Police Use Tech to Battle Theft
A number of forces have started using live facial recognition technology, while others track repeat offenders using electronic GPS ankle tags.

Is there a way of stopping repeat shoplifting?
Persistent shoplifters are often caught in a cycle of police, courts and prison, says a charity which is calling for more joined up support to be made available. Revolving Doors says homelessness, poor mental health and poverty are often driving this repeat offending.

Police forces in England and Wales recorded 502,011 shoplifting offences in 2025-26, a 5% drop on the year before but higher than pre-pandemic levels. The Home Office says 23% of offences now lead to a charge, meaning more criminals are facing consequences.

A recent BBC investigation found 270 shoplifters were linked to more than 28,000 offences between 2020-21 and 2025-26.

Retailers, including the Co-op, have been calling on the government to do more to tackle prolific offenders, including making more use of employment and rehabilitation programmes. The government also says a large number of shop thefts are fuelled by repeat offenders stealing to fund their addictions.

About one in five shoplifting offences in 2025-26 have led to a charge or summons. However, 285,667 reported crimes remain open cases, or they have been closed without any action being taken.

Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: "For too long, retail crime was dismissed as 'low-level', but we have been investing in more neighbourhood policing and working with police to ensure it's treated as the crime it is.

The government says it is also exploring other ways of tackling prolific shoplifting - in addition to prison sentences and drug treatment - including court orders preventing offenders from visiting certain shops or areas.

A number of forces have started using live facial recognition technology, while in Sussex some repeat offenders are now monitored using electronic GPS ankle tags. Croydon could become the first borough in London to tag and track prolific shoplifters.

Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police Alex Goss, who is the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for retail crime, said: "It is important to recognise the significant progress that has been made."

He said: "The strategy is delivering real results by bringing together policing, retailers, government and industry partners to strengthen information sharing, improve offender management, reduce violence against retail workers and develop more effective ways of reporting and investigating retail crime."  bbc.com


New Tech to Fight an Old School Crime
Police target cargo thieves on trains in a first-of-its-kind national blitz. Here's how it worked.
Train robberies may be a relic of the Old West, but cargo theft is still a big business — and consumers end up paying the price.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates cargo theft costs the U.S. between $15 billion to $35 billion a year. In 2025, the FBI says, reported cargo theft losses in the U.S. and Canada reached nearly $725 million, up 60 percent from 2024.

Now, law enforcement agencies are stepping up efforts to curb the criminal enterprise that can ultimately cost consumers. When manufacturers lose large loads of goods to theft, they often raise prices, forcing consumers to pay more on the back end.

In a first-of-its-kind national blitz shown exclusively to CBS News, federal agents, railroad police and law enforcement in more than two dozen states hit the tracks and highways on the same night, using infrared drone cameras to track down thieves targeting cargo trains.

"It's like a third eye in the sky, you know, so it helps us out. It gives us an advantage," Commander Michael Ware, who leads the Cook County Sheriff's Police Organized Retail Crime and Cargo Theft Task Force, told CBS News national consumer correspondent Ash-har Quraishi during a ride-along for an operation in Chicago. Illinois now ranks third in the nation for cargo theft, behind only California and Texas, according to Verisk Cargonet.

A heads up about suspicious activity from law enforcement partners across the country, like the California Highway Patrol and L.A. County, has helped officers prepare.

Infrared drone technology picks up heat signatures along train tracks and in rail yards. A drone operator can see white silhouettes moving on tracks and in cargo cars, and communicates the information to officers on the ground.

"People were being looted and the numbers were staggering and the point that we had driven home to us almost immediately, it was highly organized," he said.

With the holidays coming, Ware says what's stolen off the trains is a preview of where you'll see a price increase. cbsnews.com


Dollar General's 'Surgical Approach' to Fighting Theft
Dollar General facing closure of discount store due to repeated thefts after losing hundreds of thousands of dollars
Employees say the thefts are rampant and there are repeat offenders who often steal using bins or by exiting the back door. Erin McCauley told WESH: “If ten people walk in, six people are stealing.”

The store has put an alarm on the back door to sound when thieves try to flee. However, Erin claims that employees are “not allowed to do anything,” with the company telling its workers not to get involved.

Store workers also asked police to assist them by patrolling parking lots but this has not happened yet. A city official called the local area a “food desert” indicating the store is a staple in the community.

While some competitors have opted for locked shelves, Dollar General has taken a more radical approach. Their strategy is SKU rationalization, removing lower-volume items or high-shrink items, and instead focusing on faster-selling items.

They also use AI analytics to identify high-theft stores. CEO Todd Vasos said: “As we go forward, the team is looking at continued SKU rationalization, albeit probably more surgical in nature as we move forward.

“We’re already implementing some test and learns even in the back half of this year around lower-volume store-type planograms, taking a substantial amount of SKUs out of the mix where it may not be as productive."  the-sun.com


Cannabis Stores & Violence Concerns
Winnipeg, MB, Canada: Cannabis retailers concerned about minimum staffing requirements at stores
Manitoba is considering new cannabis-store safety measures that would allow retailers to remove window coverings and could require a minimum number of employees to work during higher-risk hours.

The proposed amendments to the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act were introduced by the provincial government earlier this week as part of an effort to address safety concerns at cannabis stores.

Under the proposed legislation, the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba (LGCA) would have the power to establish mandatory minimum staffing levels during certain hours, ensuring workers are not alone when the risk of violence is higher. The province is also proposing to remove the requirement for cannabis retailers to cover their storefront windows.  ctvnews.ca


New Theft Hotbed in SF
San Francisco REI Store A Hotbed Of Retail Theft As 5 New Arrests Announced
One REI store in San Francisco is at the center of numerous retail thefts resulting in at least eight arrests in recent months, police said.

The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) on Tuesday announced five arrests connected to repeated thefts at the REI store on Brannon Street. The five people arrested in September were allegedly responsible for a total of $19,000 in stolen merchandise.

The arrests follow three other arrests announced in August for thefts at the same location. The store is such a hotbed of theft, the SFPD Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Task Force has been working with REI representatives since May to apprehend “multiple habitual thieves working independently.” nationalenquirer.com


$8.3M Earmarked For Contra Costa Including Theft Crackdowns, Trafficking Survivor Support

Mayor Mamdani takes aim at NYPD use of force policies, calls for improved police accountability
 

Another Retail Predicament
Target denies cooperating with ICE. Here’s why that may not matter.

Whether they own or lease store property, retailers probably need formal policies about whether law enforcement agencies can establish operational staging areas in their parking lots.

Target was thrust into the national spotlight last week after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot a man in the Bronx, not far from one of its stores. The retailer stated it has no formal ties to the agency after New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused it of letting ICE set up operations in its parking lot.

The situation highlights a predicament for retailers, whether they are property owners or tenants, at a time of elevated immigration enforcement.

In a Thursday statement condemning the shooting, Ocasio-Cortez added a demand that Target “stop offering their Bronx properties as private staging sites for ICE, in compliance with requests from New York officials.”

But in an email to Retail Dive on Friday, the retailer denied this, stating, “Target has no cooperative agreements with ICE or any other immigration enforcement agency.” A Target spokesperson said she was unaware of any operational staging area set up by ICE at its Marble Hill shopping center location, which is close to the site of the shooting.

Target is not disputing what the officials describe in their letter, but the company has no evidence of a large ICE staging area established there, and has not agreed to host such an area, the spokesperson said. ICE did not immediately respond to questions about its use of the Target parking lot.

Target doesn’t have an agreement with ICE, but also cannot legally interfere with law enforcement activity, the spokesperson said by phone. When asked whether the retailer or store management would request that ICE or any law enforcement agency not use its parking lot for operational purposes, the spokesperson declined to comment. retaildive.com


New AI Firing Law
AI Can’t Fire You in California Without a Human

Under SB 947, a manager must back up any AI-driven firing or discipline with other evidence, such as performance reviews.

California employers will soon need a person to stand behind any artificial intelligence-driven decision to fire or discipline a worker. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 947, the No Robo Bosses Act, on Sept. 30 as one of 13 bills that day, according to the governor’s signing announcement. The law bars employers from relying only on AI when they discipline or fire someone.

SB 947 is one of three new California laws that limit how much authority companies can hand to artificial intelligence. AB 1979, signed the same day, keeps licensed clinicians in charge when healthcare providers use AI. AB 1159 bars education technology companies from training AI on student data. Newsom signed that law Sept. 10 in a separate package of 13 bills on children and technology, according to the governor’s Sept. 10 announcement.

Under SB 947, a manager who relies mainly on AI to discipline or fire someone must back up the decision with other evidence, such as performance reviews and personnel files, HR Dive reported. The law takes effect July 1, 2027.

Newsom vetoed an earlier version of SB 947 in October 2025, saying it was too broadly written, PYMNTS reported. The new measures put “guardrails on AI at work to ensure human oversight,” Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, said in the governor’s announcement. pymnts.com


Technology & Workplace Safety
Understanding and Mitigating Impact of Technology on Worker Safety: Scientific Review

Training, engagement and communication are tools to address the issue.

One of the central questions of implementing new technologies in the workplace is how they will affect the safety and health of workers. A recent study set out to find those answers.

The methodology used, called the Delphi method, is to get consensus among academic experts about the most significant impacts on workers and then to propose guidelines for mitigating the potentially negative effects of digital technologies.

The first step was to examine recent research, from 2022-2024, which observed the impact workers experienced based on the requirements that they needed to implement as related to operating new technologies.

Based on a consensus among 24 academic experts, 42 significant impacts affecting workers were identified, and psychosocial factors were identified as the main risk factors affecting workers’ safety and health. Stress, mental fatigue, and fear of replacement were identified as major adverse effects.

The authors concluded that while technology offers opportunities for modernization, it "also amplifies challenges related to mental overload, increased cognitive demands, and organizational risk factors arising from technological integration."  ehstoday.com


Tariff's Impact on Store Prices
Tariffs pushed up consumer goods prices by 2.9 percentage points: NY Fed
Trump administration tariffs pushed up consumer goods prices by 2.9 percentage points from early 2025 through February this year, Federal Reserve Bank of New York researchers said, noting that prices would have fallen without the import taxes.

After a year, consumer goods prices rise by about 0.25% for every percentage point increase in average tariffs, the researchers said, citing price gains among 67 groups of consumer goods included in calculations of the Consumer Price Index. retaildive.com


Spirit Halloween to transform dozens of locations to Spirit Christmas
The spooky retailer will expand its Christmas concept to 44 locations this season.

Ross opens 51 new stores

Nearly half of shoppers are worried about affording holiday gifts this year

Trump admin suspending Microsoft from a green card program, alleging fraud

Kelly Clarkson wages war on Brooklyn store over an item she wanted to buy


Last week's #1 article --

ORC Enforcement Unit Expanding
Peel Police Brings Together Law Enforcement and Business Leaders to Combat Organized Retail Crime, Announce Expansion of BEAR Unit
Peel Regional Police is hosting the Retail Organized Crime Conference bringing together law enforcement agencies, retail industry leaders, and public safety partners from across Ontario to strengthen collaboration and advance efforts to combat organized retail crime.

By fostering cross-sector and multi-jurisdictional collaboration, the conference, taking place on Oct. 6 and 7 in Mississauga, will feature panel discussions, keynote speakers, and technology partners to advance practical solutions and support coordinated responses to this growing and evolving threat.

Expansion of the BEAR Unit in 2027

The conference comes as Peel Regional Police continues to build on the success of its Break and Enter, Auto and Retail (BEAR) Unit, a specialized enforcement team designed to combat organized property crime and retail theft.

Originally launched as a pilot in September 2025 in Mississauga to address break-and-enters and auto theft, the unit evolved after investigators identified a growing need for a dedicated response to organized retail crime.

Since spring 2026, the BEAR Unit has made 53 arrests, laid 263 charges and recovered more than $1 million in stolen property related to retail theft. This demonstrates the impact of a dedicated, intelligence-led approach to combating organized retail theft. Building on this success, Peel Regional Police is planning to expand the unit across all divisions in 2027, extending the BEAR model throughout both Mississauga and Brampton.

Partnering with Retail Council of Canada’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force

Peel Regional Police has worked closely with the Retail Council of Canada (RCC) on coordinated efforts to combat retail theft across the region, including participating in the national Retail Blitz program. Partnering with the RCC's Organized Retail Crime Task Force, Peel Regional Police have arrested 63 individuals, laid 158 charges and recovered more than $29,000 in stolen property so far in 2026.

Peel Regional Police remains committed to working alongside the RCC and retail partners to prevent victimization, disrupt organized retail crime networks and enhance community safety across Peel Region. peelpolice.ca