In Case You Missed It

Axis Communications launches inaugural Axis Perspectives report on intelligent video’s evolving role

CHELMSFORD, Mass. -- Axis Communications, the industry leader in network video, today announced the release of its first annual Axis Perspectives report, a research-based publication examining the evolution of intelligent video and its expanding role. Backed by proprietary global research, expert insights, and real-world use cases, the report quantifies how intelligent video is enhancing security while increasingly driving safety, operational efficiency, and business intelligence across industries.

The findings reveal a clear inflection point: while security remains foundational, organizations are rapidly adopting intelligent video as a powerful business sensor, unlocking insights that improve performance, reduce costs, and enable automation at scale. Based on firsthand research and data analysis, the report provides a strategic roadmap for how cameras are evolving into active contributors to enterprise decision-making, delivering measurable results in high-impact environments. For example, the report highlights BMW Group’s use of cameras to power AI-driven quality inspection (AIQX). This application enables precise, automated inspections that enhance product quality and operational efficiency.

“Intelligent video is undergoing a fundamental shift—from monitoring what happens to actively informing how organizations protect people, operate and make decisions,” said Fredrik Nilsson, VP, Americas, Axis Communications. “With Axis Perspectives, we take a strategic, research-driven view of that evolution, bringing together global data, real-world deployments, along with a practical maturity model to help organizations understand where they are today and how to unlock the full value of video as a connected, data-driven business capability.”

Read more here
 

DHS vs. ORC
DHS’s Operation Boiling Point Targets Organized Retail Crime Networks

By the D&D Daily staff

The Department of Homeland Security’s Operation Boiling Point is an ongoing Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) initiative focused on disrupting and dismantling organized retail crime (ORC) and organized theft groups (OTGs) operating across the United States.

Launched in response to increasing concerns over large-scale retail theft and cargo theft, the operation targets criminal enterprises that coordinate theft, fraud, and supply-chain diversion schemes. These groups often steal merchandise in bulk from retailers, distribution centers, or freight shipments, then resell the goods through online marketplaces, informal networks, or export channels.

Unlike isolated shoplifting incidents, ORC investigations under Operation Boiling Point focus on identifying broader criminal networks, financial structures, and repeat offenders operating across jurisdictions. DHS has emphasized that these theft rings can cause significant economic losses for retailers, disrupt supply chains, and, in some cases, contribute to worker safety concerns when incidents escalate.

The strategy behind Operation Boiling Point centers on three primary components:

• Multi-agency coordination: HSI works alongside federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to build cases that extend beyond individual store incidents and target organized criminal enterprises.

• Public-private partnerships: Retailers, freight carriers, financial institutions, and e-commerce platforms are encouraged to share intelligence and suspicious activity reports to support investigations and lead development.

• Intelligence integration: The initiative leverages centralized lead analysis and cross-border investigative capabilities to identify trends, track stolen goods, and connect related cases nationwide.

DHS recently refreshed its public information page on Operation Boiling Point, reiterating the program’s ongoing role in combating organized theft. The update did not announce new authorities or structural changes but reaffirmed the department’s continued focus on coordinated enforcement and industry collaboration.

As organized retail crime remains a high-profile issue for retailers and policymakers, Operation Boiling Point continues to serve as DHS’s primary federal framework for addressing multi-jurisdictional ORC and cargo theft networks.


Theft Driving Stores Out of Milwaukee?
Grocery stores are leaving Milwaukee at an alarming rate. Here's what we know
Fresh food access is quickly disappearing for tens of thousands of residents in Milwaukee as grocery stores close across the city. The major retailers behind the closures sometimes offer little to no notice before shuttering stores and have not provided clear explanations for why, leaving residents to handle the fallout.

The losses of these resources have not affected Milwaukeeans equally. Since 2021, nine grocery stores have closed across the city. Five of those stores were located on the north side. The number of grocery stores closed in Milwaukee may continue to climb in 2026.

As the problem continued to escalate, store closures pushed the city to respond. That response included a formal recognition of food apartheid as a public health emergency, the creation of an interdepartmental task force to develop solutions to attract and retain stores, and an ordinance requiring 60 days' notice before store closures.

The problem of food access in underserved communities is well known, but little explanation has been provided for why major retailers are pulling out of the city. Following a Jan. 8 conversation with Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, Johnson told the Journal Sentinel that the major retailer told his office that the stores were closed in part because of theft.

Smaller, locally owned stores have cited other factors, along with theft, that make it difficult to stay open like the cost of replacing aging equipment, problems with traffic and difficulty with pricing to compete with corporate-backed stores. jsonline.com


Mexican Cartels Burning Stores & Vehicles
Vehicles burn and stores close in Tijuana following the killing of a cartel leader

Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as ‘El Mencho,’ was one of the most wanted drug lords in Mexico

At least 19 people were arrested in Tijuana and other parts of Baja California on Sunday as vehicles and stores were set on fire in response, officials said, to the killing of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel by the Mexican army.

As of 6 p.m., the Baja California government had reported 22 incidents throughout the state, 10 in Tijuana. News outlets across the state reported cases of vehicles burning. Similar incidents were reported in other Mexican states.

Early on Sunday, Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila posted on social media that the burning of vehicles on various roadways was related to the federal operation that resulted in the death of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes. Oseguera, also known as “El Mencho,” was one of the most wanted drug lords in Mexico and the United States. The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest.

In Tijuana, a taxi was burned on Avenida Internacional, which runs parallel to the U.S.-Mexico border fence, and a pickup truck burned near Playas de Tijuana. Several businesses, including convenience stores, pharmacies and supermarkets, closed early Sunday throughout the city. Public transportation was also temporarily suspended. dailynews.com


More States Crack Down on Retail Theft
Wyoming Small Business Owners Applaud Effort to Increase Penalties on Retail Theft
Following the House Judiciary Committee’s passage of Senate File 7, which would increase penalties for retail theft, NFIB State Director Michael Smith thanked lawmakers for advancing the bill to the floor and urged the House to send it to the Governor’s desk for signature.

“Small business is the foundation of the Wyoming economy. Theft, including organized retail theft, continues to pose a challenge for our members. Theft increases business owners’ costs and threatens law-abiding Wyomingites.

“Stronger penalties will help deter theft and help protect Main Street and their customers. On behalf of small business owners across the state, we thank the Senate and the House Judiciary Committee for advancing this measure and urge the House to swiftly follow suit and send it to the Governor’s desk for signature.”  nfib.com


Antioch Police Set to Report Crime Data

Who has access to the Lexington Police Department’s surveillance cameras?