Liberal Activists Try to Derail Bipartisan ORC Bill
New activist pressure to defeat retail crime bill
The Vera Institute of Justice and Dream.org are launching a new campaign to stop bipartisan legislation to crack down on organized retail crime and are wading into congressional races.

The liberal groups are launching the “Serious About Safety Majority” effort to stop “tough on crime” legislation, according to details first shared with Semafor, and are specifically going after the House-passed Combating Organized Retail Crime Act.

The groups plan to spend more than $500,000 on digital and streaming ads this year and hope to expand the effort.

Insha Rahman, who leads the institute, said it’s time to push back against lawmakers who “support bills that won’t prevent crime and break its cycle but only ratchet up incarceration.”

“The issue with CORCA is that it does not properly address the very real threat of retail crime, which we all agree is an issue, but empowers DHS and ICE, an issue Democrats have shut down the government over previously. This DHS department should not and cannot be trusted given their track record,” Rahman said.

The coalition wants Democrats to stop the retail crime bill in the Senate, where one senator can slow everything down. Reps. Summer Lee, D-Pa., and Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, are also involved in the effort.

Democrats have repeatedly cleaved over crime legislation this Congress, most notably when Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., clashed on the Senate floor over police legislation last year. Cortez Masto is a co-sponsor of the retail crime legislation, which allows more criminal forfeitures and interstate prosecution of retail crime, while also enhancing money laundering crackdowns. It has more than 40 bipartisan co-sponsors in the Senate. semafor.com


Body Cams Lead to 'Drastic' Drop in Retail Theft
Body cameras in aisle three: security measures improve safety at Saskatoon store
For more than a year, body-worn cameras have been used in a Loblaws grocery store in Saskatoon.

The cameras were first introduced at the Superstore on Confederation Drive as part of a pilot project. The move was intended to “support community safety and maintain a safe environment for colleagues and customers,” according to an emailed statement from Loblaws.

Lucy Figueiredo, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1400 – the union representing Superstore employees – said that store has been a “hot spot” for safety issues. Figueiredo said Loblaws was overwhelmed with the rate of theft from the store, along with other safety concerns.

“For a while there, it was becoming a real big concern for health and safety that there really was no ability to stop it,” she explained, adding that when the concept of body cameras was initially introduced, some staff members welcomed it as a possible intervention option.

Saskatoon police shared data showing calls to 411 Confederation Drive and 2901 Eighth Street East, the locations of the two Superstores in the city, between September 2023 and April 2026. While the data for the Confederation address also includes other businesses at that location, calls for service have seen an overall decrease since mid-2024. Some spikes in calls occurred in 2025, but calls in 2026 have been notably lower than the previous two years, so far.

A similar drop in calls could be seen for the store on Eighth Street two years ago, with a single similar spike in calls in summer 2025. However, the numbers still showed an overall trend of fewer calls to police this year compared to 2024 and 2025.

While the problems haven’t been fully eliminated, Figueiredo, who has been working with the union for 23 years, said there has been a “drastic decrease” in theft from the store, and said union members are feeling better about going to work. cjme.com


Police Staffing, Trust & Crime Trends
Updated Collection of Law Enforcement Data Reveals Key Trends in American Policing

Policing: By the Numbers examines issues from staffing and budget to public perceptions

Six years after George Floyd’s murder sparked nationwide calls for police reform, and after a sharp rise and fall in violent crime, the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) today released an updated collection of data examining law enforcement trends in America.

First published in 2021 by the Council’s Task Force on Policing, Policing: By the Numbers brings together more than two dozen statistical trends on U.S. law enforcement. The updated resource includes data, in some cases stretching back 45 years, on police staffing and spending, agency composition, spending, public contact with police, fatal police encounters, officer safety, and public perceptions of law enforcement.

Police staffing has grown substantially over the long term, but staffing has not kept pace with population expansion. While the number of sworn officers roughly doubled since 1980, the rate of officers per 100,000 residents peaked in 2009. Staffing dipped after 2020 and hiring began to rebound in 2022, but it has not fully returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Because crime has fallen sharply since the 1990s, and staffing levels have increased, the number of officers relative to serious crime is much higher today than in 1980. The ratio of officers to reported serious crimes is now more than 3.5 times higher than it was 45 years ago.

“It’s been six years since the murder of George Floyd and calls to defund the police, and yet law enforcement budgets and staffing are up, public trust has rebounded, and crime has fallen sharply,” said CCJ President and CEO Adam Gelb. “There’s been a striking reversal in public safety and public sentiment.”  counciloncj.org


'Teen Takeovers' Hitting Big Cities Across Country
Editorial: It’s time to get tougher on teen takeovers after chaotic Memorial Day weekend
The dearth of shooting deaths on Chicago’s streets over the long weekend wasn’t evidence of a peaceful, fun-filled kickoff of summer, despite what you may read elsewhere. Not when at least 39 people were shot in at least 23 separate incidents.

This past weekend was filled with multiple out-of-control teen gatherings.

They included a teen takeover on the lakefront in Hyde Park, where an estimated 1,000 young people gathered at one point. In the South Side neighborhood, near the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, the sound outside around 10 p.m. on Monday was like that of a war zone. For at least an hour, screaming sirens were everywhere, as was the buzzing of at least one helicopter.

Teen takeovers aren’t a problem only in Chicago. They’ve been a challenge for mayors all over the country, from Washington, D.C., to Detroit to suburban Milwaukee to Atlanta and beyond.

Last summer, Johnson vetoed Hopkins’ proposed ordinance, backed by 27 of 50 aldermen, to allow Snelling to declare curfews for minors with 30 minutes’ notice, a measure we supported. Late last year, Hopkins tried again, with an even better proposal to allow Snelling, in consultation with Johnson’s deputy mayor for public safety, to declare four-hour curfews for minors within specified areas with 12 hours’ notice. Johnson opposed that measure, too.

In its stead, Johnson backed a policy that essentially codified powers police already had to disperse mobs once they’re formed. But that leaves cops in the reactive position we see time and again, including on Monday night, and it’s not working. chicagotribune.com


500 Retail Theft Cases Since September
Anchorage retail theft crackdown leads to 259 arrests since September
In Anchorage, city leaders are highlighting new efforts to combat retail theft across the municipality.

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance joined officials from the Anchorage Police and Fire Departments at City Hall on Wednesday to provide an update on the city’s retail theft crackdown.

According to the Anchorage Police, officers have investigated nearly 500 retail theft cases since September. Officials say those cases represent more than $286,000 in losses for local businesses across the city.

Police also report 259 arrests and warrants connected to those investigations during the past nine months. City leaders say the effort is aimed at reducing theft, supporting local businesses, and improving public safety in Anchorage. youralaskalink.com


CPD data shows juveniles make up 22% of violent crime arrests

Metro data shows mixed crime trends in east valley