Philadelphia went wild after the Eagles' Super Bowl victory, leading to nearly 50 arrests. Fans celebrated with a mix of joy and chaos, including assaults on police, vandalism, and a large fire. The city is gearing up for a parade, but previous celebrations have already seen significant incidents, including a tragic fall that resulted in the death of an 18-year-old student. Buckle up, Philly, it's going to be a wild ride!
Remember when Billabong, Quiksilver, and Volcom were the kings of cool? Well, those days are long gone. Liberated Brands LLC, which owns these and other brands like Roxy and RVCA, just filed for bankruptcy. Blame it on high interest rates, inflation, and changing customer tastes. They owe a whopping $226 million and have only $3.3 million left, enough to last a week. But hey, there's a glimmer of hope—they're trying to find new license holders to keep the brands alive. [PennLive]
Fraud incidents in England and Wales skyrocketed to 3.9 million cases by September 2024, a 19% jump from the previous year. Consumer and retail fraud saw a whopping 26% increase, thanks to crafty fraudsters exploiting digital retail channels. Bank and credit account fraud also rose by 15%, with nearly 2.9 million cases involving financial loss. Despite these alarming numbers, only one in seven fraud offences gets reported, leaving a big gap in tracking these crimes. Time to beef up those consumer protection measures!
Cybercriminals are getting sneakier, using social engineering to exploit our quick, instinctive decisions (thanks, System 1 thinking). They love catching us off guard with fake Amazon delivery texts or irresistible shopping deals. With AI making their scams even more convincing, it's crucial to stay sharp and double-check everything. Retail app developers also need to step up with better security measures like passkeys and multi-factor authentication to keep us safe.
Trump’s steel tariffs could trigger broader trade war as EU threatens ‘proportionate countermeasures’-- The European Union is gearing up to retaliate against the U.S. for new steel and aluminum tariffs, with EU President Ursula von der Leyen promising firm countermeasures. This comes after President Trump slapped a 25% tariff on these metals, causing American steel stocks to soar. With global trade tensions rising and inflation still a concern, economists warn that these tariffs could end up costing consumers more. Buckle up, folks, it's going to be a bumpy ride!
As old as retail theft itself, is the challenge of securing meaningful capital for effective solutions.
Being “at the table” or “having a voice” is not synonymous with securing funding for innovation, proofs of concept, or integration of third-party solutions at the same level as other store operations initiatives. Not even close.
Gone are the days of the legacy, one-trick-pony theft-mitigation solutions exclusively designed to positively impact external theft, or shoplifters - often times with questionable impact. Examples of said technologies include locking/restrictive showcases, tethering to displays, security tags and lanyard, and electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems. As hard as we tried, there’ was really only one tangible, clear business case for those solutions, addressing the external theft component of total loss, or shrink.
Enter the mid/late 2000s and the retail risk-mitigation solution set begins to see the emergence of new technologies such as computer vision, where scalable and intelligent solutions begin to replace the manual checks, the clipboards and paper logs. These solutions provided not only a significant leap forward in impact, but also the added and significant attribute of providing intelligence where more surgical solutions could be applied. No longer the shotgun approach.
With this emergence, the pains associated with developing a feasible business case for millions of finite capital dollars have become easier, and broader in application. Pushing the ROI/IRR bookends out where presenting to executives for funding becomes more of a wholistic conversation with potential effects across the retail spectrum: supply chain, merchandising, store operational processes, marketing, inventory management and visibility, in stock positions, and so on.
Computer vision, under the umbrella of artificial intelligence (AI) for example, is becoming increasingly the “sexy” thing in retail, with a broad range of applications, including external theft prevention/mitigation, opening the door for the astute asset protection or loss prevention staffer to shape their business case(s) with real dollars that matter to a host of other areas of the business.
One specific example is radio frequency identification, or RFID. Not a new technology by any means, with a history all the way back to World War II, but with a new life in retail. Long positioned with supply-chain and inventory management as the payoff, around 2010 the phrase “shrink visibility” became an extension of the RFID business case. Not only could retailers now track inventory from OEM to the shelf and beyond, they could also, for the first time, have visibility to item-level shrinkage and have the intelligence layer to craft far more effective strategies (i.e., what is getting stolen, how, at what times, and how often, for example).
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the latest examples of true, dynamic change in the retail environment. Not isolated to one area of the store(s), but with an almost infinite use case when an imagination is engaged – including merchandise protection and shrink visibility.
Today’s asset protection and loss prevention solution set is far more encompassing than just 10 years ago. Put the one-trick-pony in the barn.
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State leaders fighting organized retail crime increase in Oklahoma
State leaders are working to cut down on organized retail crime.
One lawmaker wants to create a task force to see how the state can deal with the growing problem nationwide.
ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME IN TULSA
Two separate recent cases of organized retail crime involve Linda Been and Rilysha Dyer.
Been was convicted in federal court of conspiracy, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
CHP’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force Makes 1,707 Arrests in 2024
The California Highway Patrol announced its its organized retail crime task force made 1,707 arrests while recovering more than 676,00 items at a cost of $13.5 million.
Here is what CHP released
Thanks to the state’s continued investment in combating organized retail crime, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is proud to announce its most successful year yet for the Organized Retail Crime Task Force (ORCTF). In 2024, the task force set new records for investigations, arrests, and recovered stolen goods since its launch in 2019—surpassing all expectations and demonstrating its unparalleled effectiveness.
3 Wayne County residents arrested in St. Clair County for organized retail fraud
FORT GRATIOT TWP. MICH (Fox 2) - A man from Redford Township, and two Detroit women were arrested in Fort Gratiot Township Feb. 2 for organized retail fraud after they were seen taking items from a Dunham's in the area.
Police said that Vince Price, along with Keisha and Yoland Price, were seen fleeing the store in a gold 2007 Cadillac Escalade at about 3:30 p.m. A short while later they were found in the area, and fled from the police when they attempted to make a traffic stop.
FinTech is shaking up the retail world, making it easier for consumers to buy now and pay later (BNPL) and for small businesses to get loans. BNPL, popularized by companies like Klarna, lets shoppers spread out payments without interest, boosting spending by up to 26%. Retail loans and point-of-sale (PoS) financing are also helping businesses grow by offering flexible payment options. AI is making quick credit decisions, and digital wallets and A2A payments are on the rise, promising even more changes ahead.
Be a part of an exceptional team that leads company shrink mitigation and safety initiatives while keeping our Guests, Associates, and Communities at the center of everything they do. The face of retail is constantly changing, and this agile team is at the forefront of the latest Loss Prevention technology and analytical tools that help protect company assets every day. Through operational excellence, innovation, and collaboration, the Loss Prevention team is exceptional at quickly designing and implementing innovative new solutions for diverse Loss Prevention challenges while simultaneously building strong partnerships across Human Resources, Stores Operations, Supply Chain, and Compliance teams.
Suspected Shoplifter Faces More Charges After Escaping Patrol Vehicle
A Medanales man accused of shoplifting, then escaping from a police car while the officer who arrested him chased another man, is facing one felony charge and four misdemeanor charges in Española Magistrate Court.
Española City Police Officer David Jaramillo charged Juan Lopez, 41, with one felony count, escaping from a peace officer, and then misdemeanors of concealing identity, shoplifting, resisting arrest and larceny under $250.
Glen Rock Pizza Owner Gets Burned in Cash Theft at Rock Road Restaurant
GLEN ROCK, NJ - After being robbed of $6,500 in cash, the owner of Francesca's Brick Oven Pizza has been given news of an arrest in the case.
In late January, Salvatore Reina, owner of the restaurant on Rock Road, reported the thefts, which included two separate occasions: the first being $5,700 in cash taken from a safe, and a second theft of $800.
Following an investigation, Glen Rock Police recently filed criminal charges against Natisha R. Awad, 41, of Cliffside Park, NJ.
West Hartford police investigating burglary at guns, ammunition store
WEST HARTFORD — Local police are searching for those involved in a burglary captured on a surveillance camera at a guns and ammunition store, police said. Saturday around 3:15 a.m., West Hartford police officers were dispatched to The Tactical Boutique on Tolles Street for a report of an active burglary, police said.
Through a remote closed circuit TV, the store owner saw someone inside the store, police said.
At least one person was seen leaving the scene in a car that was later determined to be stolen. The car was found unoccupied in Hartford a short time later, police said.
While The Tactical Boutique sells guns and ammunition and has a shooting range, no firearms or ammunition were stolen during the incident, police said.
No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, police said.
Woman linked to death of Super Bowl reporter allegedly had similar arrests
Three years before she was linked to the death of a journalist covering Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Danette Colbert reportedly faced charges of drugging a man as well as stealing $100,000 in cash, jewelry, upscale luggage and casino chips from his Las Vegas hotel room.
Colbert made bond – then allegedly drugged another man and stole his $60,000 watch, casino chips and credit cards after he invited her to his hotel room in Las Vegas.
Neither of those criminal cases – nor various others against her – led to substantial consequences for Colbert, 48, a resident of the suburban New Orleans community of Slidell. Now police are trying to figure out whether she fatally drugged the television sports reporter Adan Manzano, 26, who was found dead and robbed in his hotel near the New Orleans airport four days before the Super Bowl.
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