How San Francisco's Real Time Investigation Center is Fighting Retail Theft
Rare look into SFPD hi-tech unit cracking down on crimes
A special unit in the San Francisco Police Department gave KTVU a rare look on Wednesday into how they're now cracking down on crimes, including retail theft.

With the help of technology, police recently caught thieves red-handed soon after they robbed a high-end designer store in Union Square. Investigators shared footage from a drone, surveillance camera and officers' body cameras.

They showed how the Real Time Investigation Center, launched about a year ago, helped identify and arrest suspects in a retail theft last Friday. Investigators said technology enabled them to nab the thieves quickly.

Investigators with the Real Time Investigation Center said they were able to retrieve the footage quickly after the theft was called into dispatch. A drone was immediately launched from a stationery site to track two of the 3 suspects.

Within minutes of the theft, police arrested the two suspects and were able to recover most of the stolen goods. Police said the swiftness of the arrests after the crime is critical to prosecution.

"In this case, when you're able to solve something within the first 5 minutes, recover all the property, your case is that much stronger," said Maguire.

Police said the use of technology assisted in 500 felony arrests last year. And just in the past week, it has helped in 32 felony arrests.

"I think it's working and doing exactly what we want it to do," said Lauren Ellis, owner of CK Contemporary, an art gallery at Union Square. She supports the use of technology to prevent and solve crimes. ktvu.com


Big Brother-Style LP?
Tesco introduces ‘big brother’ style self-service checkouts to stores
Tesco has become the latest supermarket to install cameras on self-service checkouts, with one major difference, you can watch yourself back. The new VAR-style tills record shoppers as they scan their items, then playback video clips where you’ve failed to scan an item properly.

Any shoppers trying to sneak past products or even a 25p bag at the tills will receive a warning, stating: ‘It looks like that last item didn’t scan. Please check you scanned it correctly before continuing.’

Tesco has not confirmed when the feature was added to the tills, but it joins a number of supermarkets cracking down on shoplifters, including Sainsbury’s, who introduced the technology to its stores earlier this month.

Supermarket bosses believe thieves who can see their illegal actions have been caught are far more likely to pay for them, but customers haven’t taken to them so easily.

Tesco confirmed to Metro that the technology has been introduced, but not across all of its stores. They did not confirm when the feature was introduced, or how many shops it has been rolled out in so far.

After Sainsbury’s introduced the self-service checkout change, one disgruntled shopper took to social media, declaring the move ‘more big brother tactics with more surveillance’.

Others called for a boycott and urged supermarkets to lower the price of their products. metro.co.uk


Why Meat Theft is on the Rise - And How Retailers Are Fighting Back
Organized retail crime rings have identified meat as a lucrative item for theft

People Are Stealing Meat - And Grocery Chains Are Quietly Adjusting for It
In recent years, a surprising trend has emerged in the retail world: the rise of meat theft. Once considered an unlikely target, meat products have become hot commodities for thieves, leading grocery chains to quietly adjust their operations. From increased security measures to changes in store policies, the impact of meat theft is reshaping the shopping experience. Let’s explore the reasons behind this trend and how retailers are responding.

How Grocers Are Navigating Increased Meat Theft & More

1. The Rising Value of Meat Products

Meat has always been a staple in many households, but its value has surged due to various factors. Inflation, supply chain disruptions, and increased demand have all contributed to higher meat prices. This rise in cost makes meat an attractive target for thieves seeking high-value items. Unlike electronics or luxury goods, meat is perishable, making it easier to resell quickly without detection. The combination of high value and ease of resale has made meat a prime target in retail theft.

2. Organized Retail Crime and Meat Theft

Organized retail crime rings have identified meat as a lucrative item for theft. These groups often operate with precision, targeting specific products and reselling them through illicit channels. The perishable nature of meat requires swift operations, but the high demand ensures quick turnover. Law enforcement agencies have noted an uptick in such activities, linking them to broader criminal enterprises. The involvement of organized crime elevates the seriousness of meat theft beyond petty shoplifting.

3. Retailers Implementing Enhanced Security Measures

In response to the surge in meat theft, grocery stores are adopting various security measures. Some retailers have started locking up high-value meat products or placing them in tamper-proof packaging. Others are installing surveillance cameras and employing security personnel to monitor vulnerable sections. These measures aim to deter theft but can also impact the shopping experience for regular customers. Balancing security and customer convenience remains a challenge for retailers.

4. Impact on Consumers and Store Policies | Navigating the New Retail Landscape: inkl.com


Canadian Police, Businesses & Security Orgs Crack Down on ORC
Surge in organized retail crime prompts coordinated response from Calgary police
In response to an uptick in theft and robbery from businesses, the Calgary Police Service is joining forces with the Retail Council of Canada, businesses and security organizations to clamp down on retail crime.

The new approach comes after retail theft surpassed $9 billion nationwide in 2024, according to CPS, with organized groups increasingly targeting high-value goods for resale.

That recent rise in theft has led to increased security costs for businesses, declining sales and growing concern among frontline retail workers, CPS said in a Friday news release.

“Retail crime may seem like a victimless offence, but it has real consequences for our community,” said Insp. Travis Juska with CPS. “It affects business owners, employees and our city’s overall sense of safety.”

CPS has already received approximately 400 calls for service from retail stores this year, the release stated. Of those calls, 142 were in response to theft, while five related to robbery. In addition, CPS has received 3,273 reports through the department’s online reporting system.

As part of its new collaborative approach with the retail council and security organizations, CPS is sharing intelligence on known offenders and theft patterns; introducing a direct reporting channel between police and security teams; and promoting crime prevention tactics and training to retail businesses. ca.news.yahoo.com

   RELATED: Retail crime bust a part of escalating, troubling trend, police say


Five years after George Floyd protests, police reform slows amid Bay Area political shifts
‘Two steps forward, three steps back’: Spirit of movement has endured, but the broader zeal for reforms has been tempered by new political climate on public safety

Inside the violent Bay Area gang that got rich through street robberies
 

Burnout Hitting Retail Workers Hard
Survey: 82% of retail employees feel 'regularly overwhelmed' at work
Retail workers say that understaffing and poor schedule management is having an impact on their productivity.

That’s according to the 2025 Logile Labor Planning & Optimization Report from AI-powered workforce solutions firm Logile, which found that 80% of retail workers say unpredictable schedules and short-staffing add stress to their jobs, with 82% feeling regularly overwhelmed at work. More than three-quarters (77%) of retail workers say their store regularly loses sales due to poor scheduling or staffing decisions.

More than half (51%) of retail workers said their store is short-staffed during busy periods most of the time, with 25% saying this happens almost every time their store gets busy. Nearly a third (31%) of frontline workers are actively considering quitting due to poor scheduling or lack of hours, with another 22% saying they’re close to that point if conditions don’t improve.

Seventy-four percent of frontline associates say they’re open to automated, traffic-based scheduling tools, but adoption hinges on trust. Those surveyed said that systems must consistently deliver accurate, fair schedules that earn buy-in over time.

“There’s a clear disconnect between plan and practice. Retailers have made meaningful strides in prioritizing workforce initiatives, but our research shows that many are still missing the opportunity to fully connect their planning efforts with store-level reality,” said Purna Mishra, founder and CEO of Logile. “By integrating real-time demand data and modeling store-specific labor needs more accurately, retailers can close the loop between planning and execution — improving service, supporting staff and strengthening the bottom line.” chainstoreage.com


Will Retailer's 'Eat the Tariffs'? They Say No
Retailers won’t swallow Trump’s ‘eat the tariffs’ demand for much longer before hiking prices
The retail industry is alerting President Trump that they can’t “eat” his tariffs forever – and price increases are likely to hit in the coming weeks, On The Money has learned.

Whether this gets translated into higher official inflation numbers is anyone’s guess at this point. But for many items enjoyed by Americans who like cheap goods brought in from abroad – a majority of them from China – these things will soon be getting a lot less cheap.

The warning to the president came weeks before his now-famous remarks over Walmart’s announced plans to pass through tariff costs to consumers, where in his own understated way, Trump shouted on social media that the discount retailer should “EAT THE TARIFFS.”

Walmart was the first out of the gate about its need to raise prices. However, Home Depot on Tuesday said it will continue to eat tariffs, though sources in the retail industry doubt that will last forever given the tight margins most retailers operate under.

When the price increases begin to spread, that could set up an interesting catfight between the president and a huge chunk of the business community.

The president believes Walmart, like many other big US companies, is a highly profitable company and they should all do a solid for the American people as corporate America adjusts to his new trade policy that slaps a 10% levy on every country, plus additional taxes on certain goods – and significantly higher tariffs on unscrupulous trading partners like China. nypost.com
 
   RELATED: Retail’s latest tariff challenge? Setting prices.


Apple Hit with Tariff Threat
Trump’s threat of 25% tariff on iPhones makes price hikes more likely
Apple is expected to unveil four new iPhone models in a matter of months — and they might cost more than you expect. On Friday morning, President Donald Trump threatened to impose a significant new tariff on iPhones, seemingly in hopes of forcing the company to produce its most lucrative product line domestically.

“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank your [sic] for your attention to this matter!”

Most consumers buying an iPhone around the world wind up with a device produced in China, but Apple CEO Tim Cook said in early May that the majority of new iPhones arriving in the United States would come from assembly facilities in India.

Currently, Apple builds none of its iPhone models in the United States. Even if it wanted to, the process of developing a domestic production pipeline would be staggeringly expensive and would take years — the first American-made iPhones probably wouldn’t ship until after Trump leaves office, said Gerrit Schneemann, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.  washingtonpost.com


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Last week's #1 article --

Grocery Stores Transform LP to Fight Theft
Eyes wide open: How AI & vision tech are transforming loss prevention in grocery

As theft rises along the grocery aisles, retailers turn to emerging technology to mitigate losses—and pad notoriously tight margins.

Grocery theft today is evolving into something more organized and frequent. According to the National Retail Federation, retailers across the board, including grocers, witnessed a 93% increase in annual shoplifting incidents between 2019 and 2023. For an industry where profitability balances on an impossibly thin profit margin, theft has become a serious problem.

Employee vigilance still matters. But thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), grocers finally have access to technologies that place eyes everywhere—and understand whether the shopper in aisle 12 slipped the package of lobster meat in his overcoat, rather than putting it back in the freezer.

“AI is giving grocers new vision—literally and strategically,” says Donnafay MacDonald, research director at Info-Tech Research Group. “I sat on a call with a vendor and they said, 'Watch this video and try to detect who is stealing.' Nobody could detect it. But AI could.”

Grocery retailers are just now beginning to explore these technologies, and incorporate them into their stores, from receiving decks to meat counters to checkout zones and front doors. The digital eyes don’t just watch and record: They analyze behavior and alert humans to theft as it takes place in real time, and can identify people whose behavior suggests strong potential for shoplifting.

Theft-mitigation strategies through AI include the ability to identify repeat offenders when they walk through the front doors, notify employees and watch potential thieves as they navigate the aisles. The systems, too, help retailers understand what is being stolen most often, and when. newhope.com