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Vigilance & Security Are Key This Holiday Season
Shopping Safety Tips for a Merry and Bright Holiday Season

Surveillance and elevated security presence tops list for retailers

IRVINE, Calif. – Nov. 20, 2025 – With Black Friday quickly approaching, staying vigilant should be a priority for both shoppers and retailers. Allied Universal®, the world’s leading security and facility services provider to retailers, malls and shopping centers around the country, offers holiday shopping safety tips for consumers, as well as insights on retailer security strategies to keep things merry and bright during the bustling holiday shopping season.

Staying vigilante isn’t just good advice for shoppers. The 2025 World Security Report, finds that retailers are investing or planning to invest more in AI-based surveillance technology and upskilling and training of security teams to help keep shoppers safe. From biometric access control to AI-powered video surveillance and threat detection, retail organizations are planning to ramp up security efforts to help protect against theft and bad actors.

While retailers are prioritizing a strong security infrastructure, shoppers can do their part for a safe and enjoyable holiday shopping experience. Allied Universal has put together a list of top 10 shopping safety tips to help keep criminals from dampening holiday spirits.

Safety Tips for Holiday Shoppers:

1. Always be aware of your surroundings.

2. Shop during the day or at unpopular times. If you need to shop at night or during busy times, shop in a group with trusted friends and family.

3. Don’t shop ‘til you drop. Fatigue makes you more vulnerable to hazards and threats.

4. Shop at retail locations with visible security guards.

5. Know what to do in an emergency. Know the locations of exits, fire alarm pulls and hiding places like bathrooms and fitting rooms.

6. Protect your wallet and credit card information, especially in line to pay, to help prevent identity theft and credit card fraud.

7. Consider how much you’re buying at once and how you’ll get it home safely.

8. Park and lock your vehicle in a well-lit spot and allow extra time and patience in busy parking lots.

9. Don’t leave valuables or purchased merchandise in your vehicle where it can be seen.

10. If you find yourself in a dangerous or unsafe situation, try to get away as quickly and safely as possible. If you can’t do that, find a safe place to hide, or if you can’t do that, defend and protect yourself. ausnewsroom.aus.com

Are The Nation's Most Monitored Retailers Hit Most By Shoplifters?
Here's where shoplifting hits hardest on Long Island — and how retailers' crackdown is changing the shopping experience
If you ask Long Island police where shoplifters strike most often, they won’t point you to a corner convenience store or a small boutique. Instead, they’ll steer you to the aisles of the nation's largest, most heavily monitored retailers.

In Suffolk County, Target dominates the shoplifting charts, making up nine of the 10 most-hit locations reported to the county police department last year. Nassau County’s list is more mixed, with four big-name retailers — Macy’s, JCPenney, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Nordstrom — at Roosevelt Field mall in Uniondale, as well as four Target stores.

Complaints in both counties have dipped in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2024, but remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. Police credit stepped-up enforcement and closer cooperation with retailers for the recent declines.

Getting a clear picture of how big the problem really is isn’t easy when big chains collect detailed theft data but some retailers, particularly small shops, stay quiet, and there’s no standardized way to track incidents across Long Island’s dozens of police agencies.

Meanwhile, some analysts say that retailers are exaggerating the extent of store thefts. At the same time, police argue that bail reform has made it tougher to curb repeat offenders — a point that remains hotly contested.

Nassau and Suffolk County police data is heavily dependent on large national retailers that track and report theft in detail. But some, particularly small shops, don't report the crimes to police of staffing limits or concerns about negative publicity, retail experts said. The result is uneven data that makes it difficult to capture the full scope of the problem.   newsday.com


Florida Steps Up Fight Against ORC
Florida launches task force to combat organized retail theft, citing higher penalties
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Friday the launch of a new statewide task force and the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Florida Retail Federation on Friday, intensifying the state’s efforts to combat organized retail theft.

The Retail Theft Investigative Special Task Force aims to dismantle large-scale criminal rings that commit thefts across multiple counties and jurisdictions, crimes that officials said drive up higher consumer prices and endanger store employees.

The task force is a dedicated team that will “aggressively investigate, prosecute, and dismantle criminal networks responsible for large-scale theft,” said Statewide Prosecutor Brad McVay during a news conference at a Home Depot store in Jacksonville.

Uthmeier said one of the primary challenges in prosecuting organized retail crime is the tendency of perpetrators to commit thefts in different jurisdictions, making it difficult for investigators to combine and track evidence across cases.

“We’re going to use our authority in the Office of Statewide Prosecution to bridge the gap,” Uthmeier said. “We’ve got the ability to work jurisdictional by jurisdictional basis. Working together with the Retail Federation and investigators, we’re going to cut red tape, streamline the process, and make it a lot easier to secure long term convictions.”

Uthmeier emphasized that Florida will not tolerate the rise in retail theft seen in other major U.S. cities, such as New York and San Francisco. flvoicenews.com


Malls Prep for Holiday Crime Surge
Eastview Mall braces for 2 million holiday shoppers, steps up crime prevention
More than 2 million people are expected to visit Eastview Mall between Black Friday and New Year's Day, but not everyone will be looking to purchase gifts. Ontario County Sheriff David Cirencione said the cusp of Christmas is prime time for criminals looking to take advantage of the crowds and chaos.

"(The) more shoppers, unfortunately, brings out more retail theft," Cirencione said. He advised shoppers to tuck valuables out of sight when they arrived at the mall. “Hide them, put them somewhere where they're out of playing vehicle, the glove box, the trunk, under the seat," he said. The time when customers are buying something at a counter is also an opportunity for thieves.

Cirencione said he recognizes it's a challenging and frustrating time for law enforcement, criminals and accountability. "We can catch them, recover the property, (but) they're looking at an appearance ticket," he said. Cirencione reminded shoppers that the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office has plenty of technology available.

"We have what's called a tether drone," he said. "That's a drone we can secure in one specific area and it climbs several hundred feet, and it allows us to keep eyes on the entire mall property." The sheriff's office has a substation inside the mall between JCPenney and the food court.

The sheriff's office plans to increase patrol numbers at Eastview "significantly" during the holiday season, Cirencione said, adding EMTs will be on site to help respond to any medical emergencies. 13wham.com


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