Lowe's reorganizes - Eliminates 3 Operating Division Teams Entirely
& Realigns LP
Last week, Lowe's reorganized their field operations team, eliminating the three Divisional operating teams entirely, including the three Divisional LP Director's. They also eliminated 150 Area Operations Managers in the field, with now having the 14 Regional LP Directors reporting directly to the Vice President of Loss Prevention Scott Draher.

All other corporate loss prevention functions now report to Glenn Feazell, Vice President Loss Prevention and Operations Support. Scott Draher also reports to Glenn Feazell as well. Additionally Craig Sprinkles, Vice President, Operations and Corporate LP was given corporate responsibilities as well and he to reports to Glenn Feazell.

Correction From Friday Post: LinkedIn post Home Depot AP Specialist jobs multiple multiple times
Friday we posted "Home Depot rolls out Midwest Asset Protection Specialist initiative - over 200 positions" and was contacted by Home Depot and told that it was obviously a LinkedIn mistake. LinkedIn posted a few jobs multiple multiple times. Home Depot is not rolling-out anything new or different than what they normally do.

Netflix's Making a Murderer: An Interrogator's Perspective -
A Must Read for All Investigators
With all of the press this Netflix's series has gotten no one has actually looked at it from the interrogator's prospective and Dave Thompson's blog, from Wicklander & Zulawski & Associates, Inc., on the series is one every investigator should read in detail. As it cast a different and specialist prospective that we doubt ever makes it to the public. Certainly in episode 6 when the police refer to their being trained in the Reid technique one immediately thinks they're using it almost as an excuse of how they interrogated Brendan Dassey.

Right or wrong, guilty or innocent, and regardless of how you feel about the series or the case this blog, posted below in today's Op. Ed., is one you should take the time to read as it not only gives you a better prospective but it also talks about the standards and ethics that all investigators should abide by. Well written Dave. Just a thought w-z.com

Retailers Legislative Update: Civil Demand Under Attack in Maryland Again
The Zellman Group invited to testify Wednesday Feb 3rd &
Who Retailers should be contacting
This Wednesday The Zellman Group will be testifying before the judiciary committee at 2:00 PM and is represented by Stuart Levine, CEO and Michael Ira Asen Chief Counsel.

Cailey Locklair Tolle, President, Maryland Retailers Association has provided the following list of State Senators and Representatives who should be contacted by interested retailers. Most important are the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the committees: Phone calls & emails would help!

SENATE:
Chairman Bobby Zirkin: 410-841-3131 bobby.zirkin@senate.state.md.us
Vice-Chairwoman Lisa Gladden: 410-841-3697 lisa.gladden@senate.state.md.us

HOUSE:
Chairman Joe Vallario: 301-858-3488 joseph.vallario@house.state.md.us
Vice-Chairwoman Kathleen Dumais: 301-858-3052 kathleen.dumais@house.state.md.us

Sponsors of the bills:
Delegate Brooke Lierman: 410-841-3319 brooke.lierman@house.state.md.us
Senator Victor Ramirez: 301-858-3745 victor.ramirez@senate.state.md.us

Delegate Brooke Lierman's bill to repeal the statute allowing business owners to seek civil penalties from shoplifters or her pay stub transparency bill has been re-introduced this session.

The Civil Penalties for Shoplifting and Employee Theft - Repeal (HB190) is the same bill as last year. This bill seeks to repeal the entire statute that allows employees to seek civil penalties in cases of customer or employee theft. This takes away a critical tool for businesses in Maryland to seek remedies when they are victims of theft.

Hearing Date: Wednesday, February 3rd at 2pm in the House Judiciary Committee
Maryland Retailers Association Position: OPPOSE contact  www.mdra.org

Cost of UK retail crime soars to a record $878M
New Record Highs in All Categories
British Retail Consortium blames rise on criminal gangs stealing luxury and hi-tech goods to order with cyber-crime now making up one-third of the cost.

The annual bill for UK retail crime soared to 613m pounds ($878M U.S.) last year - the highest level since records began - driven by sophisticated criminal gangs stealing luxury goods such as designer clothing and hi-tech gadgets to order.

That was a 2% increase on the cost to industry in 2014, according to the annual retail crime survey published on Monday by the British Retail Consortium, while the average value of goods stolen leaped by over a third to 325 pounds ($465 U.S.) per incident - also a record.

Not only is the direct cost of crime now at its highest level on record, but it is more than three times higher than in 2007-08.

The total number of offences has dropped for the second year running, retailers reported, to 750,144 incidents. But the high value of items stolen compared with the drop in incidents shows that crime against retailers is increasingly being carried out by sophisticated criminals stealing to order. Customer theft still accounts for the majority of incidents of retail crime, at 83% of the total.

Fraud, including the burgeoning waves of online cyber-attacks, is also on the rise, the report said - up by 55% and, significantly, now accounting for more than a third of the cost of crime against retailers (36%).
 
The human cost of retail crime has also grown. Data collected revealed a 28% increase in offences involving abuse or violence against shop staff, rising to 41 out of every 1,000 crimes committed, compared to 32 out of 1,000 reported last year. Something the U.S. does not track. theguardian.com

Negotiating Use of Electronic Surveillance at Work
Various court cases and administrative rulings have spelled out instances when a company or government entity can deploy electronic surveillance in its workplace without employee or union approval, but that still may mean negotiations are necessary to establish how, when, where and why surveillance is needed and how it will be used, two labor attorneys said.

It's best for companies to devise policies on how electronic surveillance will be used before engaging employees or their union in discussions. "Anticipate employee concerns when drafting policies," he said. "Employees have rights, but so do employers." Employers would be wise to "have policies about everything that is subject to search," she said, as this goes a long way toward "minimizing employee expectations of privacy." wsj.com

NYC ports shut down Friday - 1,000+ longshoremen walk off the job
Federal criminal investigation into the union's leadership?
The East Coast's busiest port system ground to a halt on Friday as thousands of longshoremen in New York and New Jersey walked off the job, threatening to disrupt the delivery of goods throughout the region. The walkout caught many people involved with port operations by surprise, and the reasons behind the action remained shrouded in intrigue, with even officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which acts as a landlord for the ports, struggling to understand the situation. nytimes.com crainsnewyork.com

From Louisiana to New England, convenience retailers are finding
skimming devices
Since June 2015 25 skimming devices have been found in Louisiana. The New England area is also seeing a rash of skimming devices found at pumps.  nacsonline.com

Minnesota Commerce Department issues skimming crime alert
Crime involving card skimmers has been an isolated problem in Minnesota. Cases in Robbinsdale and another this week in which three men were charged in Hennepin County District Court for placing skimmers at a Bloomington gas station prompted the Commerce Department to issue a warning. Robbinsdale police also issued a crime alert. The Commerce Department, "is investigating and responding to this emerging threat, it's important for both consumers and gas station operators to be vigilant." startribune.com

LPRC Innovation Lab Visit: Target and UF Cyber Security Team
Last week at the Loss Prevention Research Council, Target Executives: Emy Johnson, Shane Bennett, and Mike Andreotti visited the lab in order to collaborate on 2016 Research initiatives. During the visit, two of the top UF Cyber Security professionals also joined us here at the lab in order to have a "Lunch and Learn" with the Target team. Cyber security issues, data breaches, and methods used to prepare and recover from these data breaches were discussed. A special thank you to Kevin Butler and Patrick Traynor of the University of Florida for dropping by to enlighten us on these hot topics! Be on the look out for these two to help the LPRC host the upcoming Cyber Security Summit!

UK's Southern Co-operative faces up to retail crime with Facewatch
Tim Compston, features editor at SecurityNewsDesk, finds out how the Facewatch platform is revolutionising the way that retailers like the UK's Southern Co-operative are able to clamp down on problematic criminal activity in-store and provide vital evidence to the police. On the subject of the way forward in the battle against retail crime, The Southern Co-operative, which runs over 250 community food stores across Southern England, stands out as an early adopter and enthusiastic advocate of Facewatch, a secure on-line crime reporting and information sharing platform. Since signing up to Facewatch, Gareth Lewis, loss prevention and security services manager at the independently-owned retailer, reports that the platform has been particularly effective in the way that it facilitates the linking of incidents, sharing of information, and the provision of evidence - witness statements and video - to the police in an approved format. securitynewsdesk.com

VP of Loss Prevention for David Yurman in NYC posted
The Company is seeking a strategic leader to play a vital role in heading up the loss prevention function globally. He/She will ensure the protection of the Company's assets and employees through the professional implementation of Loss Prevention and Safety Programs. Manage a loss prevention team that strategically controls internal/external theft, facility security and employee safety and well-being. linkedin.com

National Loss Prevention Specialist posted for MEC in Vancouver, B.C.
An outdoor retail co-operative, MEC exists to encourage and inspire Canadians to live active outdoor lifestyles. MEC has more than 3.8 million members across Canada, whom it serves through 17 stores in 6 provinces as well as mec.ca and the Shop MEC iPhone® app. linkedin.com

Ahold, Delhaize set shareholder meeting dates March 14th to decide merger

Bose Illegally Collects Customer Info in CA., Class Action Says

Walgreens Boots Alliance "Confident" Rite Aid deal will get done second half of '16

We're Not Alone - UK Retailer Boots Cuts 350 assistant store manager roles

H&M to open 425 stores in '16 - with focus in U.S. & China

Thursday January sales numbers are posted - Prediction - worst month in years for apparel across the board



Last week's #1 article --

Boddie-Noell Loss Prevention Director charged with embezzlement
Nash County deputies arrested a Boddie-Noell Enterprises executive Thursday in connection with embezzling from the national company. Ted Polensky, 48, was charged with 15 counts of felony embezzlement. He was jailed in Nash County under a $15,000 secured bond.

Company representatives allegedly contacted the sheriff's office in November regarding suspicions of embezzlement and deputies investigated the allegations. Officials said Polensky, who reportedly was employed as the director of the loss prevention division, embezzled more than $1,000 from the company during a three-month period. When contacted, representatives of Boddie-Noell declined to comment on the incident.

Officials said the investigation began in November of 2015 and concluded Thursday morning in Nash County. rockymounttelegram.com wral.com

All the News - One Place - One Source - One Time
The D&D Daily respects your time
& doesn't filter retail's reality
 

Robots are coming to a retailer near you
New research by the consulting experts Deloitte suggests that an enormous chunk of the UK workforce will be automated by 2036 - including over 2 million retail workers.

The research suggests that 1.1 million food services and accommodation workers are at risk. In the USA, fast-food chains like Eatsa are already experimenting with systems that ask customers to place orders on a tablet and then to collect their food from a hatch. The march of the machines was already well underway and nothing could be done to stop it: "You either adopt the technology or your economy suffers, it's hard to resist these changes." theretailbulletin.com

Will humans shop at a store run mostly by robots?
SoftBank Group Corp., the Japanese parent of Sprint, will test what it claims to be the first store to be run largely by robots. Five or six of the company's Pepper humanoid robots will greet shoppers, demonstrate cellphones and make purchasing suggestions. They will also use a tablet to assist customers in handling order processing and finalize data plans.

Some human staffers will be present in the back to check customers' IDs and for maintenance, but customers will be able to purchase a phone without human contact. The test will run from Mar. 28 to Apr. 3 at a store in Tokyo. retailwire.com

Feeling Better With a CISO
A survey of around 200 security analysts by ThreatTrack Security found, for those organizations that have a chief information security officer, 23% said it's become easier to defend against malware-based cyberattacks in the past year versus 15% of respondents from companies without a CISO who said that. Ninety-four percent of those at a company with a CISO said they also have a dedicated incident response team, compared with 48% for those at a business without a CISO. And 71% at CISO companies said they would personally guarantee the safety of customer data in 2016, versus 42% of those at a non-CISO firm who would make that promise. wsj.com

Landry's releases list of restaurants affected by credit card data breach
Following a December report of suspicious activity on cards used at some Landry's locations, an investigation was launched that determined criminal attackers were able to install a program on payment card processing devices at certain locations. abc13.com

Silver Lining for IT Security Professionals - Wages Going Up 14%
According to results from the Robert Walters Salary Survey, salaries for roles in IT security are set to receive a significant increase with employers offering an average rise of 14%, the largest across the industry. This is a clear response to the significant amount of high-profile security breaches seen throughout 2015, with organizations looking to secure the highest caliber of talent available to strengthen their defenses against cyber-criminals. infosecurity-magazine.com

Breach Investigations: Who's Accountable?
- Lawsuit Puts Focus on Roles of PCI Council, Security Firms, Buyers
A lawsuit recently filed against security and incident response firm Trustwave raises questions about the efficacy of the Payment Card Industry's "Professional Forensic Investigator" services that are marketed and sold by security firms, the extent to which the PCI's Security Standards Council monitors these providers, as well as the responsibilities incumbent on anyone who buys such services. One financial fraud prevention expert stresses that it's "buyer beware" for anyone who buys any type of security product or service, including a breach investigation. "The onus really falls on the buyer to understand their need, understand what the product [or service] they are buying offers, and then make sure the contract is explicit concerning what the product will accomplish," says Shirley Inscoe, an analyst at consultancy Aite. The contractual requirements for a firm hired to conduct a forensic investigation must be clearly laid out, Inscoe adds, noting that anyone who hires investigators should not assume that these experts will contain the compromise or prevent future compromises. databreachtoday.com

Survey: Consumers shift payment preferences, warming to digital wallets
Slowly but surely, consumers are becoming open to the idea of switching from leather wallets to an electronic version. According to the new "Let's Get Digital" consumer survey from Citi Retail Services, digital wallet usage has increased by 20% in the past two years. Thirty-five percent of consumers used digital wallets at the end of 2014, and that figure rose to 55% by the end of the year 2015. Additionally, 66% of respondents said they could be convinced to adopt a digital wallet in their everyday lives if they were educated on the benefits. chainstoreage.com

Netflix's Making a Murderer:
An Interrogator's Perspective

By Dave Thompson, CFI
Manager of Investigations & Consulting
Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates

The Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer" is causing an outcry for justice in a perceived unjust system. The 10-part documentary depicts for the viewer a perspective of Wisconsinite Steven Avery, and his nephew Brendan Dassey as they travel through the many layers of the criminal justice system. This series has taken social media by storm, creating several discussions on interview or interrogation techniques, false confessions and alleged corruption in the criminal justice system. It is an incredible example of how quickly and easily our society becomes divided and blinded when discussing potential injustice and impropriety.

As a Certified Forensic Interviewer (CFI) it is imperative to take a critical look at the series and separate truth or evidence from drama and conspiracy. The documentary produced by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos begins in 2003 and is broken down over 10 different episodes that all leave the viewer hanging and salivating to watch the next one. Since the documentary aired on December 18, 2015, almost 400,000 people signed a petition to the White House asking for the Federal Government to take another look at the Avery case. Justice, in the eyes of some viewers, has not been served. However, it is interesting that a series which highlights injustices and biases, is unequivocally mirroring that same behavior. Ricciardi and Demo have made several appearances and interviews since the release of the documentary and have stated "We're not prosecutors, we're not defense attorneys, we do not set out to convict or exonerate anyone". If not meant to convict nor to exonerate, a critical review of this documentary should make the viewer question the intent of this film.

As we continue to take a critical view of this documentary and the claims and allegations it has so widely publicized, it's important to review the information presented. It is an interesting observation that in the Avery case a jury heard weeks of testimony and then deliberated for days prior to making a decision. However, upon watching the 10 hour documentary, it seems as though the decision has already been made for you. Before a viewer decides on a verdict, maybe it would be appropriate to take a step back and deliberate this from an unbiased perspective.

If there was one word to describe the selection of content provided during this documentary as well as the actual investigation that took place, "bias" would be a perfect description. There are several types of biases that we all fall victim to in different circumstances. A personal bias is obvious, and the basis of this documentary is an alleged personal bias against the Avery family by the criminal justice system and specifically the Manitowac County Police Department. Based on the information provided in the documentary, the viewer is led to believe that the entire homicide investigation of Teresa Halbach has been focused on Steve Avery predicated on his history with the department. Avery was in the process of settling a large lawsuit based off of his wrongful conviction that placed him behind bars for 18 years of his life. There are several allegations of wrongdoings by the police department including the planting of evidence, lack of due diligence and misleading interviews. This series begs the viewer to question the integrity of the investigation, the ethical and moral violations by the police department and the unjust nature of the resulting verdicts.

Read more here.
 

Martinsville, Va., PD's increased focus on shoplifting last year led to 2 ORC rings
Commonwealth Attorney Compliments Local Retail LP Teams
Shoplifting accounted for a fifth of Martinsville's total Part I crimes in 2014. Police Chief Sean Dunn said. Shoplifting accounted for 92 of the city's 441 total Part 1 crimes (nearly 21 percent) in 2014. As a result of the large percentage of shoplifting incidents, we decided to tackle this from a department-wide approach and enhance our partnership with the business community," Dunn said.

The Martinsville Police Department's initial response included patrol officers making periodic stops at local businesses. Our second step was to assign shoplifting incidents to criminal investigators when Patrol was unable to make an apprehension. Reported crime was down 23 percent from 2013 to 2014, giving us an opportunity to shift these incidents to criminal investigators with their much lower caseloads," Dunn said. "This (led) to the identification of two organized retail theft rings that were operating in the city. One of the organized retail theft rings was operating out of North Carolina and into several other states."

He added that MPD also developed Business Watch, spearheaded by Lt. R. "Tony" Turner, to facilitate dialogue between the business community and the police department. MPD's preliminary numbers for 2015 indicate 114 reported shoplifting incidents, 86 percent of which MPD cleared by arrest.

Martinsville Commonwealth's Attorney Clay Gravely said he thought shoplifting "is a significant problem which impacts us all. "In the city, most of these involve shoplifting from local grocery and department stores, such as CVS, Kroger and Belk. Fortunately, my office has a great working relationship with the loss-prevention agents at these stores, and they are always very prepared and good at what they do, which helps us to prosecute these cases effectively," Gravely said.  martinsvillebulletin.com

Brooklyn, NY: Trio Shoplifts $15K in Fur Coats
A trio of shoplifters made off with five fur coats from a Brooklyn store and police on Sunday released images of them taken by a surveillance camera. The photos show two men and a woman posing as shoppers at the Macy's Backstage store on Emmons Avenue in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood. The trio entered the store at about 8:10 p.m. Friday, removed locked wires on five fur coats, stuffed them into a bag and fled, investigators said. The furs are valued at approximately $15,000. nbcnewyork.com

Wichita, KS: Six arrested after clothing thefts on opposite sides of town
Six people were arrested Thursday after two stores on opposite sides of town reported crimes an hour apart committed by a group of people using a white SUV, police said. An employee of Burlington Coat Factory said the group came into the store shortly before noon, "grabbed armfuls of clothing items" and fled the store. They left in a white Dodge Durango. About an hour later, six people entered the Famous Footwear and began to grab shoes and socks. When a clerk tried to intervene, a man in the group warned her that he had a gun. More than 50 pairs of blue jeans and jogging pants, worth an estimated $2,000, were stolen from Burlington Coat Factory. Several pairs of shoes and socks were taken from Famous Footwear, worth about $600. kansas.com

Davie, FL: Police searching for 2 in Davie cellphone store burglary
A South Florida business owner is hoping police are able to locate the duo who, he said, smashed their way into his cellphone store and took off with thousands of dollars in cash and merchandise, early Sunday. Cameras rolled as the subjects used a sledgehammer to get into the Davie business, at around 6 a.m., and were in and out in seconds. Davie Police alerted the Owner, Ahmad Sharifeh about the burglary. Sunday afternoon. "[They] emptied it out, all the phones we had in there and the accessories," he said. "They took everything, snatched the cash register, and within two minutes they were gone." Sharifeh said the pair got away with about $4,000 in merchandise and cash. wsvn.com

West Springfield, MA: Loot seized from trio of 'professional' shoplifters included 110 pairs of ladies underwear
Stolen merchandise recovered from what police describe as a trio of professional shoplifters, arrested Thursday after they fled Kohl's on Riverdale Street, included 110 pairs of women's underwear valued at over $1,300. They are professionals," Police Capt. Michael J. Banas of the three suspects, all from Queens, N.Y. "These are guys who knew what they were doing." The underwear and a number of other recovered items had been stolen from the Macy's store at the Holyoke Mall which the suspects visited shortly before they made their ill-fated visit to Kohl's at 935 Riverdale Street. Most of the recovered merchandise had been taken from the Holyoke Mall. Along with the ladies underwear, the suspects' haul from Macy's included 11 wallets valued at $693 and a leather coat of undetermined value. Police also recovered two Target gift cards worth $1,000 apiece, 5 iTune cards worth $100 apiece and clothing valued at approximately $95. The suspects also took an iPad from the Apple Store at the mall valued at approximately $1,000. The haul from their interrupted time at Kohl's was considerably less: a camera and speaker valued at approximately $139. masslive.com

Augusta, GA: Mother and son busted with $450 in merchandise from JC Penney Josette Rowan, 41, and Aron Sculley, 24, both of New Ellenton, S.C., were seen on surveillance cameras, authorities said, attempting to conceal more than $450 worth of makeup and clothing from J.C. Penney. According to an incident report, the suspects attempted to hide the items in Rowan's purse and leave the store. augusta.com

Rockland, ME: Woman arrested for switching price tags; 20 previous arrests
A woman who was arrested for allegedly switching price tags of merchandise at a Rockland business was ordered held without bail on Jan. 27 pending a hearing to revoke her probation. Rockland Police charged Traci L. Cultrera, Jan. 22 with theft by deception and violating conditions of release. Cultrera has 20 previous arrests, primarily for theft, and numerous probation revocations. penbaypilot.com

Myrtle Beach, SC: Woman charged with shoplifting from 10 stores at Coastal Grand Mall
In Horry County, a woman is facing 10 counts of shoplifting following a rash of thefts Friday at Coastal Grand Mall, according to police records. Kristen Elizabeth Hardee, 28, of the Myrtle Beach area, was booked Friday at the Myrtle Beach city jail on 10 counts of shoplifting, according to booking records. Police reports filed Friday state the suspect concealed merchandise shoplifted from various stores in shopping bags and a stroller. All items were returned back to the stores, and Hardee is charged with 10 counts of shoplifting less than $2,000. wpde.com

Helena-West Helena, AR: Off-duty officer helps thwart $1,500 Wal-Mart shoplifters
 

To apply to today's Featured Jobs, Click Here

Glenn Feazell was named Vice President Loss Prevention & Operations Support for Lowe's.

Craig Sprinkles was named Vice President, Operations and Corporate LP for Lowe's.

John McLean, CFI was named Operations Manager for Macy's.

Martin Hernandez was named Area Loss Prevention Manager for Tawa Supermarket, Inc.

Last week's most popular articles--

8 Essential Attributes of a Successful Mindset  Success of your organization, team, and yourself begins in the mind of the leader and your team members. A winning organization is built on authenticity and a solid vision. Here are eight traits in the mindset of every success story. Do what it takes

12 Toxic Thoughts That Will Destroy Your Success  The essence of the successful mind doesn't lie in what it thinks, but how it thinks. Here are some toxic thoughts that could be taking up too much space and how you can get rid of them to focus on the "how." Self-doubt