the National Retail Federation. But that same report indicates  from the year prior.cases of organized retail crime rings - where criminals are hired to steal specific items which are typically resold online - have surged more than 26%

Drugstore companies like Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens have publicly cited shoplifting concerns, as well as retailers such as Kroger, Target and Best Buy.

"This is an industry-wide problem that is often driven by criminal networks, and we are collaborating with multiple stakeholders to find industry-wide solutions."

Target "strongly supports" legislation to "increase accountability and prevent criminals from selling stolen goods through online marketplaces," Fiddelke added.

John Catsimatidis, a billionaire New York City grocery chain owner, told FOX Business Monday he may cut back store hours to protect employees from violent behavior.

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers led by Colorado Republican Ken Buck proposed legislation in October that would form a new task force aimed at combating the nationwide surge in mob retail theft.

Buck previously told Fox News his bill, which he will introduce Friday, is a companion to Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley's Combating Organized Retail Crime Act and characterized it as a strong, bipartisan response to the nationwide crime wave. foxbusiness.com

LA Times: Retail Chains Discriminating With Security Measures
Noticing lots of security locks at drugstores? These L.A. stores lock up the most
While shopping for decongestant at Walmart in Burbank, Michelle Krider ran into a frustrating sign of the times: The nasal spray was on a shelf, locked beyond plexiglass.

It’s a common problem as store managers add more and more security measures.

Where once only expensive booze and electronics were locked up, now basic household items such as allergy medicine, shaving razors, infant formula and batteries are ending up in plexiglass cases or behind security devices. More merchandise also has been moved to displays behind cashier counters.

Getting those products requires the help of increasingly scarce retail workers.

Industry experts and retail companies say the security measures are a response to rising retail crime.

“More people are stealing and stealing more,” said Read Hayes, a criminologist at the University of Florida and director of the Loss Prevention Research Council, an industry research group studying retail theft.

But a Times survey — albeit unscientific — of Los Angeles area drugstores suggests it’s not a straightforward equation, with stores in higher-income areas locking up fewer of the types of items that are most often stolen, even where the property crime rate is higher.

In so doing, critics say, chains discriminate against lower-income neighborhoods where most of the residents are people of color, creating an additional burden for shoppers there.

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Businesses 'Alarmed' by NYC Crime Surge
Midtown Manhattan crime surge leaves locals, landlords feeling uneasy
The busy Midtown South precinct, home to Times Square and packed with hordes of tourists, shoppers and commuters on any given day in New York City, has seen substantial jumps in grand larceny, burglaries and robberies in the first 10 months of 2022.

The spike has alarmed locals, who fear a return to a scary world of rising crime and diminishing quality of life.

“We’re repeating the ‘80s,” said Eddie Hassan, a local deli worker who lives just south of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. “We could talk about it for days, but it’s the homeless and the drug dealers ... After the pandemic, it definitely got worse. People are wilding out here.”

Local businesses routinely keep toothpaste, toiletries and deodorant under lock and key to keep the dispossessed from shoplifting, he said.

Kevin Ward, vice president for security with the 34th Street Partnership after more than three decades with the NYPD, agreed the crux of the problem remains the lack of police. According to the partnership, police staffing levels in Midtown South stood at 382 officers in 1994.

The current number stands at 256, according to data obtained by the Daily News — a decrease of more than 30%. And the most recent NYPD crime stats indicated a 66% hike in grand larcenies, a 55% rise in burglaries and a 49% jump in robberies.

Both Ward and landlord Kaufman cited some improvements under new Mayor Adams and his Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, with each encouraging an increase in staffing as the key to turning things around.  nydailynews.com

Progressive DAs on the Run Amid Crime Surge
The revolt against woke DAs hits Philly’s Larry Krasner, and will continue
The Pennsylvania state House of Representative has impeached woke Philly DA Larry Krasner. Krasner still faces a trial in the Senate, but the impeachment itself is an important blow struck for public safety.

It’s also one more sign of rising anger across the nation over prosecutors who don’t even pretend to want to fight crime.

Philly is in the midst of a crime crisis. It had 499 murders in 2020, 562 homicides in 2021 — a grim record — and 2022 is on pace to be even worse. The ugly numbers represent a staggering 57% increase over the same period pre-pandemic.

Krasner’s soft-on-crime policies are the driving force. Murders have gone up every year Krasner has been in office. Other offenses — like shootings and carjackings — are also skyrocketing. He’s gone so far as to create a special unit to make sure that 18- to 25-year-old offenders will get lenient treatment, not prison or other criminal punishments.

The House is well within its rights to fight back against a DA who refuses to do his job.

Across the country, the popular tide is turning against DAs who side with crooks against law-abiding citizens. From the successful recall effort that booted San Francisco’s Chesa Boudin to the sadly defeated one mounted against LA’s George Gascón, the public is getting sick and tired of when prosecutors act to destroy public safety in the name of “equity.”

And no shock: One analysis puts more than 40% of all murders nationwide in places overseen by Soros-backed DAs. Until crime goes down, the public will not rest. Krasner and his ilk need to correct course or face the consequences. nypost.com

DA Ends Police of Not Prosecuting Theft of Necessary Items
Dallas County DA Rescinds Controversial Policy on Theft of Necessary Items

District attorney ends 2019, says avoiding prosecuting people who commit thefts out of desperation has had no impact on the crime rate

Newly re-elected Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot is ending a controversial policy enacted during his first term in office. Creuzot said in a statement received Monday that his office's policy of not prosecuting thefts of necessary items like food, diapers, or baby formula was being rescinded.

The Dallas County DA said revisiting the policy was a promise he made during his recent campaign and that after taking another look at the policy and the impact it made that it had no impact on crime.

The policy was put in place to avoid prosecuting people who commit thefts out of desperation due to hunger and poverty, he said.

'Through data analysis and conversations with community organizations, retailers, and independent loss prevention specialists, I found the policy had zero effect on crime in the county - positive or negative,' Creuzot said. 'I have come to the understanding that this policy is more aspirational than realistic and rather than helping those in need, I have watched that population, and primarily people of color, be blamed for a rise in crime.'

“Well, there’s no statistical data because people didn’t call,” said Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata. “Your mom and pop store owners didn’t even bother to call 911 because they knew nothing was going to happen.”

“It was a policy that didn’t need to be broadcasted…It sent a bad message to that criminal element that it almost gave them a pass to go ahead and commit a crime,” he said. The policy change is effective immediately. nbcdfw.com

Artist Urges Fans to Shoplift from Guess Store
Banksy Tells Shoplifters To Steal From Guess, Says Company ‘Helped Themselves To My Artwork’
The anonymous and unconventional graffiti artist Banksy posted an unusual request on Friday, asking any potential shoplifters among his fanbase to visit the Regent Street Guess store in London and “help themselves.”

Banksy wrote the pro-shoplifting message on Instagram in response to some of his iconic designs being used in a Guess clothing collection. The collection features t-shirts and jackets imprinted with Banksy’s “Thug for Life Bunny” displayed in front of a blown-up backdrop, which featured the artist’s famous image of a looter throwing a bouquet of flowers. On Instagram, Banksy wrote:

“Attention all shoplifters. Please go to Guess on Regents Street. They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?”

It’s unclear how serious Bansky’s post really was, or if the artist was personally consulted about the clothing line before it went into production, but the offending Guess collection is in partnership with the company Brandalised, which reportedly has a license to commercialize and use Banksy's artwork on goods. forbes.com

Union Cries Retaliation for Being One of the First Unionized Stores
Starbucks to close another Seattle store, citing safety concerns
The Seattle-based company said that its attempts to address the safety concerns at the location were not effective.

“Unfortunately, despite several mitigating efforts, safety and security incidents at our Broadway and Denny store have continued to escalate,” Andrew Trull, a Starbucks spokesperson, said.

In July, Starbucks announced the closure of five stores in Seattle and 16 nationwide citing safety concerns. One of the Seattle stores was also in Capitol Hill, on Olive Way. The Starbucks Workers Union countered the company’s claim, saying it is a tactic to slow down unionization campaigns. seattletimes.com

Times ‘reporting’ on Adams & midterms is a classic case of progressive denial on crime

Since Columbine in 1999, Colorado continues to be scarred by mass shootings

US: 100.2M Cases - 1.1M Dead - 97.8M Recovered
Worldwide: 643.6M Cases - 6.6M Dead - 622.7M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 814

'Tis the Season for Superspreader Events
Be wary of COVID transmission this holiday week, experts warn
With new coronavirus strains rapidly circulating, health officials are urging people to be vigilant during Thanksgiving holiday travel and gatherings. With evidence that the aggressive new subvariants are proving resistant to two prominent drug treatments used for immunocompromised COVID sufferers, UCSF is discontinuing use of those drugs.

The vaccine-evading omicron variants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are cementing their dominance of COVID cases in the U.S., according to the latest monitoring from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Together the two account for half of the cases, according to weekend data from CDC's genomic surveillance system that tracks the spread of the coronavirus, roughly splitting that 50% of all COVID cases between them.

The once- dominant B5 subvariant continues declining in prevalence, accounting for about a quarter of COVID cases, down from a third a week earlier. While BQ1 and BQ.1.1 spread rapidly and are adept at resisting vaccines, experts say they do not appear to cause more potent illness. sfchronicle.com

More Confusion Surrounding COVID Workplace Rules
Regulatory Update: California Employers Face COVID Rules Uncertainty
Due to a new state law and looming regulatory changes to existing rules, starting on Jan. 1, 2023, California’s employers must adhere to a new version of the state’s COVID-19 standards dictating how they handle coronavirus outbreaks among their workers.

To make matters confusing, a new state law was enacted last October that extends the general exposure notification requirement imposed on employers until Jan. 1, 2024. The earlier requirement had been slated to expire at the end of this year.

In a separate development, the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) earlier this year proposed a two-year “permanent” or “non-emergency” COVID standard that is intended to replace the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), an exhaustive list of requirements adopted by the state earlier in the pandemic. ehstoday.com

Biden’s seeks $10B in new COVID funding

Scientists working to develop new lab-made antibodies to fight covid

What It Takes to Put on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, by the Numbers

From the pounds of confetti used to the amount of hours put in, Macy's added up all of the elements that bring the parade to life as we countdown to the 96th celebration

2.5 Mile Route - The parade route twists and turns down the streets of Manhattan, starting on West 77th street and Central Park West and ends in front of the iconic Macy's flagship store on 34th street in Herald's Square.

Fun Fact: Two to three million people line the streets to get a glimpse of the action, according to NPR.

80 to 100 Balloon Handlers - Magic wouldn't be in the air if the balloons didn't fly high in the sky. We're not just talking about little latex balloons on a string. We're talking giant balloons typically guided by 80 to 100 uniformed handlers!

28 Floats - There may have only been 28 floats per year in recent years of the parade, but each one is comprised of hundreds of different set pieces and structural elements. The floats don't drive themselves, though, as they are towed by trucks driven by members of New York City's Theatrical Teamsters union, Local 817. The drivers are even supposed to wear jackets and ties for parade duty, according to Car and Driver.

4,500 Volunteers - The Thanksgiving Day Parade marks Macy's single biggest volunteer event of the year. More than 4,500 volunteers are credited for keeping the parade alive, from the handlers that guide the balloons along the route to the variety of themed clowns that bring the energy early in the morning.

50,000+ Hours of Labor - There's a tight deadline that must be met since the annual parade falls on Thanksgiving — which means that the Parade Studio team works around the clock, 365 days a year. The team consists of approximately 27 painters, carpenters, animators, sculptors, welders, scenic/costume designers, electricians and engineers. people.com

Celebrity trailers for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade destroyed in NJ fire

The D&D Daily's Previous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Coverage

Macy's Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade: How an Old-School Tradition is Meeting Modern-Day Security Threats 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021