Coming Sept. 18/19...

Real Time - Right Now - Today's New England LP Expo
Thanks Kevin Plante & Joe LaRocca

250+ Attend 11th Annual New England LP Expo in Worcester, MA

Over 250 people attended the 11th annual New England Loss Prevention Expo in Worcester, MA today. The conference brings together Loss Prevention, Security, Risk Managers and Solutions Partners with law enforcement, prosecutors and policy makers to learn more about how to keep stores, employees and customers safe and secure.

Some of the subjects discussed are Organized Retail Crime, external and internal theft, private/public sector partnerships, asset protection technology, financial crimes and emergency preparedness.

See pictures below and click here to learn more about the expo.

Update: Walmart To Cut 20% Of Leadership Staff - 300 Jobs
Walmart is in the process of cutting 20% of its leadership staff above store level, as reported by a field executive for the retailer. Within the next three weeks, the company will reduce its total number of regional markets from 450 to 350, which will eliminate approximately 300 executive positions by the beginning of October.

This reduction in staff is reportedly the result of an edict to cut expenses quickly. The cuts will save Walmart from having to pay out bonus money and vested equity moving into Q1 2018.

When all the cuts are finalized, Walmart will have been reduced from six divisions to four in the U.S. and from 50 regions to 40. Moving forward, Market Managers will shift from managing approximately eight stores to 12-15. "The entire field HR community is worried whether they will have a job and what that job might be," the executive said. retailtouchpoints.com

Former Macy's Herald Square Employees Sue Alleging Racial Profiling of Customers
Four former employees at Macy's Inc.'s flagship location in New York City's Herald Square are suing the department store chain for firing them after they objected to the company's "long and uncomfortable history of racial profiling."

According to their law firm, Wigdor LLP, the four plaintiffs were told by their managers in Macy's cosmetics and fragrance department to refuse to sell products to Asian customers "in the same manner that white shoppers were permitted," because they assumed that Asian customers would buy in the United States only to sell them at a markup "on the grey market" in their home countries.

Some goods brought into China from other countries are sold on the website Taobao, according to a person familiar with the practice, similar to how Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc. sell. Taobao is operated by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

"Macy's has longstanding policies and practices that embrace and promote diversity and inclusion and prohibit discriminatory conduct against its customers, employees, vendors and business partners," a Macy's representative said in an email. "Macy's denies the allegations in the lawsuit filed by the former Herald Square employees. We are confident that the allegations in this matter will ultimately be found to be without merit."

The plaintiffs allege that they were told to "look out for" and "not sell to" Asian customers, Wigdor wrote, and that they were "regularly" told to sell only one of each product to Asian customers despite the store's policy that customers could buy up to six of each product. Members of Macy's loss prevention department would "consistently" stare at Asian customers as they bought their products.

No other racial or ethnic groups were subject to similar racial profiling instructions, the firm noted.

When the plaintiffs complained repeatedly to both their union and to their managers, within one week they were fired "in a blatant act of retaliation against those employees who dared to speak up against such unlawful racial profiling." thestreet.com

Nine Sears Associates Awarded LPC Scholarships
Sears Holdings, in partnership with the The Loss Prevention Foundation (LPF) today awarded 9 Sears Holdings Asset & Profit Protection Associates scholarships designed to support their career advancement and personal development while working at SHC. Sears Holdings takes great pleasure in every opportunity to invest in the development of their teams.

SHC awarded the scholarships for certification-review courses and the final exams, for both LPCertified (LPC) and LPQualified (LPQ), which will earn them a widely-recognized certification within the loss prevention industry.

Scott Glenn, Vice President and CSO noted: "It is a tremendous honor to be able to invest in the future leaders of our industry. The associates selected for these scholarships are the future of our organization and I am proud of each of them."

Congratulations to the following recipients of the LPQualified (LPQ) and LPCertified (LPC) Scholarships:

  ● Art Mercer - National Manager, Asset Protection
  ● Brian Tolbert - Territory Manager, Asset Protection
  ● Jason Merwin - Area Manager, Asset Protection
  ● Daron Lindman - Regional Director, Asset Protection
  ● Casey Albright - Area Manager, Asset Protection
  ● Alfredo Caravero - Market Manager, Asset Protection
  ● Matthew Edwards - Zone Manager, Asset Protection
  ● Bill Boston - Zone Manager, Asset Protection
  ● Steffen Steudte - Asset Protection Manager   yourlpf.org

Hurricane Update

Irma could hit holiday inventories - $2.75B in Lost Sales
Some Retailers May Not Fully Recover
Some $2.75 billion in consumer and retail sales (including restaurants) could be lost to Irma, in addition to costs incurred by the damage caused directly by the storm, according to Planalytics. Early storm Hurricane Harvey cost businesses some $1 billion in that measure, Planalytics said.

The investment bank Cowen & Co. noted "medium-term concerns" on hurricane-related disruptions of supply chains in all categories. That could mean delays in holiday goods and inventories.

Retailers selling critical supplies tend to benefit from such storms, while businesses like restaurants and apparel retailers have almost no business. But it's all mostly temporary.

"What almost always happens when you get a big event like this is you really see three phases from a retailer perspective," Those phases are the forecast (when people tend to stock up), the storm itself (when retailers need to decide how long to stay open - to help people who need supplies without endangering workers), and the aftermath, (when people return to stores to stock up on things they've run out of, and take up shopping again for things they don't immediately need).

More than six million people were forced to evacuate the state of Florida, the most on record, and more voluntarily left the state, according to Planalytics. Cowen analyzed 19% of stores located in the Southeast region and based on their rankings, Walmart, Costco and Target stood to benefit on balance, partly offset by store closures forced by the storm. But Cowen analysts noted that post-storm inventory-taking and damage assessment shouldn't be the only consideration, and warned that some retailers may not fully recover. retaildive.com

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma Will Damage Retailers' Third Quarter Sales
Industry-wide retail sales in August and September will fall in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, with apparel retailers such as Gap expected to take a longer-term hit than restaurant operators including Starbucks.

U.S. same-store sales at apparel chains are expected to rise just 0.1% in the third quarter ending October, compared with a 0.6% increase seen before the hurricanes, according to Thomson Reuters data.

As residents in these states begin to rebuild houses, home improvement chains including Home Depot are well positioned to benefit.

Dunkin' Donuts, could lose some $17 million in sales if all its stores in the storm-ravaged states of Florida and Texas are shut for a week, according to Cowen & Co. That would amount to a little more than 10% of the chain's quarterly U.S. sales.

In contrast, Starbucks, with about 3% store exposure to Texas and 5.6% to Florida, could lose about $35 million in sales per week if all stores in those states were closed, Cowen said. That is less than 1% of the company's quarterly sales.

The worst hit by the delays are likely to be apparel retailers such as Gap and J. Jill.

The hurricanes are expected to have a "modestly negative" impact on Wal-Mart and dollar stores including Dollar General as demand for food, batteries and water before and after the hurricanes offsets losses from store closures.

Same-store sales at Home Depot and Lowe's are expected to rise 3.5% to 4% in the second-half of the year. fortune.com

Texas AG files lawsuit against businesses for Hurricane Harvey price gouging

Equifax Update

Biggest Incident in Credit Monitoring Industry History
Since the announcement last week of their response, and the denial that the three executives who cashed in $1.8M in stock had knowledge of the breach, the industry's and the Congressional responses have been dramatic. Couple that with the long term impact on a national scale one has to begin wondering if Equifax will even make it through this. Just a thought. Gus Downing

Equifax's New Discrepancy
Visa & Mastercard Notices Show Breach Started in Nov. 2016
Different then Equifax stated these notices to financial institutions show the 200,00 credit cards dating back to November 2016. But Equifax says the accounts were all stolen at the same time - when hackers accessed the company’s systems in mid-May 2017.

In this case Visa and MasterCard were unambiguous, referring to Equifax specifically as the source of an e-commerce card breach.

The card giant said the data elements stolen included card account number, expiration date, and the cardholder's name. Fraudsters can use this information to conduct e-commerce fraud at online merchants.

Editor's Note: Another discrepancy on Equifax's part? krebsonsecurity.com

Equifax breach: Identity-theft hackers exploited flaw experts flagged in March
Cybersecurity professionals who track down bugs discovered, created a fix for, and told the industry about the vulnerability that allowed attackers into the Equifax network two months before the company was hit by hackers.

"The Equifax data compromise was due to (Equifax') failure to install the security updates provided in a timely manner," The Apache Foundation, which oversees the widely-used open source software, said in a statement Thursday. usatoday.com

After Equifax Hack, Groups Press for Stronger Data Breach Laws
In the wake of the enormous Equifax data breach, which first came to light last week, a variety of associations are calling for stronger federal standards for both data security and breach disclosure.

A coalition of groups representing a wide swath of economic sectors-including retail, travel, real estate, and hospitality-sent a letter to U.S. House and Senate leaders [PDF] urging Congress to pass legislation that would make standards uniform across the country and across industries.

The statement comes as 143 million people are worrying about the exposure of sensitive personal information in a wide-reaching data breach of the credit reporting agency. Equifax's response has been widely criticized-both because it didn't immediately disclose the breach and because the information it eventually did provide was confusing (its dedicated website initially didn't make it clear whether a user's data had been exposed). The company's CEO has apologized and promised long-term changes.

It was against this backdrop that industry groups made a call for fundamental changes to data breach laws. Signatories to the letter to Congress included, among others, the National Retail Federation, the National Association of Realtors, the U.S. Travel Association, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

In a separate letter to congressional leaders, Dan Berger, CEO of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, wrote that the Equifax breach, "and the report that they had known about it for weeks without notifying consumers, is yet another demonstration of the need for a legislative solution."

Meanwhile, the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and the American Bankers Association are helping members with messaging in the wake of the breach. associationsnow.com

Equifax stock sheds nearly a third of their value since Sept. 7

Is this the incident that pushes biometrics to the forefront?

Security Footage Kills Nike Employees' Bag Check Suit
A California federal judge on Tuesday granted Nike summary judgment in a class action alleging unpaid wages, ruling that retail workers hadn't proven they spent more than a few seconds of off-the-clock time going through security checks.

U.S. District Judge Beth Freeman said Nike store employee Isaac Rodriguez didn't submit evidence contradicting Nike Retail Services Inc.'s study, based on 700 hours of security footage, which showed that most exiting employees spent zero time waiting for their bags or jackets to be checked at the end of their shifts.

The evidence Rodriguez put forth - depositions from store managers who said that security checks sometimes take a few minutes - showed that the time workers spent waiting for checks was de minimis, or trivial, in the eyes of the court, Judge Freeman said. law360.com

Be Careful What You Wish For - Seattle's "Armageddon"
Cities are in a vicious, $5 billion battle over Amazon's headquarters - here's why they're crazy
Cities across America are vying to be chosen as the site of a second Amazon headquarters, but the opportunity also comes with some drawbacks.

Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik writes that Amazon is taking advantage of the local communities that are putting together bids - which will presumably include generous tax incentives.

"The company's approach is arrogant, naive and more than a teensy bit cynical," Hiltzik writes. "Rather than be offered bribes to move its headquarters into a community, Amazon should be made to pay for the privilege."

"Communities that boast of relatively modest costs of living and reasonable labor costs as come-ons should recognize that Amazon's arrival will push up land values, and therefore the cost of housing and office space, and produce upward pressure on wages," Hiltzik writes. "That's good for workers, not so much for existing employers."

Amazon's headquarters in Seattle has certainly caused some tension, with some local residents calling the effects on traffic and housing prices "Armageddon."

Bloomberg reported that Boston was the frontrunner for the new headquarters, a claim Amazon subsequently denied. Cities like Chicago and Denver are also reportedly in the running. businessinsider.com

Target increases holiday hiring by 40%
100,000 Workers in 1,816 Stores + 4,500 in DC's

VA. Governor's task force to address civil unrest holds first meeting

Motel 6 Under Fire - Calling ICE on undocumented immigrants staying there

Amsterdam: Security Guards Throw LGBT Syrian Refugees Out of Zara Store After They're 'Attacked' By Homophobic Customer

Retail E-commerce President Embezzles $300K - Gets 9 Months Federal Prison

 

S-Tron Verified as a Veteran Owned Small Business

We are thrilled to announce that S-TRON has been verified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) as a Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB). We have always been proud of our connection to the US Military. We hire Veterans whenever possible and over 25% of our staff is former US Military including Owner, Steven P. Dunn and President, Peter Mattschull.

"It was an honor to have served our nation in the US Navy and now it is a privilege to serve some of the top businesses in America. We look forward to growing our client base to include government entities." 

Steve P. Dunn
Owner, CEO
US Navy Veteran

S-TRON is a National Provider of Electronic Security Equipment, Service, Design and Installations. We are
Licensed by the NYS Dept of State License No. 12000079391.

"Silos Are Killing The Organization"
Rethinking IT and Security Organizational Structures
Companies are under constant pressure to innovate in today's fast-paced business environment. That might mean creating a better product, improving efficiency, or creating a better customer experience. Unfortunately, the security function tends to be separate from the innovation process or, worse, after the innovation has created a new vulnerability.

That problem will persist unless companies rethink their organizational structures around IT and security. That's the message that Rapid7 CEO Corey Thomas is delivering in his keynote today at the company's United 2017 event in Boston. He believes that IT and security teams can work together effectively to innovate, create a better user experience, and adopt new technology without increasing the vulnerability surface.

Thomas sees security and IT functioning separately in most organizations. "Siloes are killing the organization," says Thomas in an exclusive interview with CSO. "Breaking down the siloes and engineering automation solutions to solve some of the persistent vulnerabilities is a solvable problem."

How should IT and security work together?

IT and security clearly need to work well together, but that will be difficult if they don't understand each other. "It is impossible to have both IT and security function well without each having the context of the other," says Thomas. Just passing security vulnerabilities "over the wall" to the IT team is an inefficient process that no longer works, he adds. Thomas cites organizations having success embedding security in core operations. "You see some success in the devops world where some innovators look at how they build security into the development process."

"Security cannot be successful separate of IT. The ability to have an integrated view and apply security and IT operations closer together is key to having success," Thomas says.

Thomas believes that communication and collaboration between IT and security are important, but cautions against seeing that alone as a solution. "In some ways, [focusing on communication and collaboration] is a distraction, because it gives in to this notion that you can treat security as an appendage," he says.

What can an integrated IT/security organization do to foster innovation?

The same data used to troubleshoot an environment from a security perspective - collect log data, do forensics across the environment, identify what applications and users are affected - is the same data used to troubleshoot performance issues or which of your assets need to be updated. "An integrated view of the environment will ensure that you have the right data to serve all those domains well," Thomas says.

Thomas encourages security professionals to find opportunities to participate in the innovation process. "Innovation tends to happen in clusters. The extent to which you have people on that journey together really matters," he says. "Security has done a good job of that historically."

Two other opportunities for security professionals might be more of a challenge. The first is generating and contributing to data mastery and organization. "Lots of security practitioners tend to create their own data siloes, which contributes to lack of mastery of information and data that's so critical with the types of challenges that we face," says Thomas.

Second, shift focus to addressing root causes of security problems. "Poor management practice and technology management practices are the root cause of so many security vulnerabilities that organizations have," says Thomas. csoonline.com

The five biggest questions about Apple's new facial recognition system
This week, Apple introduced a new flagship phone - the iPhone X - with a powerful new login system. Because phone's all-glass front leaves no room for a home button, Apple is ditching Touch ID in favor of a facial recognition system powered by a new camera array and a specially modified A11 chip. Alongside the new technology, the new Face ID system raises serious questions about surveillance and user privacy. Until the phone goes on sale in November, some of those questions will be left unanswered - but this is what we know so far, and what it means for anyone thinking of buying an iPhone X.

  ● Will Face ID make it easier for police to unlock my phone?
  ● Could my face leak or get stolen?
  ● Will Face ID have a racial bias problem?
  ● Can you spoof Face ID with a picture of someone's face?
  ● Will Apple ever use Face ID for anything other than unlocking phones?  theverge.com

Like It or Not, Smartphones with Biometrics Will Soon Be the Norm
This week Apple unveiled a facial recognition feature called Face ID to be included on its high-end iPhone X. The company explained that the device uses a combination of light projection and an infrared camera to create a 3-D map of a user's face. The announcement sparked more than a few responses that raised some potential security pitfalls of Apple's facial recognition technology. Unfortunately for those wary of the supposed infallibility of biometrics, there's some bad news.

New research from Acuity Market Intelligence found that biometric technology will soon be ubiquitous on smartphones. The firm projects that nearly two-thirds of smartphones shipped worldwide this year will feature some sort of biometric capability. But it also estimates that by 2019, all smartphones worldwide will ship with biometric technology embedded in them. emarketer.com

Home Depot Slams $18M Fee Request In Data Breach Deal
Home Depot Inc. told a Georgia federal court Tuesday that attorneys who secured a $27.25 million settlement for banks and other financial institutions suing over the retailer's 2014 data breach should not receive $18 million in fees calculated using "mathematical alchemy." law360.com

Trump Orders Removal of Kaspersky Products from Federal Systems

Chinese restaurant lets customers pay using their face

Report: IoT in Retail Market to hit $30B by 2024

US-CERT: Potential Phishing Scams Related to Equifax Data Breach

Skills Shortage Gap - U.S. Gov. to Boost Cyber Scholarship-for-Service Program

Billions Of Dollars At Stake As Brand Online Safety Comes Into Play
Earlier this year, Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer of one of the world's largest brands, Procter & Gamble, famously gave a very harsh and stern warning to agencies and in fact all of digital marketing: "The days of giving digital a pass are over. It's time to grow up. It's time for action."

Pritchard made this bold statement at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's annual meeting held in Hollywood, Florida. His comments included strictures on brand safety, transparency, and outright fraud taking place with online marketing platforms throughout the entire strata of the internet. And he didn't pull any punches.

Of particular concern to Pritchard and others like him is the continuing problem of inappropriate juxtaposition online. When a hate group page on Facebook is filled with ads for well-known brands of soap, cereal, and car wax, the public's perception of those brands goes markedly downhill like a skier down a slalom. Both Google and Facebook initially told some of their biggest clients that new algorithms would automatically take care of this problem. But they didn't. Instead, dairy products were being touted on soft porn sites and children's clothing brands wound up next to white supremacy rants.

What is needed, says Pritchard, is personal and individual oversight on all ads at all times on all sites. Otherwise, he warned, advertising dollars would be yanked from online platforms and placed with more traditional and more reliable media. And that's a lot of money. Last year alone, over $72 billion was spent on digital advertising in the United States. And for the first time ever, that was more than was spent on television advertising. So a watershed has been reached, but Pritchard and others may be on the verge of reversing that windfall for digital advertisers. forbes.com

The Two Biggest Obstacles to mCommerce Adoption Are NOT Fraud or Security
In light of the mobile fraud statistics below, you might think online businesses would be especially fearful of fraud risk in the rapidly-growing mobile channel.

● 60% of fraudulent transactions originate from a mobile device, based on research from RSA.

● The fraud rate for mobile commerce is twice as high as for conventional eCommerce, according to The Fraud Practice.

● $2.33 in costs for every $1 in fraudulent mobile transactions, per LexisNexis estimates of the "true cost" of mobile fraud.

Not quite. The Mobile Payments & Fraud: 2017 Report reveals instead that the top two obstacles to merchants investing in mCommerce capabilities are:

1. The cost of implementing new technology - 45%
2. IT resources required - 44%

Fraud does finish in the top three, with "addressing how to manage fraud risk" at 34%.

Note the pattern here-all three of these fears revolve around technology. Not advertising, not inventory, not pricing. It seems mCommerce is perceived as an IT obstacle course. kount.com

Flipkart aims to capture 50% of total online smartphone sales

New job posting: ORC Manager for ULTA Beauty - Bolingbrook, IL
The Manager, Organized Retail Crime is responsible for the development, implementation and management of external loss protection programs and investigations while driving profitability through shrink improvement. This position will be responsible for managing various data points and analytics of individual store losses, markets and across the enterprise to identify ORC activity, investigate accordingly and recommend action steps. Under the guidance of the Director Loss Prevention, train, coach, and develop field loss prevention team on reporting, analytics and trends pertaining to ORC.  kronostm.com

As of July 29, 2017, Ulta Beauty operates 1,010 retail stores across 48 states and the District of Columbia and also distributes its products through its website. ULTA Beauty's net sales increased 20.6% in Q2, comparable sales increased 11.7%, retail comparable sales increased 8.3%. ulta.com ultabeauty.com

Knoxville, TN: Knox County Sheriff's officers raid landmark Restaurant for Stolen Meats; Kroger ORC Team assists
American flags wave from poles outside The Round Up restaurant on Sevierville Pike. And inside customers for years have been served meats shoplifted by drug addicts from a local grocery store. "A lot of this food was stolen at night and sat in a car trunk all night," said Knox County Sheriff's Office Assistant Chief Lee Tramel. Officers armed with a search warrant just before 2 p.m. Wednesday raided the popular eatery that has served the community for decades. About a dozen customers were finishing their plate lunches or ice cream when the Organized Retail Crime Unit officers entered the restaurant.


Accompanying the sheriff's officers was an inspector from the Knox County Health Department. By the time the operation was finished, officers led 57-year-old Sam Tobea, who has owned the business since 2002, away in handcuffs. Tobea was charged with one count of felony theft. Officers who have formed partnerships with loss prevention units of national retail chains in August arrested suspects who directed investigators to The Round Up, Tramel said. Officials from Kroger provided the Organized Retail Crime Unit with meats that undercover officers sold to Tobea. Tramel said a Kroger official who participated in the raid was able to identify the Kroger-provided meats with the bar codes still on the packages. knoxnews.com


Eau Claire, WI: Holiday C- Store employee busted for $6,000 theft
A local convenience store employee is accused of stealing thousands of dollars while working there. Aaron Wielgesiak is charged with stealing close to $6000 while working at the Eau Claire Mega Holiday store. A store employee told police money and merchandise had disappeared over the past year. According to court records, Wielgesiak admitted to investigators when customers paid with cash he would delete the item they paid, and pocket the cash. wqow.com



Camarillo, CA: Police seeking prolific shoplifter; hitting 3 Target stores for over $3,500
Police are asking for the public's help finding a burglary suspect police estimate has stolen more than $3,500 worth of merchandise from Target stores in Camarillo, Ventura and Oxnard. Police said the man, estimated to be from 19 to 25 years of age, took high-end home appliances, including expensive vacuum cleaners, before casually leaving the stores through an emergency exit during store hours. The thefts happened from March through July, police said. vcstar.com



Coralville, IA: Police are looking for four suspects who they say stole hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from a department store last week
According to an Iowa City Area CrimeStoppers, the theft occurred on Saturday, Sept. 9, and the suspects stole approximately $500 worth of clothing and merchandise from Scheels at the Coral Ridge Mall. thegazette.com





Monroe, LA: Lowe's Employee busted in $3,000 pass- thru thefts
Michael Anderson is behind bars after he was caught stealing items from Lowe's while working there over a three month period. Anderson confessed to stealing twenty items worth over $3,000. Surveillance footage showed Anderson passing items to an individual that had not paid at the time of checkout. myarklamiss.com


Goodyear, AZ: Shoplifter may be linked to thefts in 5 other cities
A man arrested for shoplifting in Goodyear may be responsible for thefts in five other Valley cities including Chandler, Peoria, Phoenix, Tempe and Surprise. Goodyear police report that on September 7, they arrested 33-year-old Matthew Steve Speck for thefts at Walmart and Target in Goodyear. Police say the thefts occurred from July 19 to August 26. Speck would allegedly use a large item like a tote, basket or hamper to conceal electronics items like modems and routers. He would usually leave the store out of the back emergency doors and leave on a skateboard before getting into an awaiting car. Speck reportedly accumulated over $18,000 in products from all the stores. abc15.com

Boise, ID: Boise Police thank Organized Retail Crime Association for assistance in Credit Card Fraud case
Boise Police say they were contacted Monday by a loss prevention employee at a local business who said they had received a report of fraudulent transactions over the weekend on a local victim's credit card at two stores. Police thank the Organized Retail Crime Association, whose members include retails outlets and law enforcement throughout Southern Idaho, for getting the information shared so quickly about the suspect. idahopress.com

Auckland, New Zealand: Stolen meat a hot commodity for synthetic drug users
Senior sergeant Richard Thompson said drug users were using meat as a commodity to buy drugs. Police found a freezer load of meat during a drug raid in Ranui, Auckland in July. The meat was being used to purchase drugs, police said. Crime prevention software company Auror were aware meat was a popular item for thieves to steal. Auror content and communications manager Kevin Ptak "Items like meat, cosmetics, clothing, footwear and electronics are all popular with thieves." He said retail crime cost the economy more than $2 million every day. stuff.co.nz

Newark, DE: With young children in tow, woman steals $1,200 worth of groceries from Acme store

Sentencings

Austin, TX: Serial jewelry store robber gets 77 years in prison
A Texan blamed for more than a dozen jewelry store robberies or attempted holdups must serve 77 years in federal prison and repay nearly $1.6 million. Marvin Lewis was sentenced Wednesday in Austin for crimes during 2014 and 2015. Prosecutors say the 40-year-old Lewis, who lived in Austin and Houston, targeted jewelry stores in Texas and Ohio. Jurors in June convicted Lewis of 25 counts including conspiracy, interference with commerce by threats or violence, money laundering and firearms-related charges. Investigators say the heists included $548,000 worth of diamonds stolen from a jewelry store in Strongsville, Ohio. Other robberies or attempted holdups were in Austin and the Houston area. kxan.com

Kidnapping, Standoff & Deaths

Update: Spokane, WA: Cheney Police identify Uncle and Niece as suspects in Marijuana shop kidnapping
Police have identified two of the three suspects wanted in connection with a Sunday kidnapping at a marijuana store in Cheney, and then found the SUV owned by the kidnapping victim abandoned in a field in Airway Heights on Tuesday. The Acura SUV owned by 46-year-old Cameron Smith has been located in Airway Heights. Cheney police said Smith was not with the car and is still missing. yakimaherald.com

El Paso County, CO: SWAT situation in King Soopers parking lot
brought to peaceful end
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office was called to the King Soopers just after noon Wednesday to check on a suicidal person in the store parking lot. When deputies got on scene, they found the man barricaded inside his car with multiple guns and called SWAT to assist. The situation ended just after 1, nearly an hour after EPSO got the call. While it was ongoing, law enforcement worked to clear the parking lot to get people out of a potential line of fire. King Soopers and other stores in the strip mall went on lockdown. kktv.com

Nelson, B.C., Canada: Suspect wanted in Jewelry store smash-and-grab involved in deadly car crash
The suspect sought for an early-morning jewelry store robbery in Nelson that netted thieves stolen items and caused damage to the tune of $30,000 is believed to be the same man involved in a car accident on Highway 3 east of Hope Monday afternoon - an accident that left a 35-year-old mother of four dead at the scene. thenelsondaily.com

Colorado Springs, CO: Police arrest 16-year-old in connection with murder during Liquor store Robbery spree; 2 other teens also arrested

Robberies & Thefts

Sparks, NV: Home Depot Employee injured after being pushed during robbery
Police are looking for a man and woman after an employee was pushed onto the ground during a robbery Wednesday at a Sparks hardware store. Officers responded to the Home Depot on Galleria Parkway just after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, to the report of a robbery. They learned a man and woman entered together and made their way to the power tool aisle, where the man took several items and hid them in his clothes. As he approached an exit, a 70-year-old female employee confronted him. The suspect forcefully pushed her, according to police, and she hit her head on the concrete floor. She sustained an injury to her head and an arm. mynews4.com

Buffalo Grove, IL: Armed Robbers restrain a U Haul employee;
leading Police on hour long manhunt
Three suspects who police say fled after restraining a store employee and loading stolen merchandise onto U-Haul truck were arrested Wednesday. The employee was restrained while the suspects stole items from the store and loaded them onto the truck, police said. There were no injuries. The suspects took off in the truck but were spotted by police; the truck crashed into three other vehicles and the suspects fled on foot. dailyherald.com

Vicksburg, VA: Dollar General Employee and gunman charged in alleged hold up
Two people face charges in the Sunday night armed robbery of the Dollar General Store, 2203 Clay St., Vicksburg Police Sgt. Johnnie Edwards said. He said police Wednesday arrested Willie Montrell Clark, 18, and Shera Chentral White, 24, a clerk at the store, in connection with the robbery. Clark faces charges of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, while White faces a charge of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. vicksburgpost.com



Maumelle, AR: Police Chase ends with 5 Walgreen's Pharmacy burglars arrested
Five suspected burglars led officers with Maumelle Police Department on a chase early Wednesday, after supposedly burglarizing Walgreens. Police link all five to the burglary, all are from the Houston area. After searching the vehicle, police say they found a substantial amount of narcotics inside that were taken from the pharmacy. katv.com




Modesto, CA: Correctional Officer who responded to Knife welding man inside Costco will be awarded a Medal of Valor
Correctional Officer Kevin Machado was shopping at the Modesto Costco with his girlfriend and his 1 and 1/2-year-old son on a Thursday afternoon last year when an alarm began to sound in the store. modbee.com



Montecito, CA: Pharmacy Owner increases security but keep his business quaint event after Burglary

CVS Stores Robbed Across San Diego County; in Hillcrest, Mira Mesa, National City, North Park, Rolando, and most recently, La Jolla

Madison, W: Police investigate series of smash-and-grab burglaries

Pennington County, SD Sheriff's Office conduct Active Shooter training at Rushmore Mall

Nashville, TN: Man Arrested For 539th Time; Robert Brown, 48, has been arrested an average of every two weeks since 1994

Caulfield, Australia: Pharmacist chases off Burglars with a toy Samurai Sword

Sentencings

St Louis, MO: Man gets 2 years in Prison for Saks Fifth Avenue $200,000
Smash & Grab Theft
A Chicago man has been sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $200,000 for his role in the smash-and-grab theft of handbags at a St. Louis-area Saks Fifth Avenue store. A federal judge in St. Louis on Wednesday sentenced 22-year-old Dejuan Wingard. He is the seventh of 13 people who have pleaded guilty in connection with the crime. Investigators say a large group of people walked into the Frontenac, Missouri, store's Chanel boutique in November, all with hooded sweatshirts over their faces. The suspects grabbed 30 handbags and smashed fixtures before fleeing in two vehicles. The handbags were valued at around $60,000. Wingard also told authorities he participated in a similar crime at the same store in August 2016. latimes.com


Aiken County, SC: Man pleads guilty to Dollar General armed robbery, gets 30 years
Jimmy Ashley Jr., 25, pleaded guilty Wednesday to armed robbery, two counts of kidnapping and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He originally was charged with four counts of kidnapping, two counts of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, but the State dropped some of Ashley's original charges in condition with the guilty plea. aikenstandard.com


Fresno, CA: 17 year old Armed Robber held up 3 stores in 50 minutes
It is now up to the District Attorney to decide whether a teen accused in three Fresno convenience store holdups will be tried as an adult. Police say a 17-year-old used a gun to hold up workers at each of those stores. Officers say a he took, cash, cigarettes and cigars. The teenager and his 22-year-old girlfriend are now in custody. kmph.com

Baltimore, MD: Convicted jewelry store robber pleads guilty in murder case

Houston, TX: Man pleads guilty to killing deputy at gas station

Salinas, KS: Man sentenced to 30 years in Prison for a string of Armed Robberies at five businesses

Credit Card Fraud

Ottawa, IL: Two Chicago area men face counterfeiting charges after a nearly month-long investigation
The two men were charged with multiple counts of counterfeiting debit card - each a Class 3 felony according to Ottawa, IL, Police. Last month, Ottawa Police detained three suspects allegedly involved in using counterfeit or fraudulent credit cards to make purchases at the Ottawa Walmart. Authorities found 35 credit cards, a portable credit card reader and multiple receipts. newstrib.com

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